Medal

A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be intended to be worn, suspended from clothing or jewellery in some way, although this has not always been the case. They may be struck like a coin by dies or die-cast in a mould.

A medal may be awarded to a person or organisation as a form of recognition for sporting, military, scientific, cultural, academic, or various other achievements. Military awards and decorations are more precise terms for certain types of state decoration. Medals may also be created for sale to commemorate particular individuals or events, or as works of artistic expression in their own right. In the past, medals commissioned for an individual, typically with their portrait, were often used as a form of diplomatic or personal gift, with no sense of being an award for the conduct of the recipient.

An artist who creates medals or medallions is called a "medalist". Medals have long been popular collectible items, and in numismatics form a class called either exonumia or militaria.

In the proper use of the term, medallions are larger, starting at perhaps four inches across, and are, as such, usually too large to be worn very comfortably, though in colloquial use, "medallion" is often used to refer to a medal used as the pendant of a necklace (as in the medallion man fashion style of the 1960s and 1970s), or for other types of medals. Medallions may also be called "table medals" because they are too large to be worn and can only be displayed on a wall, table top, desk, or cabinet.

Main types

Numismatists divide medals into at least seven classes:

Awards: awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for sporting, military, scientific, cultural, academic, or various other achievements. Military awards and decorations are more precise terms for certain types of state decoration. Military decorations are often in shapes such as crosses or stars, but are still loosely called "medals", as in the star-shaped American Medal of Honor.

Commemoratives: created for sale to commemorate particular individuals or events, or as works of medallic art in their own right.

Souvenirs: similar to a commemorative, but more focused on a place or event like state fairs, expositions, museums, historic sites, etc., and frequently found for sale within their respective souvenir shops.

Religious: devotional medals may be worn for religious reasons.

Portraits: produced to immortalize a person with their portrait; European portrait medallions sometimes bear the Latin word aetatis ("of his age") to describe the depicted person's age at the time of the portrait.

Artistic: made purely as an art object. Plaquettes are often of this type.

Society Medals: made for societies used as a badge or token of membership.

Etymology

First attested in English in 1578, the word medal is derived from the Middle French médaille, itself from Italian medaglia, and ultimately from the post-classical Latin medalia, meaning a coin worth half a denarius. The word medallion (first attested in English in 1658) has the same ultimate derivation, but this time through the Italian medaglione, meaning "large medal". There are two theories as for the etymology of the word medalia: the first being that the Latin medalia itself is derived from the adjective medialis meaning "medial" or "middle"; the second being that medaglia comes from the Vulgar Latin metallea (moneta), meaning "metal (coin)" and that from Latin metallum, which is the latinisation of the Greek μέταλλον (metallon), "a mine".

Features

Traditionally medals are stamped with dies on a durable metal flan or planchet, or cast from a mould. The imagery, which usually includes lettering, is typically in low relief, albeit often higher than on coins: Limited-edition medals may be struck in repeated impacts allowing more metal displacement than in coins produced for mass circulation in a single impact. Circular medals are most common; rectangular medals are often known as plaquettes, and square medals as klippe. The "decoration" types often use other shapes, especially crosses and stars. These in particular usually come with a suspension loop, and a wide coloured ribbon with a clip at the top, for attaching to clothing worn on the chest.

The main or front surface of a medal is termed the obverse, and may contain a portrait, pictorial scene, or other image along with an inscription. The reverse, or back surface of the medal, is not always used and may be left blank or may contain a secondary design. It is not uncommon to find only an artistic rendering on the obverse, while all details and other information for the medal are inscribed on the reverse. The rim is found only occasionally employed to display an inscription such as a motto, privy mark, engraver symbol, assayer's marking, or a series number.

Medals that are intended to be hung from a ribbon also include a small suspension piece at the crest with which to loop a suspension ring through. It is through the ring that a ribbon is run or folded so the medal may hang pendent. Medals pinned to the breast use only a small cut of ribbon that is attached to a top bar where the brooch pin is affixed. Top bars may be hidden under the ribbon so they are not visible, be a plain device from which the ribbon attaches, or may even be decorative to complement the design on the medal. Some top bars are elaborate and contain a whole design unto themselves.

