ST. HELENA MEDAL FOR WAR REVOLUTION & NAPOLEON

50mm high circular bronze medal with integral imperial crown suspension; the face with a circular central medallion bearing the laurel-crowned head of Napoleon I facing right and circumscribed ‘NAPOLEON I EMPEREUR’ within a circular raised laurel wreath; the reverse with a circular central medallion inscribed ‘A SES COMPAGNONS DE GLOIRE SA DERNIÈRE PENSÉE, SAINTE-HÉLÈNE 5 MAI 1821’ (to his glorious companions his last thought, Saint Helena, 5 May 1821) and circumscribed ‘CAMPAGNES DE 1792 A 1815’ (Campaigns of 1792 to 1815); within a circular raised laurel wreath; on correct ribbon.

The medal was instituted on 12 August 1857 by Napoleon III to ‘honour with a special distinction the soldiers who fought under the flag of France in the great wars of 1792 to 1815’ and awarded to survivors of the wars of Revolution and Empire some 42 years after their end. It was designed by the great medallist Désiré-Albert Barre and produced by the Imperial Mint. A very good example of an iconic medal.