| Obverse Design | Legend curving above says "THE . BRITISH . GLORY . REVIV . D . BY . ADMIRAL . VERNON". There is an inside line enclosing the legend. To our left is a ship heading to our left, with the bowsprit pointing between the letters "S" and "H". In the center is a full length figure of Admiral Vernon with his body half turned to the right, and his head fully facing right. Vernon is holding a sword in his right hand and a baton in his left. To our right is a cannon with the mouth of the cannon pointing at the letter "V". Vernon's right foot is on the trail of the cannon, and his left foot is in front of the cannon. Below is an ornamental concave (inward curving) shell with a fleur-de-lis and a leaf on each side. The medal has a dentured edge. | ||||
| 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 is an ornament below the date. The center is the attack on Portobello. The six ships are lined up two in the top row and four in the bottom row. those below in a slightly staggered line. All ships are sailing to our left. No vessels or boats are in the harbor. A tower and two steeples point to the letters "E", the second "L" and at "I". There are water lines under the ships. The medal has a dentured edge. | ||||
| Distinctions |
There are about 41 varieties total with a ship, Vernon and a cannon in that order. Of those, twelve have Vernon standing on or in front of the cannon trail over a shell ornament. Four have a concave shell, and three of these four also have Vernon with his left foot in front of the cannon trail. Then it comes down to the spires or steeples on the reverse side. One of the three similar varieties this one has the spires at "E", second "L" and "I". One of the others has the spires at "E", right of "O" and "W", and the last one has the spires at "E", second "L" and "W". |
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| Detail On Obverse of VN-2.231 | Detail On Reverse of VN-2.231 | ||||
 Note Vernon's left foot in front of the cannon trail. |
 Note the spires or steeples at the letters "E", the second "L" and at "I". |
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| Metal | Usually copper or brass, rare in silver. | Weight | Unknown. | Size and Shape | Round, 37 mm in diameter. |
| Rarity | Scarce. | Designer or Issuer | Not known. | Other Catalog Numbers | McCormick-Goodhart #133, Unlisted in Betts, but most similar to #230. |
| Notes | |||||
Courtesy of Jean-Philippe Souche (ebay seller cherry-07) from an 18th century German plate