PERU silver medal 1901
$30.00
PERU, medal, 1901, Obverse: wreath, PALACIO DE LA EXPOSICION JULIO 29 DE 1901. Reverse: GRAN FIESTA ORGANIZADA POR LA UNION CATOLICA DE SEÑORAS Á BENEFICIO DE LA JUNTA PATRIOTICA, hole at top, silver, 23mm, 4.74g, Unc
1 in stock
Description
From the 1870s to the 1950s several medal factories made a business out of small commemorative medals. Silver was cheap enough that anyone who had an event could get a batch of silver mementos made.
There are two kinds of things that are called “medals.” One is things that look like coins but don’t express a value. Sometimes those medals are considerably larger than most coins. The other kind of medal is a metal thing designed to be displayed on one’s chest, often a reward for something, often in a military context. If the medal is small enough it is sometimes called a “medallet.”
The word “exonumia” is used to describe all kinds of things that are “like” coins but are not coins. I wrote a blog post on that subject. Basic categories: 1. used like a coin but not issued by a national government, 2. looks like a coin but not made for spending, 3. other things that we are interested in.
