Noonans Mayfair offered a selection of coins and bank notes from the southern region of the Indian Ocean, bringing rarely seen items to an interested buying public.

A highlight of the May 27 sale was a gold medal awarded for life saving in connection with the 1875 voyage of the British ship Strathmore. The ship was bound from England to New Zealand when it wrecked in the Crozet Islands, a sub-Antarctic archipelago, in July, the heart of the southern hemisphere’s winter. Survivors made it to shore and remained for seven months until rescued by the American whaler Young Phoenix captained by David L. Gifford in January of 1876. The majority of the survivors were then taken to Mauritius.

Oliver Hepburn of Noonans explains, “A small run of silver and bronze medals were issued to the crew members of the American Barque the Young Phoenix by the inhabitants of Mauritius. This particular example in gold, accompanied by original presentation case was presented to Chief Officer F.C. Swain and is the only known of its type, having come up for private sale just once in the last 50 years.”

The sale also included a silver example of the medal, just one of two examples recorded, with the other being held in a London museum.

The medals came from German-born collector Jörg Hauchler, who resided in Mauritius and had been a part of scientific expeditions throughout the area during his life. Hauchler passed away in 2022.

With a grade of Mint State 63 from Numismatic Guaranty Co., the gold medal eclipsed its pre-sale estimate of £4,000 to £5,000, bringing a hammer price of £20,000. The silver version also outperformed expectations. Its hammer price of £2,600 was double the pre-sale estimate of £1,000-£1,500. The silver medal had received a grade of Mint State 61 from NGC.

The gold medal was issued by the inhabitants of Mauritius and carries the inscription:

For / Heroic Conduct / of the / Captain, Officers, & Crew / of the / American Barque  /“Young Phoenix” / in the rescue of the survivors / from the ship / “Strathmore” / wrecked on the / Crozet Islands / 1875

The gold medal measures 43 millimeters across and weighs 61.68 grams.

The silver medal, with identical obverse design and reverses inscription, was presented to 4th Officer J. Pedro. It was larger at 64 millimeters across and weighing 150.41 grams.

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