Current Location: In storage
Maker(s)
Mint:
Paris
Ruler:
Napoleon III (1852-70)
Artist:
Barre, Albert-Désiré
Ruler:
Louis Napoleon
(With the title of)
Mint:
Colmar, Paris
Entities
Categories
Description
Many of the medals currently on issue in France date back to the reign of Emperor Napoléon III, in whose time France renewed its international rôle in politics without the ignominy of defeat that it had endured under Napoleon I. One such decoration is the Médaille Militaire, which was instituted in 1852 (within days of the then-President Louis Napoléon arrogating supreme power to himself), to be awarded to any junior officer or enlisted man who distinguished himself by an act of bravery. Commissioned officers could not be awarded the medal in these circumstances, but there is a variant of it which is awarded to generals for leadership; in this class Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt are numbered among the medal's very few foreign recipients.
This example of the medal bears the bust and name of Louis Napoléon; after his death a new version was struck in the name of the new Republic. Minor changes to the design that were made after the Crimean War are absent, so that the award of this medal must have been between 1852 and 1855. It is unnamed, so it cannot be known to whom it was awarded. Although this medal is part of the Watson Collection, Lester Watson's own lists give no provenance for it.
Notes
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, no provenance.
Legal notes
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Measurements and weight
Diameter: 25.4 mm
Weight: 17.32 g
Acquisition and important dates
Method of acquisition: Given
(2009)
by
Watson, Lester
Dating
1852
-
1855
Note
Gilt
Materials used in production
Silver
Techniques used in production
Struck
Inscription or legends present
Inscription present: Bust of Napoleon facing left with inscription around on blue enamel, laurel wreath around the whole surmounted by eagle to whose head is attached suspension
- Text: LOUIS NAPOLEON
- Location: Obverse
- Type: Design
Inscription present: Inscription with laurel wreath around, whole surmounted by eagle's back
- Location: Reverse
- Type: Design
References and bibliographic entries
Identification numbers
Accession number: CM.1460-2009
Primary reference Number: 141554
Watson Catalogue: C
Ordering: M-0343
Previous object number: LW.0343
Stable URI
Audit data
Created: Saturday 6 August 2011
Updated: Monday 25 March 2024
Last processed: Wednesday 14 May 2025
Associated departments & institutions
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
