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
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