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18th Century Commemorative Medal - Victory of the Nile, 1798

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© Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

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Basic Information

Accession Number:1885N1536.30
Collection:Coins & Medals
Date:1798 - 1798

Maker Information

Engraver: Conrad Heinrich Kuchler - View biography for Conrad Heinrich Kuchler
Manufacturer:Soho Mint - View history

Notes

This medal was designed as a tribute to Lord Horatio Nelson's victory over the French at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.Lord Nelson was born in 1758. He went to sea at the age of twelve and rapidly rose to the rank of Captain at the age of twenty-one in 1779.This medal shows Peace, on the left, standing on a rock, holding an olive spray in her extended right hand. She leans on a shield bearing a profile bust of Nelson.The reverse of the medal shows a scene from the naval battle in Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798, where the French ships were at anchor and the English ships were going into action. Nelson and his fleet of fourteen battleships broke through the French enemy line of thirteen ships and attacked the French on both sides. Eleven of the thirteen French ships were destroyed and the success re-established British command of the Mediterranean. For this victory Nelson was created Baron Nelson of the Nile and of Burnham Thorpe.The medal was commissioned by Alexander Davison who was Nelson's agent after the Battle of the Nile. Davison intended to give a specimen copy to every man who had served in the action.

Presented by The Misses Long, 1878.

Further Information

Reign:King George III
Production Period:Georgian
Material(s):Copper
Place of Origin:Birmingham, Staffordshire - originally, England

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Dimensions

Diameter:47.5 mm