The sixth coin in the collection features Royal Navy ship ‘HMS Formidable’, a 98-gun man-of-war under the command of the British Royal Navy. The design on the coin shows a side image of the sailing ship.
HMS Formidable was launched on August 20, 1777 at Chatham and it’s mostly known for her participation in the Battle of the Saintes, an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French during the American Revolutionary War.
In 1782, HMS Formidable served as Admiral George Brydges Rodney’s flagship at the Battle of the Saintes and was accompanied by three 98-gun ships: HMS Barfleur, HMS Prince George and HMS Duke plus the 90-gun HMS Namur. Her most important action was the breaking of the French line in the middle of the battle, and the final pursuit of the “Ville de Paris”.
In total she fired 80 broadsides during the battle, totalling 35 tons of shot. Her losses were relatively light given both the ferocity of the battle and the huge French losses: 14 killed and 39 wounded. After the Battle she ended up in Port Royal Jamaica and it wasn’t until 1813 that she was broken up.
The coin is available in Virenium®, a metal developed by Pobjoy Mint which is light gold in colour. This stunning coin will be presented in a Pobjoy Mint presentation pouch, with a special Collector’s Album to house all coins in this series. The obverse of the coin features an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II produced exclusively by Pobjoy Mint.
