1772 Resolution And Adventure Medal

Item Description

1772 Resolution and Adventure medal (Eimer 744a, BHM 165, Betts 552). Obverse: laureate bust of George III, right, 'GEORGE · III · KING · OF · GR · BRITAIN · FRANCE · AND · IRELAND · ETC ·'. Reverse: two ships at sea, 'RESOLUTION' and 'ADVENTURE' above, 'SAILED · FROM · ENGLAND MARCH · MDCCLXXII' below. Weight: 32.96g. Diameter: 42.5mm. Thickness: 3mm. Orientation: medallic. Grade: nF - near Fine, reverse die flaw, hole to top edge.

2,000 medals of this type were made for distribution to locals during Captain James Cook's second voyage (1772-1775). 

As well as being a sought-after relic of Cooks' voyages, Resolution and Adventure medals connect the explorer and cartographer to two other influential men of the late 18th century who also played their role in positioning Britain as a powerhouse of science, industry and colonial expansion.

Captain James Cook

James Cook (1728-1779) was already famous at the time of his second voyage, which was commissioned by the British government under advice from the Royal Society. The expedition aimed to locate a supposedly vast southern continent, Terra Australis, by circumnavigating the globe as far south as possible.

Two ships, the HMS Resolution and the HMS Adventure, were fitted for the voyage and set sail from Plymouth on 1 July 1772. It is these two ships that feature on this medal, proceeding into choppy seas. The ships logs record more than 30 locations where these medals were presented, along with other items like beads, nails and flints. They were intended as trade goods and a token of goodwill, but also an introduction to the British monarch and tangible proof to future explorers of Cook's journey. Leftover medals were taken on Cook's third and final voyage.

Originally, these medals would have had a swivelling hanging mechanism affixed to the top edge. This is not present on this example, as is typical, though a hole on the top rim suggests its removal. The metal tests as a copper-zinc alloy (referenced as 'platina') with any gilding previously applied now worn away.

Matthew Boulton

The truncation of George III's neck on the obverse of the Resolution and Adventure medal features the initials 'B:F'. Eimer suggests that this stands for Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) and John Fothergill (1730–1782), who together opened the Soho Manufactory near Birmingham in 1761. It may also stand for 'Boulton Fecit' - 'Boulton made it'.

At Soho, Boulton pioneered the assembly-line mass production of small metalwares. In 1775, he formed a partnership with inventor and engineer James Watt, developing Watt's steam engine into a marketable invention for use in mines, mills, and factories. Later, Boulton established the Soho Mint, which produced coins, tokens, and blanks on eight steam-powered presses, including the infamous 'Cartwheel' Pennies and Twopences.

This 1772 medal was the first medal to be struck by Boulton and predates his partnership with Watt and his involvement in coinage. That is perhaps why most medals of this type are struck with a 'coin orientation' where the obverse and reverse are orientated the opposite way. This example, however, has a 'medallic orientation' where both sides are orientated the same, similar to military medals. It also shows a distinctive die crack, which affects all of the base metal medals of this issue, cutting through the word 'MARCH' on the reverse.

Sir Joseph Banks

The Resolution and Adventure medal was commissioned by Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) and paid for by the Admiralty. Banks and Boulton were friends and both associated with the Lunar Society, an informal but influential group of industrialists and intellectuals who met in Birmingham. 

Banks had accompanied Cook on his first voyage (1768-1771) aboard the HMS Endeavour, observing the transit of Venus in Tahiti and becoming one of the first Europeans to reach Australia, where he collected many samples of previously unknown plant and animal species. On that voyage, Banks had taken along green glass earrings made at the Soho Manufactory to give to locals. He gained immediate fame from his involvement in the voyage, being appointed president of the Royal Society in 1778 and an advisor to George III on the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He also promoted the colonisation of New South Wales.

Banks had intended to take part in Cook's second voyage, but provision could not be made for his comfort or entourage. This delayed departure accounts for the incorrect date on the medal. While the base metal medals travelled to Australasia without him, Banks ordered a further 142 Resolution and Adventure medals in silver and two in gold to give to friends and associates. These and base-metal strikings from the same dies lack the reverse die flaw.

Further Reading

Doty, Richard. The Soho Mint and the Industrialization of Money. Spink & Son, 1998.

Jones, Philip. Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers. Hurst, 2019.

Smith, Richard L. The Resolution And Adventure Medal. Wedgwood Press, 1985.