Desk medals as an exciting hobby

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Modern collections mainly consist of old desktop medals. The exhibits made of precious metals are of particular value. Often, medals of the same type are made from completely different alloys, which drastically affects their value.

Phaleristics as a hobby

Since there were no production standards, desktop and commemorative medals of the USSR could differ significantly in size. However, still they were not produced in a size of more than twenty centimeters. You can buy desktop medals from almost all possible metals, such as: gold, platinum, bronze, silver, copper and their alloys. Some falerists, when creating their own collection, paid attention to the method of making medals. In ancient times, they were created by casting metal according to a pre-molded wax pattern, and over time they began to be minted like ordinary coins. This made it possible to create premium desktop medals with a clearer and more voluminous image.

When chasing the product, it was appliedunique marks. They symbolized the places where the coin was made. Particularly rare items that are most valued were produced long before the Second World War.

History of the origin of the first desktop medals

The first examples of medals appeared at the end of the fourteenth century in Italy. Later, the craft of their creation began to develop in France, where they began to be used to reward honorary and prominent rulers. Many skillful French medalists have been recorded in history, the most famous of which are O. Roti and J. Chaplin. They made real works of art out of desktop medals, encrusting them with precious stones. The German brothers also did not lag behind in this craft and produced no less beautiful award medals, which are of great value to collectors.

Desktop medals tend to have a long and interesting history, from which you can learn a lot about the eras your items belong to.

In Russia, such exhibits of medals first appeared during the reign of Peter I. For all the years of his leadership of the empire, a large series of commemorative desktop medals were made, which were given to generals for their military achievements. This tradition was continued by Catherine II, under whose leadership medals were issued in honor of significant events in the state. During these periods, anything could be applied to them, from pieces of furniture to the face of the ruler.

In closing

A person who is interested in phaleristics should definitely visit the Hermitage and the State Historical Museum. There you can see a huge number of old desktop medals. There are also unique Soviet award medals dedicated to Pushkin, Mayakovsky, the fortieth anniversary of the October Revolution. Collecting desktop medals or phaleristics is undoubtedly an exciting hobby. After all, in addition to aesthetic pleasure, you can also delve into the study of the history of certain desktop exhibits, thereby discovering a lot of new things.