Commemorative or period medal with the effigy of Victor Emmanuel II, made in the 19th century.

Characteristics of the object

58mm

60g

Etain

Sovereign represented: This is Victor-Emmanuel II of Savoy, who here bears the title of King of Sardinia. He reigned under this title from 1849 to 1861, before officially becoming the very first king of unified Italy (the "Father of the Fatherland") from 1861 until his death in 1878.

Inscriptions on the right (averse): We can clearly read the legend in French "VICTOR-EMMANUEL II ROI DE SARDAIGNE". The king's profile shows his characteristic hair, his hanging mustache and his barb.

Engraver's signature: Under the cutout of the neck, the mention engraved in small letters "HART FECIT" ("Hart did it" in Latin) indicates that the die or model of this medal was sculpted by the Belgian-French medal artist Laurent Joseph Hart (1810–1860).

Hart engraved several tokens and medals in honor of the sovereigns of the time, especially during major geopolitical events such as the Crimean War (1853–1856) or the Franco-Sardinian alliance of 1859 (Italian campaign against the Austrian Empire). The fact that the inscription is written in French testifies to the strong influence of the diplomatic language of the time and the close ties uniting the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont-Sardinia) to the France of Napoleon III