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3 RRRR. Medals.


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My newest addition, the top medal, has a plain edge. It joins the other 2, middle one straight engrailed edge, lower one diagonally engrailed edge. The new one is not signed Kettle below the bust, does that ring a bell?

 

BHM#995;

Obv. Similar to No. 994. Laureate head of George III, right. GOD PROTECTS THE JUST

Rev. Name of Jehovah in Hebrew above rays shining down on Imperial crown. FEAR GOD HONOUR THE KING

Br. 25 by T. Kettle. RRRR. Highest rarity in BHM,

 

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It looks like they used the unsigned die from 1810 again in 1820 for the unsiged death medal. Notice the distance from the 'C' to the bust, the unsigned medals have a smaller gap. Also the latest addition is copper(can see it peeking through in places, though it appears to have been gilded, Brown only listed this in brass, the 3rd one also looks more bronze or copper than brass. It is sometimes hard to tell for sure.

Obv. Laureate head of George III, right. GOD PROTECTS THE JUST

Rev. Inscription within rays G III / COMPLEATED / THE 50TH YEAR / OF HIS REIGN / OCTR. 25TH / 1810.

1810 BHM#682 25mm, AE C. AE silvered C. by Kettle & Sons.

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Oh, and there is no such thing as "too many" where medals are concerned, especially RRRR. ones :yahoo:

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  • 5 years later...

Congrats, Const! How'd you track this one down?

 

My usual haunt, eBay.uk

 

I used to attend shows and dealers, which I do miss, but circumstances limit me to on-line. A plus though is that I can buy from Portugal, Spain, Germany or like one of my last, the Czech Republic(no prize for guessing which one) and find the most obscure items.

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Are you aware of the Admiral Nelson mule with the Fear God etc. reverse? Supposedly by Kempson.

 

"Peter Kempson, Copper mule struck on a Penny flan, 1798, obv bust in profile left, ADML. LD. NELSON .
VICTORY AT THE NILE AUGUST . 1 . 1798 around, rev Javeh’ in Hebrew letters, radiated above a crown,
FEAR GOD HONOR THE KING. REWARD OF MERIT around, edge plain (D&H Warwickshire unlisted;
Davisson as D&H Warwickshire 4bis II)"
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Thanks for the info Bob, I was totally unaware of it. My initial reaction is that the attribution to Kempson is a mistake and it must be by Kettle.

 

I will resist the temptation to jump to a hasty conclusion and when I can will do some research, which you know I hate doing :blol: and hopefully come to the right conclusion.

 

Thanks again!

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There can be no doubt that the reverse is by Kettle.

 

 

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James Conder did not list this and all the other authors are much later. Why the attribution to Kempson is very strange, though there has been some confusion over K & S, whether it stands for Kempson & Son or Kettle & Son(s).

 

Just because the obverse is dated 1798 does not necessarily mean that was when in was struck, it could in fact have been struck later. There are 2 scenarios that I can think of,

 

1) The establishment at Portsmouth of the first School of Naval Architecture. This school was opened at the commencement of 1811, and was conceived in the grandest spirit, at least so far as the building was concerned, for over 30,000 GBPs. are said to have been expended on its erection.

The school thus founded remained in operation for more than twenty years, but only trained about forty students. It was intended exclusively for the education of a higher class of apprentices, who were guaranteed appointments to important offices in the Royal Dockyards on the satisfactory completion of their course: and it was an experiment in a direction which has always found favour with many persons who consider it preferable to provide candidates for the higher professional offices from the better-placed and more liberally-educated classes.
Could this be a reward of merit for the Academy?

 

2) My choice is this........ In Birmingham, is the very first statue of Horatio Nelson in Britain. It was proposed 1805 and made 1807-1809 by public subscription of £2,500 by the people of Birmingham. The statue was unveiled on 25 October 1809, that being the day decreed as the official golden jubilee of George III. Nelson had visited Birmingham in 1802 to great rejoicing over his victory at the Battle of the Nile.

