Description
TABLE MEDAL – 100-YEAR-COMMEMORATIVE – VÖLKERSCHLACHT DENKMAL LEIPZIG – ORIGINAL PRESENTATION CASE.
Over the years we have offered a variety of items to the Völkerschlacht Denkmal Leipzig. Today we are offering a cased table medal that commemorates the monument. It was, and is, an impressively large monument located in Leipzig. It consists of a large monument (in the form of a building), along with a reflecting pool and magnificent grounds. The monument was dedicated in 1913. It saluted the struggles and participation of Saxony and Germany 100 years before during the 1813 Napoleonic War. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Saxon’s König Friedrich August III were present at the 1913 dedication.
The table medal’s obverse states that it was presented by the Deutscher Patrioten Bund. Below that is a scene showing the monument, along with the legend “Leipzig 1913.” The table medal’s reverse depicts four battling eagles. Three eagles are attacking the fourth. The attacked eagle assuredly represents France and Napoleon’s forces. Two of the attacking eagles represent Prussia and Saxony. I do not know whom the third attacking eagle represents, although it might be another smaller German state with whom they were allied. The table medal’s edge displays the dates “16-18 Oktober 1813,” which was the occasion of the heroic battle. Table medals for any and all occasions were an integral part of Imperial German culture. Germany’s people supported various occasions and causes with heartfelt patriotic fervor. Higher-quality table medals often were purchased in presentation cases of matching elegance and superiority. Our offering today has such a case in red leatherette, with the dates 1813-1913 embossed in gold on its outer lid. The case measures 2 1/4″ x 2 1/4″ x 3/4.” Inside the case, one finds the conventional white-silk upper lid and fitted black-velvet lower half. The table medal nestles comfortably in its place of honor. Back in the day, the case would then be opened and placed on display in a patriotic German’s home. Today, it is ready to grace your home, display shelves or desk as a handsome reminder of a hard-won battle for freedom.