Bronze has been the most common material used to create medals, due to its fair price range, durability, ease with which to work when casting, and the ample availability. However, a wide range of other media have also been used. Rarer metals have been employed, such as silver, platinum, and gold, when wishing to add value beyond the mere artistic depiction, as well as base metals and alloys such as copper, brass, iron, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, and pewter. Medals that are made with inexpensive material might be gilded, silver-plated, chased, or finished in a variety of other ways to improve their appearance. Medals have also been made of rock, gemstone, ivory, glass, porcelain, terra cotta, coal, wood, paper, enamel, lacquerware, and plastics. Today, a large number of common events use zinc alloys for their medals, due to their low melting point, ease of casting and low price.

History

The first known instance of a medal being awarded comes from the historian Josephus who, writing long after the event, accounts that in the second century BCE, the High Priest Jonathan led the Hebrews in aid of Alexander Balas, and that in return for this, Alexander "...sent to Jonathan... honorary awards, as a golden button, which it is custom to give the king's kinsmen." Roman emperors used both military awards of medals, and political gifts of medallions that were like very large coins, usually in gold or silver, and die-struck like coins. Both these and actual golden coins were often set as pieces of jewellery, worn by both sexes.

The bracteate is a type of thin gold medal, usually plain on the reverse, found in Northern Europe from the so-called "Dark Ages" or Migration Period. They often have suspension loops and were clearly intended to be worn on a chain as jewellery. They imitate, at a distance, Roman imperial coins and medallions, but have the heads of gods, animals, or other designs. The Liudhard medalet, produced around AD 600 in Anglo-Saxon England, is an isolated example, known from a single copy, of a Christian medal, featuring an inscription naming Liudhard (or "Saint Letard"), the first priest among the Anglo-Saxons, and most likely presented to converts. The surviving example is mounted for wearing as jewellery.

In Europe, from the late Middle Ages on, it became common for sovereigns, nobles, and later, intellectuals to commission medals to be given simply as gifts to their political allies to either maintain or gain support of an influential person. The medals were made in a range of metals, such as gold, silver-gilt, silver, bronze, and lead, depending on the status of the recipient. They were typically up to about three inches across, and usually featured the head of the donor on the obverse, surrounded by an inscription with their name and title, and their emblem on the reverse, with a learned motto inscribed round the edges. Such medals were not usually intended to be worn, although they might have been set as pendants on a chain. From the 16th century onward, medals were made, both by rulers for presentation and private enterprise for sale, to commemorate specific events, including military battles and victories, and from this grew the practice of awarding military medals specifically to combatants, though initially only a few of the much higher-ranking officers.

The medieval revival seems to have begun around 1400 with the extravagant French prince Jean, Duc de Berry, who commissioned a number of large classicising medals that were probably produced in very small numbers, or a unique cast. Only casts in bronze from the originals in precious metal survive, although it is known that at least some medals were also set with jewels, and these may well have been worn on a chain. At the same period, the first known post-classical medal commemorating a victory was struck for Francesco Carrara (Novello) on the occasion of the capture of Padua in 1390. The Italian artist Pisanello, generally agreed to be the finest medallist of the Renaissance, began in 1438 with a medal, celebrating the unprecedented visit of the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaiologos to Italy. This was presumably a commercial venture, but his later medals were mostly commissioned for distribution as gifts by rulers or nobles. Like almost all early Renaissance medals, it was cast rather than die-struck. With each successive cast the medal became slightly smaller, and the numbers that could be produced were probably not large. A lead "proof" was probably often used. The association between medals and the classical revival began to take a rather different form, and the exchange of medals became associated with Renaissance Humanism. Princes would send humanist writers and scholars medals in recognition of their work, and the humanists began to make their own medals, normally in bronze, to send to their patrons and peers. The fashion remained restricted to Italy until near the end of the 15th century, when it spread to other countries. By the 16th century, medals were increasingly produced by rulers or cities for propaganda purposes. In 1550, a die-stamping machine, using steel dies, was introduced in Augsburg, Germany, and soon this process became standard. The artist now cut an intaglio die rather than modelling in relief.

By the 16th century, the wearing of smaller medals on a chain was a persistent fashion for both sexes, and a variety of medals were produced commercially for the purpose, commemorating persons or events, or just with non-specific suitable sentiments. German artists had been producing high-quality medals from the beginning of the century, while the French and British were slower to produce fine work. However, by the late 17th century, most parts of Western Europe could produce fine work. Some medals were also collected, which continues to the present day. Official medals, from which specialized military awards descended, were increasingly produced, but the real growth in military medals did not come until the 19th century.

