Circular gilt bronze medal with laterally-pierced ball suspension; the face with the crowned head and shoulders portraits of Emperor Haile Selassie I and Empress Menen in coronation robes, circumscribed above in Amharic characters, signed ‘M Delannoy’ (for the renowned French medallist Maurice Delannoy, 1885-1972); the reverse with a trilobe filled with intricate design; some contact wear (see illustrations); on original ribbon. The medal was created for the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1930 and was manufactured by the Paris Mint. Haile Selassie (1892-1975) claimed direct descent from The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. He became Crown Prince and Regent in 1916 and was Emperor from 1930 to 1974 when the winds of change brought a Marxist military junta to power. His greatest challenge arose from the Italian invasion of 1935 and he is best remembered for his moving and dignified speech to the General Assembly of the League of Nations, being the only head of state ever to address that assembly, which won him instant worldwide acclaim and respect that he never lost. This, the third version of the Coronation medal, is rare.
|