Images(2)

1763 Charles Town Social Club Medal

Dateca.1763

OriginEngland

MediumBronze

DimensionsHeight: 35.6 mm; Width:33.1 mm; Weight: 239.3 grains

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2025-32

DescriptionObverse: Two attenuated gentlemen, holding walking sticks and joining their right hands, stand on the eastern shore of the Cooper River with the Charleston skyline in the distance to the right. A tree shades the gentleman to the left, and the Latin legend "VINCTI AMICITIA" (Bound by Friendship) arches above the scene.

Reverse: "SOCIAL CLUB INSTITUTED CHARLES TOWN SOUTH CAROLINA VI OCTOBER MDCCLXIII" in six lines.
Label TextIt may be said that in the years before the American Revolution, much of South Carolina's business, of all sorts, was conducted in a Charleston club. There were no less than twenty-five social clubs operating in the port city between 1763 and 1776, and the vast majority of the members of South Carolina's assembly were members of one or more of these clubs. Here the colony's elite met, socialized, discussed politics, made valuable business connections, and exhibited their status as gentlemen or respected mechanics.

Some, like "The South Carolina Club," "The Charles Town Library Society," "The German Friendly Society," and "The Beef-Club Society," bore names which hinted at their activities. A few were ethnically-based, some were charitable, some were founded on mutual-interests, and others existed simply for a great time with plenty of good food and drink.

The Charles Town Social Club medal of 1763 is one of the great numismatic rarities of the colonial America period. As of 2025, there are only nine known examples, of which seven are in institutional collections. It is also one of the most enigmatic, since no one has yet identified which social club commissioned the medal, and what purpose it served. Its earliest documented appearance goes back to May of 1817, when one went under the hammer at Mr. Sotheby's (London) sale of the Hollis & Hollis collection of "Ancient & Modern Coins & Medals," included in lot 270.

As a work of medallic art, the medal is without parallel, being the first to carry an image of the skyline of an American city. The strong wall which protected Charleston from the sea side is plainly visible as are two churches, which may be representations of St. Philip's or Circular Congregational, amongst the city's oldest.

A pair of fashionable gentlemen dominate the foreground and stand on the eastern shore of the Cooper River, across the water from the city. Both have walking sticks, side curls, cocked hats, and ruffles at their wrists. Rather than clasping hands, it appears as if one man is passing something small on to the other, perhaps in a secretive manor, adding further intrigue to the lore of this mysterious medal.
ProvenanceLeonard Finn; sold to Richard August in January 1984; 2025 [Stacks Bowers Galleries, Costa Mesa, CA]; 2025, purchase by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)