Waterloo Medal (Pistrucci) facts for kids
| United Kingdom | |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | The four rulers of the nations triumphant at the Battle of Waterloo, surrounded by a mythological allegory evoking peace |
| Designer | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| Design date | 1849 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | Equestrian figures of Wellington and Blücher surrounded by a design representing the defeat of the French |
| Designer | Benedetto Pistrucci |
| Design date | 1849 |
The Waterloo Medal was a special medal designed by an Italian artist named Benedetto Pistrucci. He worked on it for a very long time, from 1819 to 1849. After all that work, the finished designs were given to Britain's Royal Mint.
The British government asked for this medal in 1819. The idea came from the Prince Regent, who later became King George IV. The plan was to give copies of the medal to the generals who won the 1815 Battle of Waterloo. It was also meant for the leaders of Britain's allies. However, by 1849, most of the people who were supposed to get a medal had passed away. Also, Britain and France had become better friends. Because of this, the medals were never actually made back then. Today, new versions have been created for people who collect coins and medals.
In 1816, the Prince Regent first thought of making a medal for the allies and commanders from Waterloo. The Royal Academy suggested a design by John Flaxman. But Pistrucci, who was supposed to engrave the designs onto metal, refused to copy someone else's art. He decided to create his own designs instead. The Prince Regent and William Wellesley-Pole, who was in charge of the Mint, really liked Pistrucci's ideas. So, Pistrucci got the important job.
Pistrucci had some disagreements with the Royal Mint in 1823. He again refused to copy another artist's work for new coins. Because of this, he was told to focus only on the Waterloo Medal. He might have thought he would be fired if he finished it, so he worked very slowly. He also had some health problems. He stayed at the Mint, but the medal remained unfinished. Even though different Masters of the Mint kept asking him to finish, it took a long time. In 1844, a new Master, W. E. Gladstone, made a deal with Pistrucci. Finally, the medal designs were handed over in 1849. The designs were very large, about 5.3 inches across. The Mint was worried about damaging them if they tried to make them hard enough to strike medals. So, only copies made using electricity (called electrotypes) and soft prints were taken. Experts who study coins and medals have greatly praised Pistrucci's designs.
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How the Medal Idea Started
Ten days after the Battle of Waterloo on June 28, 1815, the winning general, the Duke of Wellington, had an idea. He suggested giving bronze medals to British soldiers, silver medals to their officers, and gold medals to the leaders of the winning countries and their generals. Wellington's brother, William Wellesley-Pole, was in charge of the Royal Mint. He quickly ordered designs for the soldiers' medal.
In early 1816, it was decided that both officers and soldiers would get silver medals. The Royal Mint made many of these for the military. The Royal Academy was asked to suggest a design for the gold medal. They chose a sketch by Sir John Flaxman, but nothing happened right away.
Later in 1816, George, the Prince Regent (who became George IV), pushed for a special medal. This medal would be given to the winning generals and national leaders of the Battle of Waterloo. It was decided that heads of state would receive a gold medal. The winning generals would get a silver one. Other important people would receive the medal in bronze. Flaxman's design was supposed to be used.
In 1819, Wellesley-Pole told Benedetto Pistrucci to engrave Flaxman's design onto steel for the medal. Pistrucci was an Italian artist who came to Britain in 1815. He was working as the main engraver at the Royal Mint. He believed he had been promised the official title of Chief Engraver. However, as a foreigner, he couldn't get it, and this made him unhappy for a long time.
Pistrucci refused to engrave Flaxman's design. He did not want to copy another artist's work. This made the Royal Academy angry. Instead, Pole asked Pistrucci to create his own design. In just one day, Pistrucci made wax models. The Prince Regent was very excited about them. In August 1819, Pole received instructions to hire Pistrucci to make the medal. Pistrucci would be paid £2,400 in parts. Pole promised him an early payment so Pistrucci could bring his family from Rome. According to an expert named Carlo Milano, "The Waterloo Medal was unlike any medal before it. It was much bigger and its pictures were more complex than ever seen in medal art. But Pistrucci believed he could do it and started working right away."
What the Medal Looks Like
The front of the medal, called the obverse, shows the four allied rulers in the middle. These are George, the Prince Regent (who was acting as king because his father, George III, was ill), Emperor Francis I of Austria, Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and King Frederick William III of Prussia.
Besides the rulers, Pistrucci's design for both sides is full of symbols. It tells a story about the peace treaty made after Waterloo. At the top of the front, you can see Apollo in his chariot. He brings back the day. Following his chariot are Zephyr, who scatters flowers (a sign of peace), and Iris. The chariot flies towards Castor and Pollux. They represent the constellation Gemini, which is the time of year when Waterloo happened. The twins have spears and stand for the victorious generals, Wellington and Blücher.
Themis, the goddess of justice, appears in front of the rulers. She reminds them that justice, not just power, keeps them in charge. Below her are the Fates. Their position shows that human destiny will now be decided by justice. Across from Themis, behind the rulers, is a man with a club sitting under an oak tree. He represents power. Below him are the Furies, showing that human actions are controlled by power. At the very bottom, a figure representing night is running away.
The back of the medal, called the reverse, has figures on horseback in the middle. These are meant to be Wellington and Blücher. Victory is between them, guiding them into battle. They look like ancient Greek figures, similar to Pistrucci's earlier St George and the Dragon design for the sovereign coin. At the top of the back is Jupiter. Around the rest of the medal are 19 figures of giants that Jupiter has defeated. They represent the defeated enemy, one for each year of the war.