Nelson, bare headed, stands in uniform, with his one arm resting on an anchor with the prow of a miniature ship: HMS Victory. Upon the ship is the Flag Staff Truck (part of the mast) of the French ship Orient (1791), flagship of the French fleet, sunk at the Battle of the Nile.
Here is a Birmingham Work House token shilling, which could have been issued to celebrate the King's Jubilee and the unveiling of the "Nile Victory" statue. It is possible that Kettle was the engraver, the inscription compares favourably with his from that period. So the tokens that BHM dates for the King's demise, could have been as, Fauver states, for the Jubilee.
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Compare the lettering on these two, so unless there is documented proof that it is by Kempson I am sticking with Kettle.
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Here is an account from 1809,
"Birmingham.—The morning was ushered in with the ringing of bells, and the shops were mostly shut throughout the town. A very general attendance took place at the different churches and chapels, and other places of worship, at the .doors of which the sum of ,£310. 3s. Id. was collected for the benefit of the podr; in addition to which, the Right Hon. Lord Dudley and Ward, with his usual liberality, presented £'25. and Heneage Legge, Esq. ,£10. After service the 4th Dragoon Guards fired three volleys in honour of the day, as did also the Handsworth Volunteer Cavalry, drawn up in the Market Place.—At three o'clock commenced the Druids' Procession, consisting of nearly 1400 members, from Lodges 17, 31, and 32, of the town, and No. 40, from Walsall, which was attended by a vast concourse of people. After proceeding round the Statue of Nelson, they attended divine service at St. Philip's Church, where an excellent and appropriate sermon was delivered by Dr. L. Booker, from the following text, 1 Pet. 2 c. 9th and 17th v. The festival was commemorated in the evening, by different dinner parties at most of the inns and public places in the town. Edward Cairns, Esq. the Low Bailiff, gave a sumptuous entertainment at the Shakspeare Tavern; amongst whom were the Members for the County, the Magistrates, Clergy, &c. &c. It is unnecessary to add that the evening was spent in the greatest loyalty and good humour.— A circumstance which added not a little to the pleasure of the day, and the beauty of the scene, was the opening to public view the celebrated Bronze Statue of the ever to be lamented hero, Viscount Nelson. Every thing was ready for submitting this statue to public inspection on the 21st, the anniversary of the glorious victory of Trafalgar, but the Committee properly conceived that it would be better to defer the eeremony till the anniversary of his Majesty's accession, in order to heighten the joy of the public, on an event so interesting to the nation. At twelve o'clock at night, on the 24th, the signal for opening the statue was given, to usher in the morning of our good King's fiftieth anniversary, and such a scene of popular eagerness was hardly ever witnessed before. Peace officers were stationed to protect the workmen, until the awnings of the scaffold immediately connected with the monument were removed, but this business was hardly a moment over, when the populace broke down every impediment, and not fewer than 5000 people present immediately gave three cheers for Nelson, and joining a fine band of music who attended on the occasion, sung "God save the King." The loyal enthusiasm of the people was not surpassed in any part of the Empire. The Local Militia, in the course of the day, formed round the statue, and fired a feu de joie. The whole of the day was marked by patriotic festivity.—The following illustration of the statue was given to the public, and it is admitted that the artist, Mr. Westmacott, has fully supported his high reputation by this work, and that it is in all respects worthy of the dignified and impressive subject.

"In this work, intended to perpetuate the greatest example of Naval Genius, simplicity has been the chief object in the arrangement. The Hero is represented in a reclined and dignified attitude, his left arm reposed upon an anchor: he appears in the costume of his country, invested with the insignia of those honours by which his Sovereign and distant Princes distinguished him. To the right of the statue is introduced the grand symbol of the Naval profession; Victory, the constant leader of her favourite Hero, embellishes the prow. To the left is disposed a sail, which passing behind the statue, gives breadth to that view of the composition.—This group is surmounted upon a pedestal of statuary marble. A circular form has been selected, as best adapted to the situation.

"To personify that affectionate regard which caused the present patriotic tribute to be raised, the Town of Birmingham, murally crowned, in a dejected attitude, is represented mourning her loss; she is accompanied by groups of Genii, or children, in allusion to the rising race, who offer her consolation by bringing her the trident and rudder.—To the front of the pedestal is the following inscription —

"THIS STATUE, IN HONOR OF ADMIRAL LORD NELSON, WAS ERECTED BY
THE INHABITANTS OF BIRMINGHAM, A. D. 1809."

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  • 2 years later...

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