In the East, a wide variety of medals and decorations have been given by the Ottoman Empire since the 18th century.

Devotional medals became very popular in Catholic countries. Very famous is the Miraculous Medal, whose design was created based on the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Saint Catherine Labouré in Paris. In 1832, during an epidemic, the first medals were distributed, to which numerous healings and conversions were attributed, receiving the name of Miraculous Medal and distributed to millions of people around the world.

During the Reformation there had also been a vigorous tradition of Protestant medals, more polemical than devotional, which continued with the Geuzen medals produced in the Dutch Revolt.

Species

Medals are usually made of metals (copper, nickel), alloys (bronze) or, more rarely, precious metals (gold, silver, platinum). Porcelain medals and plaques made of brown Böttger stoneware or white biscuit porcelain were designed, modeled, designed and produced in the 18th century in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. They can often also be decorated with color.

Different metals

Traditionally, medals are made of the following metals, in order of decreasing value:

Platinum

Gold

Silver, or silver-gilt, which is in fact used for Olympic "gold medals"

Bronze

Pewter

Copper

Tin

Iron

Many medals were and are made in several different metals, either representing awards for different places in a competition, or standards or classes, as with the Olympic medals, or simply different price levels for medals made for sale or donation by the commissioner. Medals have historically been given as prizes in various types of competitive activities, especially athletics. The gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals for first, second and third places were first used at the 1904 Summer Olympics. At the 1896 event, silver was awarded to winners and bronze to runners-up, while at 1900 other prizes were given, not medals. The medals for the London 2012 Summer Olympics are the largest ever, reflecting a trend for increasing size in Olympic medals.

Medals made of biscuit porcelain, Böttger stoneware and ceramics

Porcelain medals and plaques made of brown Böttger stoneware or white bisque porcelain were designed, modeled, designed, and produced in a wide variety of sizes and shapes at ceramic manufactories as early as the 18th century. They can often be additionally decorated in color. All pieces are considered examples of medal art in expert circles and have simultaneously become sought-after numismatic collector's items.

Demarcations

Medals were first used as art objects in the Renaissance, modeled on Roman heavy money. Originally, medals were cast from metal. Since coin minting became widespread, medals have also been minted, with a few exceptions. Medals can be produced using positive or negative embossing. With greater depth of motif, they can take on the character of a miniature sculpture.

Medals should not be confused with coins. Coins are minted as official currency and have been given a nominal value since around the 18th century (and in some cases even much earlier). They can only be produced and issued by governments or official bodies. In contrast, medals (subject to a few restrictions) can also be produced by companies, associations, or private individuals.

Occasionally, coins are mistaken for medals. For example, particularly elaborate coins, such as the Weidenbaumtaler of 1627, were initially mistaken for medals, even though they are actually Reichstaler.

In the case of hybrid coinage, it can happen that two different coin dies are put together in such a way that the resulting coinage is used for a medal (hybrid medal).

The medal is similar to the plaque and is occasionally confused with it. Plaques usually have a raised image on one side, whereas medals have images or writing on both sides. The fact that the front and back (obverse and reverse) of the medal are usually designed differently explains the saying "the other side of the medal". This expresses that the issue in question can have not only advantages but also disadvantages. 

A medallion is a particularly large portrait medal, such as those found on monuments, or a round or oval ornament or a round or oval pendant. 

Medals are not used for monetary transactions and therefore do not require a face value. Even if they have a face value, they are not money because they lack official denomination. Nevertheless, they have a collector's value, which usually exceeds their metal value, due to their artistic design and/or rarity, and their age.

"Coin-like" means that they are usually round or oval, embossed on both sides (front " obverse " and back " reverse ") and made of metal, handy objects with the character of a coin. A numismatic definition of the term "medal" is difficult and can only be achieved by distinguishing it from a coin. The flat relief of the coin with the conventionally recorded reverse images is contrasted by the much higher relief of the medal and the variety of images. The image of the medal is usually completed by a raised rim. Since the medal is not a coin and only looks like it, it lacks the denomination typical of coins. Medals contain pictorial representations and inscriptions related to the occasion; they also serve as awards of honor and merit. They convey a wealth of information and vividly document the changing styles in art since the Renaissance. 

