| Obverse Design | Legend curving above says "THE SPANISH PRIDE PULLD DOWN BY ADMIRAL VERNON" and has a period divider at the bottom where the legend starts and ends. There is a line enclosing the legend, except the period. A full length Vernon (without a hat) is on the left, facing right. In his right hand is a sword. With his left hand he is receiving the sword of Don Blass. Don Blass is on the right and facing left (towards Admiral Vernon), and is kneeling on both knees. He is handing his sword to Admiral Vernon using both hands. In the field above Don Blass's head is the legend "DON BLASS" (in two lines). | ||||
| Reverse Design | Legend curving along the top says "WHO . TOOK . PORTO . BELLO . WITH . SIX . SHIPS . ONLY". There is an inside line enclosing the legend. In exergue (under a line along the bottom of the medal) it says: "NOV 22 1739". There are no ornaments below the date. The center is the attack on Portobello. The six ships are lined up one in the top row, two in the middle row and three in the bottom row. All the ships are sailing to our right. There is one small vessel and two boats in the harbor. A steeple points between the "E" and "L" and a tower at between the "W" and "I". | ||||
| Distinctions | There are about fourteen varieties where Don Blass is kneeling in front of Admiral Vernon. In nine of these Don Blass is on both knees, and this medal is the only one which is small (27 mm). All the other eight are 37 mm in diameter or more. Another distinguishing characteristic is that there is no ornamentation at the bottom of the obverse of the medal, and instead the legend runs all the way around. | ||||
| Detail On Obverse of VN-4.79 | Detail On Reverse of VN-4.79 | ||||
 Note the bottom of the medal and the period legend divider. |
 Note the steeple points that points to "EL" and the tower at "WI". |
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| Metal | Brass and copper. | Weight | Unknown. | Size and Shape | Round, 27 mm in diameter. |
| Rarity | Common. | Designer or Issuer | Not known. | Other Catalog Numbers | Betts #302, McCormick-Goodhart #175. |
| Notes | |||||
Another Example of VN-4.79
Scale: 6 pixels equals one millimeter
From Picturesque Panama by Jean Sadler Heald