Circular silver medal with top loop for ribbon ring suspension; the face with the Arms of Potosí circumscribed ‘INAUGURACION DEL FERRO CARRIL À POTOSI BOLIVIA 15 MAYO 1912' (Inauguration of the Potosí Railway Bolivia 15 May 1912); the reverse with the mountain of Potosí, a mine and steam train in the foreground; lacking ribbon. The coat of arms bears the tower and lion rampant of Castile-Léon in the heart of old Spain; the central medallion on the shield illustrates the mountain of Potosí; the pillars of Hercules symbolise the Straits of Gibraltar and are inscribed ‘PLUS ULTRA’ meaning ‘further beyond’ referring to the Spanish South American territories; the arm are surmounted by the Spanish Royal Crown. Potosí was a fabulously rich city immediately below one of the two great silver mines of Spanish America. One of the highest cities in the world, it declined as the mines became exhausted but still has 115,000 inhabitants. In 1907 the Bolivian national government undertook railways from Potosí to Oruro (205 miles) and from Potosí to Tupiza (155 miles) to connect with the Argentinian Central Northern line.
|