CAMS Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 Hello! I work at a small museum, and we were given a small number of coins. One these coins is the one in the photo. It seems quite similar to the coin in this thread, but the `Dragon`s Visit 1936` inscription seems unique. I can`t find any information on the web about what this might refer to, so any help is most welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted August 4, 2012 Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 Wale's national rugby league team is nicknamed the Dragons. "The next European Nations Cup brought better fortunes to the Welsh and they kicked off the competition, which was staged across Winter 1935 and 1936, with a 41-7 thrashing against France. The team were cheered on by 25,000 people at Llanelli, a town considered a rugby union stronghold. And three months later Wales did the unexpected and squeezed past England, winning 14-17 away at Hull. This was a huge result for Wales, having not beaten England since 1923, and they had won the cup for the first time" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_national_rugby_league_team Perhaps they visited the Tower Mint at this time & the mint struck the medals as commemoratives. I would think they are pretty rare, I have never seen one. You should contact the Royal Mint museum at http://www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/index.html & see if they can help you & perhaps confirm my suggestion. Good luck with your research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMS Posted August 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2012 Thanks for the advice Constanius! I sent the Royal Mint museum a message. It seems plausible that it could be about the cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 I do not think it was to commemorate the cup win per se, just the victorious teams visit to the London mint, that is if they did visit of course. The French regulary use to strike medals to commemorate visits to the Paris mint, though I am unaware of any other medal commemorating a visit to the London mint. Hopefully the museum can help with the history of the medal, we know for sure it was struck at the old London mint and if they cannot they should be pleased to know of its existence. Perhaps you would be kind enough to keep us informed of any info you uncover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMS Posted August 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2012 I have not yet heard back from the museum, I hope they do have some info. I guess they might be pretty busy right now, what with the games and everything. I will definitely pass on anything I come across, though! Thanks again for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiho Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 Interesting medal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMS Posted October 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 Hi everyone! So the Mint Museum finally got back to me, i think they've been rather busy. They were very helpful and were able to identify the coin. This is the email they sent me: "The visit referred to on the medal was made to the Royal Mint at its old site at Tower Hill in London by the Dragon school in Oxford on 9 November 1936. The Dragon school is one of the best known preparatory schools in the country and numbers amongst its former pupils a very wide range of successful men and women. It was founded in 1877 by a group of Oxford University dons as a way of educating their own children and would have been well known to Sir Robert Johnson, Deputy Master of the Mint in 1936. The medal seems to have been presented as a memento of the visit and there is a specimen in the Royal Mint Museum. We have not managed to discover how many were struck but we do, however, have an entry in the Royal Mint’s visitor book from 1936 which shows that there were 65 teachers and children in the party." Interesting stuff! Thanks for pointing me to the Mint Museum, Constanius! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted October 5, 2012 Report Share Posted October 5, 2012 This is good news, CAMS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted October 6, 2012 Report Share Posted October 6, 2012 So pleased that you were able to find out the story behind the medal & a big thanks for informing us about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholasz219 Posted December 21, 2012 Report Share Posted December 21, 2012 This is an interesting thread. I like when things present themselves fairly easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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