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HERITAGE: ADMIRAL VERNON COLLECTIONHeritage Auctions will be selling the Admiral Vernon Collection of U.S. Coins on January 19. Select items from the Curators' Picks are discussed below. -Garrett 
1739 Admiral Vernon Medal, Porto Bello, Adams-PBvi-25-OO, R.6 -- Damaged -- NGC Details. AU. Ex: Admiral Vernon Collection. Copper alloy. 33.6 mm x 25.5 mm oval format. Other examples of this interesting variety are holed at 12 o'clock including the sole gold Admiral Vernon medal in the British Museum. This example has a carefully filled hole and a small indent above the sword point accounting for the NGC Details grade. The otherwise sharp and essentially Choice About Uncirculated surfaces feature original light-brown surfaces and excellent visual appeal.
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1739 Admiral Vernon Medal, Porto Bello, Adams-PBvi-24-NN, R.6, AU55 NGC. Ex: Admiral Vernon Collection. Copper alloy. 38.0 mm. This Choice About Uncirculated example of a relatively available variety shows a speckling of gray obverse color on the overall brassy copper surfaces. There are no meaningful marks to mention other than a tiny, rectangular planchet void floating high above the baton tip. A significant design change in the Porto Bello series is the appearance of unenclosed obverse and reverse legends -- diagnostic for the 24-NN variety, as is an oversized exergue on the reverse. Aged partial luster remains on both sides. PBvi-24-NN is listed as R.6 in the Adams-Chao reference but is likely rarer, possibly approaching R.7 or higher. The variety was missing from the John Adams collection, and the ANS coin is only VF.
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1739 Admiral Vernon Medal, Vice Admiral, Adams-NLv-2-B, R.8,
AU55 NGC. Ex: Admiral Vernon Collection. Adams-Chao Plate Coin.
Copper alloy. 33.3 mm. Bewigged Vernon portrait facing right on the
obverse; large ship under full sail (presumed to be Vernon's
flagship Burford) on the reverse. This is the second listed
No Location variety in Adams-Chao, considered R.8 at the time
(2010) and still believed very rare. The piece displays excellent
detail befitting the Choice AU grade, while deep walnut-brown and
ebony patina characterizes each side. The surfaces, especially the
fields, exhibit some granularity, though much is due to the cast
nature of the planchet. XRF Composition (per Sedwick, 2022): 68.21%
copper, 18.03% zinc, 11.81% lead.
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1739 Admiral Vernon Medal, Porto Bello, Adams-PBvi-7-H, R.7 -- Private Countermark -- NGC Details. XF. Ex: Admiral
Vernon Collection. The Adams-Chao Plate Coin. Struck in silver.
12.10 grams. 32 mm. A small "w" counterstamp below the exergual
date is most likely unrelated to the designer of this variety,
which is unique among the Porto Bello pieces. The obverse also
appears in the Fort Chagre type (FCv-16 and FCv-17), although the
FCv-16 obverse is signed "I M" rather than "T B" as seen here. All
silver Admiral Vernon medals are rare overall, but especially among
the Porto Bello issues, with only five examples reported. Glossy
old-silver color provides excellent eye appeal and the few obverse
rim indents are of little concern. The NGC holder mistakenly
indicates silvered copper alloy, but this medal is confirmed as
silver in all previous appearances and by recent spectral
electronic analysis.
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1739 Admiral Vernon Medal, Porto Bello, Adams-PBv-44-UU, R.6 AU53 NGC. Ex: Admiral Vernon Collection. Copper alloy. 36.4 mm. This reverse deteriorated quickly, with most examples of the variety showing a die break through SHIPS on the reverse border and die bulging through the date. The present AU example smooth, problem-free brass-chestnut surfaces with sharp definition and little wear.
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Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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