The medal's obverse bears portrait of Jones in uniform, facing right. Around, JOANNI PAVLO JONES / CLASSIS PRAEFECTO. / COMITIA AMERICANA.; signed under truncation, DUPRE. F.
The reverse bears smoking Bonhomme Richard, holed and with broken mast, facing left, in front of the foremast and bowsprit of Serapis; fighting sailors and rubbish are visible in the water and Alliance resides in the background. Around, HOSTIVM NAVIBVS - CAPTIS AVT FVGATIS.; in exergue, AD ORAM SCOTIAE XXIII SEPT. / M.DCCLXXVIIII · / DUPRE. F.
The Battle of Flamborough Head was a naval battle that took place on 23 September 1779 in the North Sea off the coast of Yorkshire between a combined Franco-American squadron, led by Continental Navy officer John Paul Jones, and two British escort vessels protecting a large merchant convoy. It became one of the most celebrated naval actions of the war, despite its relatively small size and considerable dispute over what had actually occurred. Regardless, the myth of the battle is as important or maybe even more important than the actual battle.
Jones commanded a small squadron from the ship Bonhomme Richard, a converted India Trader. When they ran into a large Baltic trade convoy under the protection of the HMS Seraphis and the hired vessel Countess of Scarborough,
Jones decided to attack. With his ship outgunned and outclassed, he strove to equalize the odds by locking the ships together and engaging in close quarters combat. With Jones' ship burning and sinking beneath him and most of his crew killed, so the story has it, Jones rejected requests for surrender by shouting "I have not yet begun to fight!" and "I may sink but I'll be damned if I strike!"
When a lucky grenade caused a chain reaction of explosions on the British vessel, the USS Alliance finally joined the fight and the Seraphis surrendered.
The battle, while strategically unimportant, had a huge effect on the morale of the American and French Navies. The seemingly invincible British navy could be defeated in messy, gutsy battle.
As all Comitia Americana medals, there are numerous restrikes, both by the French Mint and the U.S. Mint, and I am not a specialist in this area of numismatics. Maybe a reader can help out with a guide on how to distinguish originals from later copies.
