Stamp & Coin Mart - April 2016_

136 APRIL 2016 http://www.stampandcoin.co.uk

B

etween the 15th and

18th centuries the great

maritime powers of

Europe competed in the

exploration, investment

and exploitation of the New World.

The lure of the riches of the Americas,

Africa and the East brought European

adventurers to new continents, where

they built trading outposts, displaced

native populations and exploited the

natural resources of these new lands.

This period is known as the ‘Age of

Discovery’ and this month we consider

a rare medal commemorating Sir

Francis Drake’s journey around in the

world in the late 16th century.

Drake was a sea captain in the

reign of Elizabeth I and was knighted

thanks to his naval accomplishments.

He was second in command of the

English fleet against the Spanish

Armada and a notorious privateer,

attacking Spanish shipping in the

Caribbean and South America.

The medal is made of cast silver

and depicts the heroic voyage of Sir

Francis Drake on his ship, the Pelican

(later called the Golden Hind). The

silver circular plate has been stamped

in imitation of engraving; on one side

is the Eastern Hemisphere, showing

Europe, Africa and Asia, and on the

other the Western, with the Americas.

The course taken by Drake in his

voyage is marked by a dotted line.

He left from Plymouth in November

1577 and travelled along the West

African coast before heading into

the Atlantic. In August 1576 English

seaman Martin Frobisher had

discovered a large bay (thought to

be a strait at the time) off the east

coast of North America, which is

also commemorated on this piece.

Drake’s route took him down the

coast of South America round Cape

Horn and up the west coast of South

America via Lima and Panama. He

Around the world

in two years and ten months

In our exclusive series on items held at the British Museum, Richard Kelleher describes a unique

medal celebrating Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe

British Museum

EXCLUSIVE Inside the British Museum Coins and Medals Department

quite close to the printing of maps),

examination under a microscope shows

that they were actually cast, presumably

from an engraved original. Mercator

must therefore have developed a

technique for producing multiples. It

seems likely that the medal was based

upon the great contemporary wall map

at Whitehall.

The voyage was spectacular success

for Drake and his sponsors. Looted

bullion from Spanish ships, coupled

with valuable spices picked up in the

East Indies, returned a huge profit to

Drake’s investors.

To contemporaries, Mercator’s

medal was a souvenir that spoke of a

new way of engaging with the world.

Indeed, it would have been the first

time most would have seen the globe

in its entirety. It was also a patriotic

and propagandist statement which

referenced England’s emerging role in

world affairs, particularly in rivalry

with the Spanish. Drake raided many

Spanish ports on the western coast

of South America, including Lima

and Panama, looting large quantities

of gold and silver, and it has been

suggested that Mercator’s medals were

cast from the very silver taken in

these raids.

then headed north along the coast of

California before heading out into the

Pacific. The maker must have been

well informed about Drake’s route, as

he shows the digression in the Pacific

Ocean (the first time it had been sailed

by an English ship) caused by a storm

which lasted 52 days. On the reverse

we pick up the route again as it heads

through the ‘spice islands’ and out into

the Indian Ocean before rounding

the Cape of Good Hope and back to

Plymouth via Sierra Leone.

The date of his departure and

return are inscribed on the medal. The

obverse reads ‘Reditus anno 1580. 4

Cal. Oc.’ (Return in the year 1580,

on the 4th of the calends of October

• 28th September) and the reverse ‘D.
  F. Dra. Exitus anno 1577 id. Dece.’
  (The departure of Francis Drake, in the
  year 1577, on the ides of December


• 13th December). The medal was
  one of a group produced by Michael
  Mercator, well known as a map maker,
  in London in 1589. We know it was
  made in 1589 as the colony of Virginia


• clearly visible on the medal – was
  not established until after Drake had
  returned from his voyage. Although it
  is sometimes assumed that they were
  struck using engraved dies (a technique

Sir Francis Drake’s

travels around the

world are shown with a

dotted line. The medal

shows the Eastern

Hemisphere, including

Europe on one side

and the Western

Hemisphere, including

the Americas, on

the other

INTERACTIVE

GALLERIES

Tap the coin to

flip it over

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