St Helena – East India Company. Paul Revere’s Historic Ride Features on New Proof Gold and Silver Coins

2025 marks 250 years since Paul Revere’s midnight ride. It was on the night of the 18th April 1775, Revere and William Dawes rode from Boston to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock of the approaching British, helping them avoid arrest and sparking the American Revolution.

With the outbreak of the American Revolution, Paul Revere (1735 – 1818) was a silversmith and military officer, he is most remembered in American history for his midnight ride on the 18th April 1775. As a member of the Sons of Liberty, he supported the Patriot cause and played a crucial role when British troops approached. The Patriots had learned of planned British actions against the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and revolutionary leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Revere's mission was to alert them and help them avoid arrest.

Revere first placed two lanterns on the Old North Church steeple in Boston as a signal, then rode out on horseback with William Dawes at about 10 p.m. They successfully reached Adams and Hancock in Lexington, warning them and the Continental Army’s minutemen of British movements. A short time later, a British patrol intercepted Revere and he was held for some time, questioned, and eventually let go. Before he was released however, his horse was confiscated to replace the tired mount of a British sergeant. Revere’s advance notice contributed significantly to the Patriot victory in the battles at Lexington and Concord. After the war, Revere founded the Revere Copper Company in 1801 along with his son Joseph, a copper rolling mill which operated as North America's first copper rolling mill in Canton, Massachusetts.  His ride was later immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem published in 1861 Paul Revere's Ride which cemented his place in American cultural memory as a folk hero.

LISTEN, my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere. On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five, hardly a man is now alive who remembers that famous day and year.

The reverse side is shared on all gold and silver options and depicts Revere on horseback as he rides through the streets of Boston alerting the townsfolk of the imminent arrival of the British army. He holds a lantern in his right hand, in the background, a full moon in the sky and the Old North Church is shown. Above the primary design along the rim is the commemorative text THE RIDE OF PAUL REVERE. To the lower right rim is the date APRIL 18TH 1775. The distinctive EIC mintmark is shown just to the right near the rim. The obverse side includes an effigy of HM King Charles III created by engraver Glyn Davies. The legend surrounding the portrait reads CHARLES III · D · G · REX · F · D · ST HELENA with the denomination and year of issue 2025 placed below the King’s likeness. 

Each encapsulated gold and silver coin is presented in a bespoke display case along with a numbered certificate which guarantees its specification and authenticity. For additional information on this and other coins offered by the East India Company – St Helena, please visit their e-webshop.