British, Italian and World Coins, Commemorative Medals, Numismatic Books

United States of America, Rescue of the Passengers and Crew of the SS Danmark, 1889, a copper medal sponsored by the citizens of Philadelphia, unsigned, robed winged female with wreath, naval accoutrements below, rev. FOR HUMANITY AND HEROISM DISPLAYED IN RESCUING PASSENGERS AND CREW OF STEAMSHIP DANMARK, etc, 48mm. Extremely fine, rare £200-250

The SS Danmark, 3,414 tons, was outward-bound from Copenhagen to New York with 665 passengers on board, including many women and children, when, after 10 days of bad weather in mid-Atlantic, her propshaft snapped, damaging the hull, and the vessel began shipping water. Disinclined to launch the lifeboats in such high seas, Capt Christian Knudsen sent out a distress signal on 5 April 1889 which was picked up by the SS Missouri, a freighter outbound from London to Philadephia commanded by Capt Hamilton Murrell. Murrell attached a tow-line to the Danmark and attempted to make for St John’s, Newfoundland, but the weather mitigated against it and he changed course for the Azores. Three hours later Capt Knudsen reported that the Danmark was sinking lower in the water and would not make the Azores, so Capt Murrell jettisoned part of the Missouri’s cargo overboard and the lifeboats were deployed to transfer the passengers and crew off the Danmark, an operation that took almost five hours and was completed without loss of life, the babies and children being lifted onto the Missouri in coal baskets with ropes. By nightfall the Danmark had sunk and Capt Murrell and his crew, who had given up their quarters, squared away for the Azores, 720 miles distant, reaching St Michael’s on 10 April with their supplies of food exhausted. At the Azores 370 single male passengers were put ashore and the remaining passengers and babies were taken to Philadelphia, where they arrived on 2 May. A full account of the disaster transcribed from the New York Times, 23 April 1889, is sold with the lot