Model

Struck medals can be made in large numbers. Each medal is formed mechanically by the force of two engraved metal dies pressing the image on to a blank disc of softer metal held between them. Struck medals are generally designed in low relief and have crisp, sharp outlines. By the 1850s artists who were not skilled die engravers could use a reducing machine to design medals. A durable copy of their plaster model, like the present piece, was fixed to the reducing machine. This scanned the model and simultaneously cut a steel die on a reduced scale.