A box of old medals bought for just £25 at a car-boot sale in West Yorkshire, England, has turned into an unexpected discovery for its buyer. One of the 22 medals inside was found to be a rare piece made in memory of British explorer Captain James Cook, who died in 1779. The medal was eventually sold for £5,000 at an auction in May. Its new owner is a museum in Whitby, which plans to put it on display during a special exhibition in 2028.The man who initially bought the medals had no idea how valuable this particular medal was. According to Tennants Auctioneers, which later handled the sale. The box contained 22 medals from different periods, with some dating back to the 18th century and others belonging to the 20th century.After going through his purchase, he noticed that one of the medals featured Captain James Cook and suspected it might be worth keeping. He sold the remaining medals for a combined £500, already making considerably more than he had spent on the box.But the biggest surprise was still to come. The man took the Cook medal to Tennants Auctioneers to have it examined. Specialists there identified it as an unusually rare commemorative medal from the 18th century. They estimated that it could sell for between £3,000 and £4,000, but the actual selling price turned out to be even higher.
Why was the Captain Cook medal so rare?
The medal was made to commemorate Cook’s death in 1779. He was killed on February 14 that year following a dispute with Native Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay.The bronze medal has a portrait of Cook on it and is believed to be among the earliest pieces produced to mark his death.According to Tennants, examples of this particular medal rarely come up for auction. The auction house said only two examples were listed in museum collections when it examined the piece.One is part of the National Maritime Museum’s collection in Greenwich, London. The other is held by the Powerhouse Collection in Sydney, Australia.Tennants announced the discovery on April 13, ahead of its Coins and Banknotes Sale.
Museum pays £5,000 for the medal
When the medal was offered at Tennants on May 6, it sold for £5,000 to Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby, which wanted to add the rare piece to its collection.The museum’s interest was connected to an exhibition planned for 2028, the year marking the 300th anniversary of Cook’s birth.The exhibition will take place in a building with a direct connection to the explorer’s younger years. Located beside the harbour in Whitby, the museum occupies the building where Cook once lived while working as an apprentice.Richard Kornicki, Chairman of Trustees at the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, said, “This is a major acquisition for a volunteer-run Museum with no public funding; it will be displayed in the harbourside building where the young James Cook lived as an apprentice as part of a special exhibition to reflect on the legacy of his remarkable life and achievements.