GREAT EXHIBITION PRIZE MEDAL

WYON, William & Leonard Charles: England, 1851, Bronze, 76 mm
Obv: Conjoined busts of Victoria and Albert (l), trident behind and two dolphins below to signify the naval power of the Empire.    VICTORIA D:G: BRIT: REG. F:D: ALBERTUS PRINCEPS CONJUX (Victoria by the Grace of God, Queen of the Britains, Defender of the Faith, Prince Albert, Her Husband).  Below:  MDCCCLI
Rev: Britannia, seated, crowning Industry with laurel; Europe, Asia, Africa and America, attending.    DISSOCIATA LOCIS CONCORDI PACE LIGAVIT (It Has Bound Together in Peace and Friendship Things Widely Separated).
Exergue:  LEONARD. C:WYON. DRS: & SC: ROYAL MINT. LONDON.
Signed:  W. WYON/ LEONARD C. WYON
Inscription on edge:  PRIZE MEDAL OF THE EXHIBITION. COOKES & SONS, OF WARWICK. CLASS XXVI.
Ref: BHM ii,170/2462; Eimer 1456;  Allen A25;  Weiss BW300

This is the Prize medal of the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park in 1851. It was awarded for excellence of production. The recipient's name is inscribed on the edge in capital letters. The exhibition was originally conceived as one of a series of triennial exhibitions of the works of British Industry under the auspices of the Royal Society of Arts. It was initiated by Henry Cole, who saw the need to impress upon British manufactures the threat posed by foreign competition following the success of the Paris Exposition in 1849.

LINK to Great Exhibition of 1851 (from spencer.lib.ku.edu)

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