| Obverse Design | Legend curving above starts with an ornament and says "+ THE . PRIDE . OF . SPAIN + HUMBLED . BY . AD: VERN.N". There is no line enclosing the legend. Along the bottom (in exergue) is the legend "AND . COM:RE ." and on the next line "BROWN". A full length Vernon is on the left, facing 3/4 to the right, wearing a tricorn hat; his left hand is extended and in his right hand he is receiving the sword of Don Blass. Don Blass is on the right and facing left (towards Admiral Vernon), and is on his left knee. His right hand is handing his sword to Admiral Vernon and his left hand is holding his hat behind him. Behind Don Blass stands Commodore Brown with a baton in his right hand, and the left on his hip. In the field above Don Blass's head is the legend "DON BLASS". The medal has a plain raised edge. | ||||
| Reverse Design | Legend curving along the top says "PORTO . BELLO . TAKEN . BY ADMIRAL . VERNON . WITH . SIX . SHIPS . NOV . 22 . 1739". The N's are reversed. There is no line enclosing the legend. Along the bottom (in exergue) are an ornament, the initials "I. W." and an ending ornament. The center is the attack on Portobello. The six ships are lined up three and three in diagonal lines rising from the left. Two ships are sailing to the right and the other four to the left. There are five small vessels in the harbor, and one outside the harbor. Two Spanish ships are side by side blocking the harbor entrance. A tower points at the letters "AL" and a steeple points at the last "N" in "VERNON". Some trees are on the left of the harbor. The medal has a plain raised edge. | ||||
| Distinctions | This medal is fairly unique for an Admiral Vernon medal. This is the only variety with Vernon, Don Blass and Brown named. However, the three images are almost identical to the VN-4.140 variety which names the third figure Ogle (which is more correct) rather than Brown. The reverse is almost identical to Betts #270, which has an obverse with the coat of arms of Great Britain and Hanover. | ||||
| Detail On Obverse of VN-4.130 | Detail On Reverse of VN-4.130 | ||||
 Note the exergue on the obverse naming Commodore Brown. |
 Note the tower that points to "AL", the spire that points to the last "N" of "VERNON" and the five little boats in the inner harbor. |
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| Metal | Brass. | Weight | Unknown. | Size and Shape | Round, 38 mm in diameter. |
| Rarity | Common. | Designer or Issuer | Signed "I.W." | Other Catalog Numbers | Betts #308, McCormick-Goodhart #177. |
| Notes | While the Admiral Vernon medals are not known for accuracy, this obverse is more fanciful than most. It pictures the imaginary surrender of Don Blass (which never took place) with Commodore Brown in attendance. Commodore Brown was second-in-command at Porto Bello, but is not mentioned in the histories as having been at the attack on Cartagena. | ||||
From Our Canal in Panama by Emory Adams Allen