101847 | GREAT BRITAIN. Great Exhibition bronze Award Medal.

101847  |  GREAT BRITAIN. Great Exhibition bronze Award Medal. Issued 1851 and awarded to members of the council [here unawarded] (88mm, 12h). By W. Wyon & J. F. Domard (after H. Bonnardel) at the Royal mint in London.

 

VICTORIA D: G: BRIT: REG: F: D: • ALBERTUS PRINCEPS CONJUX / MDCCCLI, jugate heads left of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, laureate and with hair in bun; below, two dolphins swimming toward one another; ornamented trident head to right / EST ETIAM IN MAGNO QUAEDAM RESPUBLICA MUNDO (for there is a certain country in the great world), Britannia standing facing on base, holding laurel wreath in each hand; in foreground, allegories of Commerce (nude male) and Industry (draped female) standing facing one another and clasping right hands; symbols of commerce and industry around; in background, crossed banners of numerous nations of the world. Edge: Plain, with a thickness of 9mm.

 

BHM 2461; Eimer 1455. Gem Mint State. Deep red-brown surfaces, with a great glossy nature and delightfully problem-free fields and rims. A very rare offering of this medal presented to members of the council, with just 174 such pieces awarded, and this example assuredly standing as one of the finest and most problem-free.

 

The "Great Exhibition" was born following the successes of the Paris Exposition in 1849. With Great Britain wishing to exert her preeminence in the world of commerce and industry, a grand event was created in 1851, with an equally grand venue to host it. The Crystal Palace, a monumentally large cast iron and sheet glass structure built at Hyde Park contained the event, with nearly 1 million square feet of exhibition space. The specific theme of the gathering was to convey the latest developments in the Industrial Revolution, with numerous award medals handed out to the winners in various categories. The rarest of such award medals were those referred to as the "council medal," such as the specimen here, of which just 174 were given out for "originality of production."

 

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