Admiral Vernon Captures Portobello

372, Lot: 643. Estimate $100. Sold for $130. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

temp. HANOVER. Edward Vernon. 1684-1757. Æ Medal (26mm, 5.73 g, 6h). Capture of Portobello. Dated 1739. ADMIRAL · VERNON · TOOK · PORTO · BELL ·, three-quarter length bust of Vernon facing slightly left, pointing and holding baton / · WITH · SIX · SHIPS · ONLY · NOV 22 · 1739 ·, six English ships entering the harbor of Portobello. MI 540/128; Eimer –; Adams-Chao PBv 11-I; Betts 193. Near VF, brown surfaces.

Porto Bello was a major naval base in the new world from which Spanish forces frequently harassed British shipping in the Caribbean. After famously claiming that he could take the city with a mere six ships, Admiral Edward Vernon successfully captured the settlement following a two-day siege.