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USA
Floridian Token
29 Jun 1817
In the unsettled times following the War of 1812, Gregor MacGregor in 1817 with a force of freebooters captured Amelia Island off Florida and ran up his own Green Cross of Florida’s flag on June 29th After making himself leader of “Republic of the Florida’s” on Amelia,
MacGregor founded on Admiralty court, a post office and a newspaper.
MacGregor was a revolutionary idealist but had little time or talent for practical matters. On Sept.4th 1817, just 69 days after his invasion of Spanish East Florida territory, he boarded his ship and lay off the bar of St.mary’s River for 12 days. On Sept 15 he sailed from Florida waters.
In October he was in New Providence, Bahamas, trying to raise money and troops to return to Florida. In mid December he sailed to Liverpool, was reported in London in Jan.1818 and in February in Edinburgh.
In October 1818 he returned to the New World and established the “Cacique of Poyais” on the mosquito infested coast of Honduras, and later sold both land and bonds (both worthless) in England for Poyais.
Researcher Carling Gresham of Florida reports that no record has been found of how or by whom the Amelia Island medals were struck, but he opins that they were probably made in England in the early 1818’s.
The workmanship is excellent, which would indicate a British provenance.
One Commodore Luis Aury succeeded MacGregor on Amelia Island, but an American force under Commodore Henley and Major Bankhead evicted him December 23. 1817
Andrew Jackson’s later incursion into Florida (beginning Jan. 11. 1818) had nothing to do with MacGregor or Aury on Amelia; Jackson’s attack was against the Indians of West Florida.
Amelia Island was captured from the Confederacy by a Union navel force on March 3-
This information is from .
United States Tokens By Russell Rulau
If you are thinking about collecting USA tokens this reference is possibly the best you can call on for all information to the subject.
ISBN:0-
My copy is 1994 and well read.
Listed as only ten specimens known.
£5500.00