Military medals and decorations

Military decorations, service awards, and medals are often mistakenly confused with one another. Decoration is a term for awards which require specific acts of heroism or achievement (such as the British Victoria Cross or American Silver Star), whereas a service award or campaign medal is awarded for serving in a particular capacity in a particular geographical area and time frame (such as the Iraq Campaign Medal). In either case, an award or decoration may be presented as a medal.

The Roman Republic adopted an elaborate system of military awards that included medals called phalerae to be issued to soldiers and units for a variety of achievements. The practice was revived in the Early Modern period, and medals began to be worn on the chest as part of standard military uniform. The United States Continental Congress awarded the Fidelity Medallion as early as 1780, to three specified men for a particular incident, as a one-off award, which was characteristic of early military decorations. In 1782, the Badge of Military Merit was established, and mostly awarded to non-officers. The Légion d'honneur instituted by Napoleon I in 1802 had some of the characteristics of the old military orders, but was intended to be far more inclusive, and was awarded to rank and file soldiers for bravery or exceptional service. Other nations followed with decorations such as the British Army Gold Medal from 1810, though this only went to senior officers, and the Prussian Iron Cross from 1813. Medals were not awarded to all combatants in a war or battle until the 19th century, when the Waterloo Medal was the first British medal given to all present, at the Battle of Waterloo and all associated actions in 1815. By the middle of the 19th century, the number of awards used had greatly expanded in most countries to something near modern levels.

An order tends to be the most elaborate of military decorations, typically awarded for distinguished services to a nation or to the general betterment of humanity. Orders are distinguished from other forms of decoration in that they often imply membership in an organization or association of others that have received the same award. Two of the most well known and commonly awarded orders are the Légion d'honneur of France (military and civil) and the civil Order of the British Empire. The practice of conferring orders originates with the mediaeval fraternities of knighthood, some of which still exist and are still awarded. While most modern orders have no roots in knighthood, they still tend to carry over the terms of their historic counterparts, and terms such as knight, commander, officer, members, and so on are still commonly found as ranks. A military order may use a medal as its insignia, however, most tend to have a unique badge or a type of plaque specifically designed for an emblem.

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States Government, and is an example of a decoration that is modeled as a military order, even though not expressly defining itself as one (The Legion of Merit distinctly serves this purpose, and unlike any other U.S. military decoration, has classes). It is bestowed on a member of the United States Armed Forces who distinguishes himself, "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States." Each of the three departments of the American armed forces has a unique picture displayed on a medal, which is in turn displayed upon a star-shaped heraldic badge. The medal of the U.S. Army depicts the head of Minerva, the U.S. Navy medal shows a scene of Minerva doing battle with Discord, and the U.S. Air Force depicts the Statue of Liberty upon its medal.

Military decorations, including medals and orders, are usually presented to the recipient in a formal ceremony. Medals are normally worn on more formal occasions and are suspended from a ribbon of the medal's colours on the left breast, while a corresponding ribbon bar is to be worn to common events where medals would be inappropriate or impractical to wear.

Table medals and other large forms

Medallion is a vague term, often used for larger, usually circular, medals, which might be worn as pendants round the neck. It is the correct term for such medals from the late Roman Empire, typically distributed by the emperor and bearing his image, but in later periods larger medals are best termed just as medals.

Generally circular, table medals are issued for artistic, commemoration, or souvenir purposes, not for commerce, and are too large to be plausibly worn. Tokens and Table Medals of coin-like appearance are part of the Exonumia subcategory of Numismatics, while Orders, Decorations, and Medals are considered Militaria (military related). The Nobel Foundation, the organization awarding the prestigious Nobel Prize, presents each winner, "an assignment for the amount of the prize, a diploma, and a gold medal..." This medal would be displayed framed like a picture, on a table, wall or in a cabinet, rather than be worn by the winner.

The Carnegie Hero Foundation is the issuer of a bravery medal, most commonly issued in the US, Canada, and the UK. This large bronze table medal features Andrew Carnegie's likeness on the obverse and the name of the awardee and citation engraved on the reverse. It is usually issued for lifesaving incidents. In the U.S. Military, challenge coins are a type of relatively unofficial medal given to boost morale, and sometimes to act as convenient passes for unit members.