Pistrucci put some words on his wax model that he didn't keep for the final design. Above the rulers' heads, it said their countries: ANGLIA (England) AUSTRIA RUSSIA PRUSSIA. Below them, it said FŒDERE JUNCTIS (Joint League). On the back, above and below the central figures, he wrote WATERLOO and 18 JUNE 1815 (the date of the battle). These words were added back when the Royal Mint made new versions of the medal in 2015 for the 200th anniversary of the battle.
Why the Medal Was Delayed
In 1822, Pole told King George (who became George IV in 1820) that £1,700 had been paid to Pistrucci. He also said that the work on the medal designs was almost done. King George really disliked how Pistrucci had shown him on his coins. Soon after, he ordered a new design based on a portrait by Francis Chantrey. Pistrucci refused to make the dies for this, again not wanting to copy another artist's work.
This caused a big problem and put his job at risk. He was stopped from working on coins and told to focus only on the Waterloo Medal. By 1826, only part of one side was finished. Pistrucci's role at the Royal Mint was now difficult. According to the Royal Mint Museum, "his progress was slow—and on purpose. He feared that if he finished the medal, the Royal Mint would end its connection with him."
An expert named Howard Linecar wrote that "Pistrucci used the cutting of these dies [for the Waterloo Medal] as a way to get what he wanted." He was always trying to become the Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint. Pistrucci asked every new Master of the Mint for this job. In 1828, the Treasury was worried about how much money Pistrucci was being paid. So, he was made Chief Medallist, a new position, with less pay. William Wyon became Chief Engraver. Carlo Milano wrote that "the Italian artist saw this as an act of meanness by his enemies." Around this time, Pistrucci also got sick, which affected his eyesight and slowed his work.
Because of all this, very little work was done on the Waterloo Medal. In 1832, the Master of the Mint, Lord Auckland, noticed that the medal was taking a very long time. In 1836, the new Master, Henry Labouchere, also complained about the delay. He thought the medal could be finished in 18 months. He offered Pistrucci extra money if he would take on four helpers and finish the medal. Pistrucci said no.
Finishing the Medal and Later Versions
In 1841, a new Master of the Mint, William Ewart Gladstone, was appointed. Gladstone thought highly of Pistrucci and even wrote to him in Italian. However, he would not give Pistrucci any new jobs until the Waterloo Medal was finished. By 1844, the Audit Office was concerned about how much money was still being spent on Pistrucci. Gladstone gave back some of Pistrucci's pay that had been cut. He also offered him a bonus of £400 to complete the medal. Pistrucci was to work only on this one project. He moved out of his home at the Royal Mint and set up a workshop in Old Windsor to try and finish the medal.
Pistrucci worked constantly on the medal during some periods. But he was slowed down by a fall in his cottage, which made him unable to work for much of 1846. On January 1, 1849, Pistrucci finally gave the finished designs for the medal to the Royal Mint. He was paid £1,500.
Pistrucci also sent a long letter with advice on how to make the designs hard. He also talked about other things in the letter, and it was published in magazines for coin collectors. The designs were each given in two parts: a ring and a core. Pistrucci warned that successfully making medals from them was not guaranteed. He said, "an accident caused by carelessness might in one moment completely destroy the whole work, and without a fix." The designs were 5.3 inches across. Officials at the Mint did not think they could be hardened without likely causing major damage. A few copies were made using electricity (electrotypes), along with some soft prints. But no actual medals were ever struck.
Relations between Britain and France were getting better. So, giving out medals that reminded everyone of Waterloo seemed like a bad idea. An expert named Linecar noted that by then, "all the great men who were supposed to get a medal had died, except for the Iron Duke himself."
Pistrucci felt very bitter about the whole experience. In a letter from 1850, he wrote:
I have nobody in the world to tell about my frustrations. It is not by chance that I put my name [on the Waterloo Medal] under the thread that the Fate is cutting. I knew that after the completion of the medal this would have happened. I have done more than my duty, the dishonest will have their triumph over me for a brief time, and I hope that one day their names will be covered in shame. My daughters are looking after the dies of the great medal from time to time to make sure that they don’t rust, I can swear that I have not looked at them for more than six months because I don’t have the strength of doing so. They have ruined my good health and they are the reason of all my troubles.
Linecar said that the Waterloo Medal designs were "one of the most magnificent examples of the art of engraving dies." Roderick Farey, who studied the artist in 2014, said, "Pistrucci's genius is clearly seen in the design." Carlo Milano said that Pistrucci's designs, which are still at the Royal Mint, are "undoubtedly among the finest pieces in the history of European medals." He called them "a testament to the genius of their creator." Pistrucci's biographer, Michael A. Marsh, described the medal as "the finest piece of intaglio work by any engraver." Some of Pistrucci's wax models, including the final versions, are kept at the Museo della Zecca di Roma (the museum of the mint in Rome).
In 1990, the Royal Mint made a smaller version of the medal for collectors. It was made of bronze for the 175th anniversary of the battle. In 2015, for the 200th anniversary, they made a silver version, also for collectors. This version included Pistrucci's original words from his wax models. In 2014, as part of getting ready for the battle's 200th anniversary, a company called Worcestershire Medal Service made full-size silver versions. These were given to the ambassadors of Austria, Russia, and Germany (as the country that followed Prussia). Queen Elizabeth II was also to receive one later. These medals were also sold to the public for £3,900 each. Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, who was in charge of the Waterloo 200 Committee, described the medal, which weighed 4.5 pounds, as a "thumping great thing."
