Circular silvered metal medal with laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with the crowned arms of the city of Marseilles, being a blue cross (represented by horizontal hatching) on a white ground, to the left Artemis, ancient patron of Marseilles, to the right Hermes (Mercury), god of commerce, a ribbon below inscribed ‘MASSILIA CIVITAS’ (City of Marseilles, a motto adopted by the city in 1675), circumscribed ‘SOCIETE DES SAUVETEURS DU MIDI BOUCHES DU RHONE’, inscribed below ‘FONDÉE A MARSEILLE 1860’; the reverse with a laurel wreath, inscribed above ‘SAUVER OU PERIR’ (Save or perish); on original ribbon. The medal has good age toning and may be silver but feels light and is not hallmarked. Midi is the colloquial name for the south of France and the Bouches du Rhône is the department around Marseilles at the mouth of the River Rhone on the Mediterranean coast. A good example of an early medal.
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