1987 PERTH AUSTRALIA 1 TROY OZ .999 SILVER PROOF AMERICA'S CUP SAIL RACING MEDAL - TONED!!
1987 PERTH AUSTRALIA 1 TROY OZ .999 SILVER PROOF AMERICA'S CUP SAIL RACING MEDAL - TONED!!
America’s Cup history
The America’s Cup began life in England as the Royal Yacht Squadron’s £100 Cup, awarded to the winner of a race around the Isle of Wight.
In August 1851 the race was won by the schooner America (after which the Cup was subsequently named) representing the youthful New York Yacht Club.
The Earl of Wilton, Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, had invited the Americans to take part, and theirs would be the first foreign yacht to enter the race.
In a ploy repeated by the Australians in 1983, the Americans played up the radical new design of their yacht and hinted that they had a secret advantage below the waterline. Actually, it was the combination of a new hull design and less sail aloft that gave America the edge.
With this single victory, America transformed yachting into an international competition. The New York Yacht Club Commodore John Cox Stevens and the members of his ownership syndicate sold the winning schooner before returning home.
They donated the trophy to the New York Yacht Club in 1857 under a Deed of Gift which stated that the trophy would be ‘a perpetual challenge cup for friendly competition between nations’.
The New York Yacht Club’s first defense of the Cup took place in 1870. Britain repeatedly challenged for the Cup, with one competitor, Sir Thomas Lipton, mounting five challenges between 1899 and 1930.
As the years passed, it was the prospect of breaking this extraordinary winning streak that made the America’s Cup so coveted.
