![G.B., George III, Resolution & Adventure 1772 in Silver [MTC-1a] - Image 2](https://colonialcoins.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MTC-1a-1-1.jpg)
Description
Great Britain, George III of the House of Hanover, King of Great Britain 1760-1820 AD, ‘Resolution and Adventure’ Medal, 1772, in silver (45.51g, 44mm), commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks for Captain James Cook’s second Pacific voyage, engraved by John Westwood Senior and struck by M. Boulton and J. Fothergill at the Soho Manufactory, Birmingham. Obverse: Laureate bust of King George III facing to the right, mint master’s initials “B:F” (Boulton & Fothergill) raised on truncation, legend surrounds, “GEORGE· III· KING· OF· GR· BRITAIN· FRANCE· AND· IRELAND· ETC·”. Reverse: Scene of H.M.S. Resolution (1771) and H.M.S. Adventure (1771) in sail on heavy seas, “SAILED· FROM· ENGLAND MARCH· MDCCLXXII” in exergue, names of each ship surrounds, “RESOLVTION ADVENTVRE·”. Eimer-744; BHM-165; Betts-552. Deeply toned with dark cabinet grey surfaces with underlying brilliance on rotation, attractive in hand and a highly desirable piece as one of the nicer examples in silver, second reverse with short die break over ‘EN’ on reverse, some contact marks to field, Extremely Fine, scarce.
Captain James Cook, born on the 7th November 1728, was a British Royal Navy Officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and led the first recorded visit by Europeans to the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands. During these voyages, he sailed tens of thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas, mapping coastlines, islands, and features across the globe in greater detail than previously charted – including Easter Island, Alaska, and South Georgia Island. He made contact with numerous indigenous peoples, and claimed several territories for the Kingdom of Great Britain. On the 14th February 1779 AD, during his second visit to Hawaii, Cook was killed when a dispute with Native Hawaiians turned violent, leaving a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge that influenced his successors well into the 20th century. This medallion, the ‘Resolution and Adventure’ medal, was comissioned by Sir Joseph Banks for Cook’s second voyage to the Pacific – 2000 medals were struck in a brass alloy called ‘platina’ and were intended as gifts for indigenous people of the Pacific Islands. Records from ship logs of the H.M.S. Resolution and Adventure indicate over thirty places where many of the platina medals were distributed, with the remaining population being taken on Cook’s third voyage for the same purpose. A second lot of medals were ordered by Sir Joseph Banks for personal presentation to friends and associates and to those closely associated with the expedition as well as British nobility, with records indicating 142 examples in silver and 2 in gold being made as well as many in copper – these were struck with a new reverse die.
