Medal

A medal is a small, portable artistic object. It is usually a thin metal disc with designs on it. Most medals feature artwork on both sides. The front surface is known as the obverse. The back surface is called the reverse.

People use these objects for many different reasons. They can serve as awards for achievements in sports, science, or culture. They can also be used as gifts, souvenirs, or religious items.

An artist who specializes in creating these objects is called a medalist.

Medalists use specific methods to create these pieces. They can strike medals like coins using tools called dies. This process involves pressing a design into a metal flan, which is a flat piece of metal. Another method is die-casting, where liquid metal is poured into a mould.

While most medals are circular, they can take other shapes. Rectangular medals are called plaquettes. Square medals are known as klippe. Some decorations use shapes like stars or crosses. These often include a suspension loop and a colorful ribbon to attach them to clothing.

There are several distinct types of medals. Awards recognize individuals or groups for specific accomplishments. Commemorative medals are made to celebrate particular people or events. Souvenirs are similar but focus on specific places like museums or historic sites.

Religious medals are used for devotion. Portrait medals are made to immortalize a person by showing their likeness. Some European examples even use the Latin word "aetatis" to note the person's age. Finally, artistic medals are created purely as objects of art, and society medals serve as tokens of membership.

Medals have a very long history. The historian Josephus recorded an instance of awards in the second century BCE. He wrote that the High Priest Jonathan received a golden button from Alexander Balas.

Roman emperors also used medals and large medallions as political gifts. In Northern Europe during the Migration Period, people made thin gold medals called bracteates. These often featured gods or animals and were worn as jewelry. Around AD 600, the Liudhard medalet was produced in Anglo-Saxon England. This was a Christian medal likely given to new converts.

During the Renaissance, the use of medals changed significantly. Sovereigns and nobles commissioned medals to give as diplomatic gifts to allies. These medals often featured the donor's portrait on the obverse. The reverse might show an emblem or a motto.

The artist Pisanello was a famous medalist of this era. In 1438, he created a medal for the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaiologos.

By the 16th century, medals were also being made for sale to mark military victories.

Materials used for medals vary widely based on value and purpose. Bronze is the most common material. It is durable, easy to cast, and relatively inexpensive.

More valuable medals may be made of silver, gold, or platinum. Some use base metals like copper, iron, or aluminum. Even inexpensive medals can be gilded or silver-plated to look better. Artists have also used unusual materials like ivory, glass, porcelain, wood, and even plastic. Today, many common event medals are made from zinc alloys because they are easy to cast.

Medals are often categorized by their physical size. A medallion is technically larger than a medal, starting at three inches in diameter. Because they are large, they are often called "table medals." They are meant for display on a desk or wall rather than for wearing.

Conversely, a medalet is a very small medal, measuring less than one inch. People also study medals through the field of numismatics. This includes the study of exonumia and militaria, which are specific classes of collectible medals.