Auctioned and valued up to £3,000, a medal from Captain James Cook’s second expedition of discovery will find demand.
Famous botanist Sir Joseph Banks commissioned the medal, which the Admiralty paid for. Captain Cook was dispatched as far south as feasible to at last ascertain whether there was any significant southern continent.
With just 2,000 known to have been produced back in 1772, head auctioneer Gareth Wasp remarked: “This is a very rare medal.”
Due for sale on December 4 at Wilshire’s Auction House in Royal Wootton Bassett is brass object.
Records reveal that residents at more than thirty sites Captain Cook and his crew visited around the Pacific, including Tahiti, Easter Island, and New Zealand, received medals.
They were meant to show future adventurers that Captain Cook had been there first and introduce native residents to the then British king, King George III, whose image shows on the other side.
The medal bears the inscription “Sailed from England March · MDCCLXXII” (1772) and the two ships commissioned for the journey, HMS Resolution and HMS Adventure.
Originally meant to be on Captain Cook’s second expedition, Sir Joseph withdrew at the last minute, postponing departure and therefore rendering the date on the medals erroneous.
Mr Wasp said: “The link to the voyages of Captain Cook is sure to attract bids from collectors of Cook memorabilia as well as those interested in commemorative medals.”
Though a local collector who wishes to remain anonymous has consigned it for sale, it is unknown who the medal was initially presented.
