Silver medal "In memory of the Patriotic War of 1812"

The original and rather rare medal is in satisfactory condition. Silver, stamping. Repair of the eyelet. On the front side, in the middle of the field, there is an image of an "all—seeing eye" surrounded by a radiant glow; the date is indicated below - "1812". On the reverse side of the medal is a straight four-line inscription, borrowed from Psalms: "NOT TO US, NOT TO US, BUT TO YOUR NAME" (Ps. 113:9). Guarantee of authenticity.

The medal was established by Emperor Alexander I in memory of the Patriotic War. On February 5, 1813, a silver medal was established, and on August 30, 1814, another medal made of dark bronze was established.

The silver medal was awarded to "... all combatant ranks in the army and militia, without exception, who acted against the enemy during 1812. The medal was issued on the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (blue) and was worn with special solemnity by all participants in combat battles from ordinary soldiers to field marshals. A total of 250,000 silver medals were awarded. Silver medals of this kind were also made in a smaller size (with a diameter of 22 mm rather than 28 mm) with a transverse eyelet and a ring threaded into it for hanging on a ribbon. Such medals were worn by cavalrymen.

Eight months after the silver medal was awarded, at the end of the entire foreign campaign, another medal was established by the manifesto of August 30, 1814, made for the first time in the history of medallistics from dark bronze (copper), but with the same postmarks as the silver one before. It was intended to reward the nobility and merchants who contributed to the victory of the army in this war. Therefore, on some military ranks, a medal of dark bronze could be seen next to the silver one.  And one year and seven months later, by decree of February 8, 1816, the oldest women of the noble family were allowed to wear the same dark bronze medals. And to make the awards look more attractive, they were allowed to wear smaller medals.

In the year of the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812, Emperor Nicholas II (August 15, 1912) approved the regulation "On the wearing of medals established by the Manifesto on August 30, 1814 ... by descendants ...", according to which they were given "... the right after the death of fathers and elders of families ... not only to keep, but also to wear medals of 1812 of the year, both noble and merchant..." This right also extended to females. Pectoral crosses for 1812 were also inherited. Descendants who did not preserve the original medals of that time had the right to produce them in private workshops. Often, such awards looked more elegant and sound than the state awards.