Sinking of the Royal George

417, Lot: 606. Estimate $150. Sold for $240. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

TOKENS. Engraved CU Token (23mm, 5.73 g). Made circa 1782. The HMS Royal George, capsized and sinking; below, ROYAL/ GEORGE; all hand engraved / Blank textured surface. VF.

When the HMS Royal George was launched in 1756, she was the largest warship in the world, and she fought with distinction at the Battle of Quiberon Bay during the Seven Years’ War. On 29 August 1782, as the ship was being readied to sail for Gibraltar, the crew moved her guns and casks to the port side, to more easily examine the hull. This caused the ship to keel over severely on one side, eventually taking on water and sinking. 900 sailors and civilians aboard lost their lives, making this one of the worst maritime disasters to occur in British waters