Also related are plaques and plaquettes, which may be commemorative, but especially in the Renaissance and Mannerist periods were often made for purely decorative purposes, with often crowded scenes from religious, historical or mythological sources. While usually metal, table medals have been issued in wood, plastic, fibre, and other compositions. The US Government awards gold medals on important occasions, with bronze copies available for public sale.

Famous medals

Sports medals

Medals are awarded at many important sporting events. Well-known examples are the gold, silver and bronze medals for first, second and third place in

Olympic Games (since 1904)

World Championships

European Championships and other continental championships

national championships

In cases where multiple athletes achieve the same result, the corresponding medal may be awarded multiple times. The multiple-place finishes are omitted from the subsequent rankings, meaning there is no second or third place, for example, and therefore no silver or bronze medalists. In some sports, reaching a semifinal already guarantees a bronze medal. In these sports, the semifinal between the losers of the semifinals is not contested, and both receive the bronze medal. This is the case, for example, in Olympic boxing.

In most cases, the gold content of supposed “gold medals” is only present in small quantities or as a coating; for example, an Olympic gold medal consists of 92.5% silver and has a gold coating of at least 6 g. 

An Olympic gold medal from the 2016 Olympic Games weighs approximately 500 grams and contains one percent gold. Based on the gold price in July 2016, the gold portion of the medal is worth approximately 191 euros, and the total material value is 493 euros. 

Medals in the school education system

Lessing Medal in Gold and Silver

Science medals

The following awards are given for outstanding scientific achievements (selection):

Physics: Max Planck Medal, awarded by the German Physical Society

Physics: Otto Hahn Medal for the Promotion of Young Scientists of the Max Planck Society

Physics: Max Born Medal, awarded by the British Institute of Physics

Mathematics: Georg Cantor Medal

Mathematics: Fields Medal

Computer Science: Konrad Zuse Medal for Services to Computer Science, awarded by the German Computer Science Society

Psychology: Hugo Münsterberg Medal from the Professional Association of German Psychologists

Psychology: Wilhelm Wundt Medal for outstanding scientific work

Medicine: Paracelsus Medal from the Presidium of the German Medical Association

Parasitology: Rudolf Leuckart Medal from the DGP

Entomology: Fabricius Medal, Karl Escherich Medal and Meigen Medal

Carl Friedrich Gauss Medal for outstanding scientific achievements, awarded by the Braunschweig Scientific Society

Leibniz Medal of the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz

Leibniz Medal (Berlin)

various medals of the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina, e.g. the Gregor Mendel Medal

various medals of the Royal Society

Trade fair medals

Medals for outstanding achievements in a wide range of fields, as presented at the Leipzig Trade Fair

Medals from the artistic field

The following awards are or have been given for achievements in social fields (selection):

the Kainz Medal of the City of Vienna for outstanding actors and directors

the Hermann Kesten Medal for special services in the field of literature

the Johann Christian Reinhart Medal of the City of Hof for special artistic and cultural achievements

the Orlando di Lasso Medal awarded by the Bavarian Singers' Association and the General Cecilia Association

the Medal for Merit in Artistic Folk Art of the German Democratic Republic

the Max Reger Prize with medal for personalities from science and art in the Suhl district

Commemorative medals

Commemorative or commemorative medals are issued to commemorate important historical events, such as:

the commemorative medal for the adoption of the Weimar Constitution in 1919

Religious medals

In Christianity, medals already played a role in the late Middle Ages, especially for the representation of the princes of the church. 

The Miraculous Medal is venerated as a devotional in the Catholic Church and is said to grant the wearer special protection from the Blessed Virgin Mary. This medal, worn around the neck, dates back to the Marian apparitions of Sister Catherine Labouré in 1830 in the Rue-du-Bac in Paris. 

There are also many other medals depicting saints, such as the Benedict Medal. When blessed or consecrated, medals of this type are sacramentals, i.e., holy and sanctifying symbols. 

Medals of Merit

Medals of Merit, historically also known as medals of honor, are awarded as decorations for specific occasions or regularly. They are often affiliated with an order of merit and constitute the lowest class of decorations. The following medals are or have been awarded as medals of bravery, military medals, or wounded badges, for example:

Medal for Bravery (Austria)

Medal for Bravery (Italy), oldest medal of merit awarded to date

the medal Winter Battle in the East 1941/42, the so-called Frozen Meat Order

the American Medal of Honor

the American wounded badge Purple Heart

Bundeswehr Medal of Honor

The medals of civil merit include the Federal Medal of Merit and the medals of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria.

