Auction Catalogue

16 January 2019

Starting at 10:00 AM

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Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals

Live Online Auction

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Lot

№ 828

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16 January 2019

Hammer Price:
£2,800

Great Exhibition, Hyde Park, 1851, Prize Medal, in silver, an award by W. and L.C. Wyon, conjoined busts of Victoria and Prince Albert left, tridents and dolphins in field, colon after reg:, rev. Britannia placing a wreath on kneeling figure of Industry, attended by supporters representing the continents, edge un-named, 77mm, 164.27g (Allen A10; BHM 2462; E 1456). Trifling rim nicks, otherwise extremely fine and toned, of the highest rarity; in all probability the only silver Prize Medal of the Great Exhibition available to commerce £1,500-£2,000

This medal, struck from the dies in their earliest incarnation, appears to be a previously unknown example. Laurence Brown refers (p.170) to having seen such a medal in silver (perhaps this piece, though no records now survive) and previous speculation suggested that the piece he saw might have been in the royal collection at Windsor Castle, but Jeremy Cheek kindly confirms that no such silver medal is present in the collection today