Netherlands, Admiral Piet Heyn (1578 - 1629) Medal for Capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet at Matan

Netherlands, Admiral Piet Heyn (1578 - 1629)Silver Medal for the Capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet at Matanzas Bay, in Cuba, unsigned. weight 58.41g, diameter 58.87mm. Obv. naval scenery depicting in the background ships and smaller boats at right into the Matanzas bay, and at the forefront Heyn's flagship , at back an unbroken shoreline beyond without mountains, circular legend NON FERRO TANTVM HISPANVS QVANTVM VALET AVRO: AVRVM AVFER FERRO NON SVPEREBIT IBER:, rev. legend in 14 lines, INDICA CLASSE INTERCEPTA, PARTISQ. SINE SANGVINE OPVLENTISSIMIS SPOLIIS AD CVBÆ PORTVM, HISPANORVM NVNC DAMNIS QVAM OLIM CAEDE, NOBILIOREM, FOEDERATAE BELGICO-GERMANIÆ PROCERES E GAZA CAPTIVA MONVMENTVM CVDI FECERVNT. CIC DCXXIX. Cum Privil.Ref. Betts 25; vL II, 171, rare variety "unbroken shoreline", MH 516 .This medal commemorates the capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet in the Bay of Matanzas ("Bahia de Matanzas") in Cuba by a Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Piet Heyn. In 1621, the Dutch West India Company , administered jointly by the cities of Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Delfy, was granted a monopoly on trade in West Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and North America. Admiral Piet Heyn was leading the Rotterdam office and entered into the legend by capturing the Spanish Silver fleet sailing back from Mexico via Cuba. The cargo mostly included silver and estimated to more than 11.5 million guilders, which provided hefty cash-flows to the Company and shareholders for months. This is most probably the second known specimen of this rare variety ("unbroken shoreline") in private hands. Such medal will provide his new owner with a combined historical record of the Dutch trade's influence in the Caribbean during the XVIth century, the central role of Cuba in such, as well as one of the last major Spanish cargo's captures. compare the Ford specimen ex. Wayte Raymond Collection (Stack's January 2006 lot 683) sold for $20,000 and the Adams' Collection (Heritage, FUN 9-14 January 2013) sold for $28,000.almost superb, sharp details. Very rare variety "unbroken shoreline"