In addition, other public bodies also award prizes for special services in science, culture and art, business and national defense.

Provide overviews:

Medal of Honor

Civil Merit Medal

Military Merit Medal

Other medals of merit:

Florence Nightingale Medal for Nurses, awarded by the International Committee of the Red Cross

Goethe Medal for the Promotion of German Language and Culture, awarded by the Goethe-Institut

Benemerenti (Papal Medal of Merit)

Medals and badges from self-help groups

Medals and pins for recognition and self-motivation in so-called 12-step self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and the like, are particularly common in the USA and Canada.

Borderline cases

Unlike all other investment coins, the Mexican bullion coin " Libertad " and the South African " Krugerrand " are not stamped with a face value. Therefore, the investment coins issued in silver (only the Libertad) and gold resemble medals. The value of the coins is determined daily based on precious metal prices, with the Mexican peso as the reference currency for the Libertad. This allows the Libertad coin to be used as an officially recognized means of payment. In this respect, the Libertad and the Krugerrand combine the characteristics of both a medal and a coin.

The historically and artistically significant locumtenenstaler are the Guldengroschen (thalers) of Frederick the Wise, which were also produced as medals with a higher relief, but also in thaler weight, and given to favorites. In catalogs, both types are often referred to as Guldengroschen, although only the ones with a lower relief are coins. The same applies to the Luftpumpentaler (air pump thaler), which was minted with the same design as a medal and a Reichstaler.

A coin with "medal character" is the 1 trillion mark coin of the Province of Westphalia. The coin, minted as emergency money in 1923 by the Landesbank of the Province of Westphalia, was not issued until 1924, after the end of inflation, as a souvenir of the difficult times.

The Philippstaler was most likely not minted by Landgrave Philip of Hesse. It was most likely minted by his followers, who claimed that Philip was the one who commissioned the minting. The Philippstaler, also called Spruchtaler, is a so-called display coin from Hesse bearing the year 1552, the year in which Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse (1504–1567) was released from imperial custody. The obverse shows his hip portrait. On the reverse are five coats of arms and the motto BESS(er) LAND V(nd) LVD V(er)LORN ALS EN FALSCH(en) AID GESCHWORN (Better to lose land and people than to swear a false oath). It is doubted that Landgrave Philip had the "thaler" minted. This piece is most likely a medal that was given the name "thaler" by sympathizers. 

The thaler commemorating the award of the Order of the Garter is still often referred to as a medal, although it was minted both as a Reichstaler and as a Kuranttaler. Reasons for this include an unusual coin design and minting according to the Treaty of Zinna, after which a distinctive thaler is not actually found. The thaler commemorating the award of the Order of the Garter and the Feast of St. George, also known as the thaler commemorating the award of the Order of the Garter and as the Gartertaler, is a commemorative coin of the Saxon Elector John George II (1656–1680) with the years 1671 and 1678. The obverse shows St. George slaying the dragon, the reverse a French inscription. The thaler from 1671 was minted as a Speciesreichstaler and the one from 1678 as a Kuranttaler. The obverse and reverse designs are identical despite different coin standards. The Kuranttaler is recognizable by its significantly lower weight, but is nevertheless sometimes referred to without distinction and occasionally referred to as a medal because of its lower weight.

The Gluckhennentaler is available as a medal and as a Guldentaler as well as a gold counterfeit in multiple ducat weight, thus also fit for circulation.

The show thalers of Frederick the Wise (1522) are too light according to the Saxon coinage regulations of 1500. The coins referred to as thalers could therefore be medals.

Whether the thaler commemorating the construction of Moritzburg Castle in Zeitz was actually minted as a coin, as stated in coin catalogs, among others, may be questionable, despite its Reichstaler weight. Wilhelm Ernst Tentzel's designation as a medal is certainly plausible, given the high relief and rarity of the individual pieces, as well as the lack of a mint master's mark.

Tentzel probably refers to the Schautaler coin commemorating the laying of the foundation stone of the chapel in Moritzburg Castle near Dresden as a medal because of its unusual design. However, the mint master's mark on the reverse is evidence of a coin. 

