Captain John Paul Jones Capture of the Serapis September 23, 1779 On September 23, 1779 Captain John Paul Jones captured the British frigate Serapis after a three-and-a-half-hour battle at sea. Jones’ ship, the Bonhomme Richard, had been a French merchant vessel that was converted to a warship. It was slower and had less fire power than his British opponent. Those disadvantages, plus calm winds, forced Jones to lash the two ships together to have any chance of victory. The ensuing battle involved hand to hand combat, small arms fire and cannon fire at very close range. At one point the British captain asked Jones if he was ready to surrender. His response was, “I have only begun to fight!” Jones captured the British ship and was forced to abandon the Bonhomme Richard which was damaged beyond repair. In 1787 Congress voted to award a gold medal to John Paul Jones for his capture of the Serapis. Augustin Dupré, the preeminent French medalist, executed the dies. The Jones medal is the only piece in the Comitia Americana series that was awarded to a naval hero. The John Paul Jones medal was not included in the set of medals that Thomas Jefferson brought to the United States in 1789 because the dies had not been completed. For that reason, the Jones medal is not in the original Massachusetts Historical Society medal set. The Paris Mint used the John Paul Jones dies for many years. They made numerous medals from them, which include pieces with rust patches on the dies, and large die breaks or cuds on the rims. The rust marks on the dies were sandblasted from the surface at one point. Collectors do not have a high regard for the medals that were struck from these refurbished dies. The Philadelphia Mint made copy dies of the Jones and struck pieces for American collectors. Those pieces do not have the artist’s signature, “Dupré,” signature under Jones’ shoulder. The French sent the John Paul Jones dies to the United States in 1939. They are on display at the crypt at the U.S. Naval Academy which holds Jones’ remains in Annapolis, Maryland. The John Paul Jones medal that I displayed above was struck at the Paris Mint sometime between 1845 and 1860. This information is based on the fact that the piece has the "pointing hand" stamp on the edge. The French Mint began to date its medals this way in 1832 when it placed the "antique lamp" stamp on the edge of its restrike medals. Prior to that, the edge was plain. Here is the "pointing hand" edge mark on the John Paul Jones medal. Here is a list of the French Mint symbols: "Antique Lamp" 1832 to 1841 "Anchor intertwined with a C" 1841-2 "Galley Plow" 1842 to 1845 "Pointing Hand" 1845 to 1860 "Bee" 1860 to 1879 "Cornucopia" 1880 to the present. Here is modern French Mint restrike. This piece is worth FAR LESS than the piece I posted earlier. The "Cornucopia" is only a blob, but the English word "bronze" replaces "cuivre." .
Great information thanks for the hard work so the we all can learn about and appreciate these metals. Reed
It is fascinating that the dies have survived! And, the original is vastly superior to the restrike. Wow.
