The RESOLUTION and ADVENTURE medal

Only 142 specimens of this medal were struck in silver. The silver medals (and two in gold) were commissioned by Banks for his private use and remained his responsibility after his withdrawal from the expedition. There were also 2000 medals struck in bronze: the entire bronze issue was purchased by the Admiralty for distribution among the natives of the lands to be visited on the second voyage. Some examples have been found on the coasts of some of these islands, including New Zealand.

One oddity about the “RESOLUTION and ADVENTURE” medal is that the bronze medals were struck from a cracked die, and therefore all have a flaw. For the silver examples the die was renewed. There are a few differences in detail between the two dies, the most notable being that in the first (cracked) die the anchor of the RESOLUTION is vertical or “weighed” while in the second (uncracked) die it is horizontal or “home”.