The depicted so-called " Steckenreiter" (stick rider) is a gold impression minted in 1650 in ducat weight from the dies of the silver cliff of the Imperial City of Nuremberg. The "Steckenreiter" (stick riders) minted as silver cliffs with the same dies are medals minted in large numbers, but have a value of 10 Kreuzer, which is not marked as such and therefore not recognizable. The silver cliff is thus a medal that could be used as a coin. 

The so-called Hoym coins are private issues, produced for private purposes. They were melted down due to "coinage offenses." Since the remaining Hoym coins are not state issues, they could also be classified as medals. They are occasionally referred to as commemorative coins. The coins bear the date of birth of Minister von Hoym • D • 20 • AUGUST •, instead of EIN REICHS THALER, as is the inscription on the unaltered coins used in normal circulation.

Premium taler, premium coin, prize taler or diligence taler are names for a coin that was awarded as an award or recognition on special occasions and was minted especially in the 17th to 19th centuries. The first premium talers were the Electorate of Saxony's premium talers. The design of the pieces differs from coins of normal payment in that they are often medal-shaped. The minting of premium talers, with which deserving children of the country in the economic or artistic field in the German states were awarded, was one of the measures that was intended to encourage extraordinary achievements. The awarding of premium talers was one of many measures to overcome the economic and cultural hardships of a country. The medal-like special coins were usually minted as convention talers. However, it must be noted that "premium talers" with the designation taler can also be medals.

The coins produced by Krohnemann, the so-called Krohnemann Talers, enjoyed great popularity as early as the 18th century and were included in large collections. However, they are not coins, but medals.

Plague thalers are often commemorative medals with thaler names.

The Interimstaler, sometimes also called a mocking thaler on the Augsburg Interim, is a thaler-shaped medal issued in Magdeburg around 1549. The piece was minted for the Interim passed by the Imperial Diet in Armor in Augsburg in 1549. The so-called Interimstaler served as propaganda during the religious dispute. There are many variations in these coins. The considerable differences in weight of the so-called 1-thaler pieces in the Coin Cabinet (7 pieces) are between 17.89 g and 36.40 g. These differences and other things, such as the missing information about the mint owner, meant that the coins were not coins, as Johann David Köhler, for example, stated in his Coin Amusement. The opponents of Charles V demonstrated against the Interim with the coin, which was already popular and effective at the time as a means of propaganda, here with the so-called Interimstaler. The Interimstaler with the inscription: PACKE DI SATHAN DV INTERIM (Grab yourself Satan, you Interim) shows a three-headed monster as a symbolic and mocking Interim. 

Fraternal jewels

Amongst the many fraternal organisations which wear ceremonial regalia, the use of medals is commonplace. In many prominent fraternal organisations, fraternal medals are known as jewels. Their purpose varies, and may include use as a badge of membership, an indication of rank, a symbol of office within the fraternity, or an indication of support having been given to a designated charitable cause (so-called charity jewels). Common secular fraternities using jewels (medals) in the English-speaking world include Freemasonry, the Orange Order, the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, and the Oddfellows. There are also religious fraternal organisations attached to certain Christian denominations (for example, the Catenian Association), also using medals as jewels of their Orders. Many of these organisations advertise jewels (medals) for sale on their corporate websites.

Fraternal jewels may be worn as military-style medals, on ribbons, from the left breast, or more prominently on collars or collarettes as part of the organisation's regalia. Historic examples of such medals and jewels may be found in many museums, particularly museums dedicated to fraternal organisations.

There is extensive trade in fraternal jewels and medals, with societies and associations existing to promote such trade, and to encourage the sharing of resources, and on-line resources available to support the hobby.

Medals as art

The first well-known great artist to create medals was the Italian painter Antonio Pisano, also known as Pisanello, who modelled and cast a number of portrait medals of princes and scholars in the 1440s. Many other artists followed his example, in places such as Italy, the Low Countries, Germany, and France. In the seventeenth century medals were extensively used to commemorate events and glorify rulers. In the eighteenth century prize medals became common. In the 19th century art medals exploded in popularity. In the early part of the aforementioned century, David d'Angers produced a great series of portrait medals of famous contemporaries and in the latter part of the century, Jules-Clément Chaplain and Louis-Oscar Roty were among many highly regarded medalists. The early twentieth century saw art medals flourish, particularly in France, Italy, and Belgium, while later in the century Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, the US, Canada, and England produced much high quality work.

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