1779 RI Ship Token PCGS AU55. Wreath Below, Pewter. The featured item is a 1779 Rhode Island Ship token graded AU-55 by PCGS. The slab is denoted with the Troy Wiseman Collection Pedigree. This token is made out of pewter and features the wreath below the ship. Over the course of production, the Rhode Island Ship token was produced in copper, brass and pewter, with pewter examples being the rarest. This is a truly historic piece of numismatic exonumia, struck at the height of American independence!

The origin and significance of the Rhode Island Ship token has long been obscure. It is now thought that the idea for this medal was conceived during the second half of 1779, sometime after Spain joined France in declaring war on Britain. The medal was minted in England for distribution throughout the Netherlands, most probably, during the second half of 1780.

The obverse of the token depicts British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship while the reverse shows the American troops fleeing Rhode Island.

Although made in England, the legends on the token are in Dutch. Originally the engraver mistakenly included the word "vlugtende" (fleeing) on the obverse of the coin under the flagship. Clearly this was meant to be on the reverse of the token which depicts the fleeing Continental troops. This error was soon discovered and had to be remedied, as one could easily interpret the obverse to mean the Admiral's flagship was fleeing! The obverse die was recut so that a wreath design replaced the offending word under the flagship. Also, the word "vlugtende" was removed from the remaining undistributed tokens.