Skip to main content

Army Best Shots Medal or Queen's Medal: CM.1150-2009

An image of Army Best Shots Medal or Queen's Medal

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Mint: London
Ruler: Victoria (1837-1901)
Artist: Poynter, Edward John
Ruler: Victoria regina (With the title of)

Entities

Categories

Description

The award of an annual medal for the best shot in the Army was instituted in 1869 and continued until 1883, so that only 16 of the Queen's Medal, as it was officially titled, were ever issued.
Over the period 1875 to 1877 the Army changed its standard rifle, and so the 1875-76 and 1876-77 competitions were shot with both old and new weapons, a medal being awarded for each.
The winner of the competition with the older Snider Rifle was Sergeant A. Woods of the 2nd Battalion Loyals, or 81st Foot. This is his medal. Lester Watson purchased it from the London dealer Spink in 1925.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Spink 1925

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 36.5 mm
Weight: 33.51 g

Place(s) associated

  • London

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

Production date: AD 1877

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Struck

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Bust of Victoria facing left

  • Text: VICTORIA REGINA
  • Location: Obverse
  • Type: Design

Inscription present: Fame standing on dais placing wreath on head of champion who carries target shot with three arrows

  • Location: Reverse
  • Type: Design

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1150-2009
Primary reference Number: 141244
Watson Catalogue: 36
Ordering: M-0033
Previous object number: LW.0033
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 15 January 2024 Last processed: Monday 15 January 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Army Best Shots Medal or Queen's Medal" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141244 Accessed: 2024-11-15 02:07:32

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141244 |title=Army Best Shots Medal or Queen's Medal |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-15 02:07:32|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141244

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0033_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Army Best Shots Medal or Queen's Medal"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Army Best Shots Medal or Queen's Medal</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...