Skip to main content

Boulton's Trafalgar Medal: CM.1152-2009

An image of Boulton's Trafalgar Medal

Terms of use

These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.

Download this image

Creative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.

Alternative views

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Mint: London
Die-engraver: Taylor, W. J.
Artist: Küchler, Conrad Heinrich

Entities

Categories

Description

After Nelson’s victory at Trafalgar in 1805 the prominent Birmingham industrialist Matthew Boulton distributed about 15,000 Trafalgar Medals at his own expense to participants in the battle. These medals were all in white metal, but subsequent years saw a number of presentation issues in other metals, and between 1860 and 1895 the London die-sinker W. J. Taylor was commissioned by Boulton's heir to produce a new run, of which this silver piece is one.
The medals all share the same design, which shows a view of the battle, with Nelson’s signal ‘ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY’ above.
This is one of a number of the Taylor restrikes of the medal that was mounted in a watchglass, which has finely preserved the detail of the frosted finish. Lester Watson purchased this medal from the London dealers Baldwin in 1927.

Notes

History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Baldwin 1927

Legal notes

Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 49.8 mm
Weight: 77.45 g

Place(s) associated

  • London

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester

Dating

1860 - 1895

Note

Frosted finish, mounted in watchglass

Materials used in production

Silver

Techniques used in production

Struck

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: Bust of Nelson facing left

  • Text: HORATIO VISCOUNT NELSON K. B. DUKE OF BRONTE
  • Location: Obverse
  • Type: Design

Inscription present: Sea-battle scene with Trafalgar's name and date given in exergue

  • Text: ENGLAND EXPECTS EVERY MAN WILL DO HIS DUTY
  • Location: Reverse
  • Type: Design

References and bibliographic entries

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: CM.1152-2009
Primary reference Number: 141246
Watson Catalogue: 38
Ordering: M-0035
Previous object number: LW.0035
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 15 January 2024 Last processed: Monday 15 January 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Coins and Medals

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Boulton's Trafalgar Medal" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141246 Accessed: 2024-03-29 08:18:31

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141246 |title=Boulton's Trafalgar Medal |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-03-29 08:18:31|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-141246

Bootstrap HTML code for reuse

To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:

<div class="text-center">
    <figure class="figure">
        <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0035_281_29.jpg"
        alt="Boulton's Trafalgar Medal"
        class="img-fluid" />
        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Boulton's Trafalgar Medal</figcaption>
    </figure>
</div>
    

More objects and works of art you might like

Suggested products from Curating Cambridge

You might be interested in this...

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...