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Medallions

Common, scarce and rare U.S. and world medallions (large coin medals) at Mintmark.com.

1900 World's Fair Medallion
Paris, France

". . . The word medal is derived from the Latin medalia, which was a copper coin. Medallion comes from the French word médaillon, a term applied to round food rationings because of their similar shape to a médaille, and has come to be applied to particularly large medals. Medallions are occasionally referred to as table medals because they are too large to be worn and can only be displayed on a table top, desk or cabinet. Medals may also be produced in a rectangular shape, though these would more correctly be described as a placque, and a smaller version as a plaquette. In colloquial use, a medallion is sometimes improperly used to refer to a pendant of a necklace . . . Generally circular, table medals are issued for artistic, commemoration or souvenir purposes, not for commerce. Tokens and Table Medals of coin-like appearance are part of the Exonumia subcategory of Numismatics, while Orders, Decorations and Medals are considered Militaria (military related). In the U.S. Military, modern medals are often referred to as challenge coins. The Nobel Foundation, the organization awarding the prestigious Nobel Prize, presents each winner

an assignment for the amount of the prize, a diploma, and a gold medal . . .

This example of a medal would be displayed on a table or in a cabinet, rather than worn by the winner. The Carnegie Hero Foundation is the issuer of a bravery medal, most commonly issued in the US and Canada but also in the UK. This large bronze table medal features Andrew Carnegie's likeness on the obverse and the name of the awardee and citation engraved on the reverse. It is usually issued for lifesaving incidents. Also related are plaques and plaquettes. While usually metal, table medals have been issued in wood, plastic, fibre and other compositions. The US Government awards gold medals on important occasions, with bronze copies available for public sale . . ." — Medal at Wikipedia. This version was edited and (or) revised by Mintmark.com.

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Also see our selection of coin medals.

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