This is a 40mm base metal medal (pewter?) i've had for a few years now. The designer is Andrieu, signed at the bottom of the bust.

Although obviously a cast piece (judging by the surfaces and the lack of detail to the lettering) this is still a very three dimensional piece with some excellent design detail. However, it's not good enough to be able to read the writing in the exergue although it looks like there is a date of MDCCCV (1805).

I've no idea as to who produced it, why, if this example was official or is jusr a cheap modern fake. I suspect that its just a cheap modern fake, but I like to know for sure :-) Any insights / info gratefully received.

Ian

The small indentations certainly give the appearance of a cast item. Of course they could have been planchett flaws to start with.

Very nice medal.

It's a strange one. There is no edge seam on this which contradicts my saying that it is `cast'. I had thought of it possibly being struck using dirty dies, but the thought of that alone defies credibility. One possible explanation is that perhaps it was in the earth or under water. I've seen silver Daalders / ship wreck coins with very similar appearances.

I can only conclude that it has a) either seen better days or it was lacking a certain aesthetic in the manufacturing quality. Regardless, it is still a pretty neat item (IMHO).

Ian

This medal dates from 1807.
A link to an example

It commemorates the conquest of Silesia by Napoleon and is cataloged as Bramsen 635. From Fortiter's history:


As far as the casting, there was a fad starting in the 1840s and continuing into about 1875 of casting your own medals, coins and etc. There were actually kits sold and Napoleonic medals were popular. They did a good job and you seldom see a casting mark. I've only read about these kits, I'd love to see how they actually worked.

Very nice. I initially thought cast when I saw the surfaces but couldn't make a real judgement on it.

Many thanks for the ID and info.

Having been stung in the past with counterfeit ancients, i'm pretty much a dab hand at sniffing out counterfeit cast coins. Even the best of them leave a detectable seam or signs of a spur (under x15 magnification). This particular medal has no trace of a seam (or spur) whatsoever but yet has all the halmarks (and feel) of being a cast item. The `kit' you mention is fascinating and a good explanation for this pieces `raison d'etre', although quite how they've accomplished it leaves me puzzled.
I'd never heard of this kit before now. Was it a French thing or Brit or just common throughout Europe at that time? Perhaps it is indeed part of this particular jigsaw. :-)

Ian

I've got it in hand and I'm still having difficulty with it. It definitely looks and feels cast. No seam, so if cast, it must have been made using the lost wax casting method. Rather complex for such a piece methinks, but if there were `kits' available for hobbyists at the time (like Elverno has mentioned) the `how' of it begins to make some sense. :-)

Here's a link to some data concerning `lost wax' casting technology.

http://users.lmi.net/~drewid/Lost_Wax_Casting.html

Ian