Large circular alloy medal; the face with the flags of the Allied nations, a laurel wreath imposed, circumscribed ‘VICTORY OF ALMA BY THE UNITED FORCES OF ENGLAND & FRANCE’ and dated ‘SEPT. 20th 1854; the reverse inscribed ‘STRUCK AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE OCT. 28 1854’ within a laurel wreath, circumscribed ‘IN AID OF THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS SAILORS & MARINES’ and signed ‘PINCHES LONDON’; diameter 42mm (1⅝ inches). The Battle of Alma was the first battle of the Crimean War and won by the British and French forces, despite considerable confusion. It is interesting to note that the medal refers to the forces of ‘England’ when the Scottish Highland Brigade played a crucial part in clinching the victory. John Pinches Ltd were leading medallists, founded in 1840 by John Pinches (1825 -1905), until acquired by the Franklin Mint of Media, Pennsylvania in 1969. The Crystal Palace was a great building of iron and glass erected in London’s Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was moved to Upper Norwood in south London in 1854 where it was home to numerous exhibitions and events before being destroyed by fire in 1936.
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