This beautiful and substantial medal was given to me for Christmas by my parents. The medal was made in 1897 for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. These medals were intended as presentation pieces as well as souvenirs and bear the cypher of the Queen as it appears on the Order of Victoria and Albert. The obverse bears the image of Queen Victoria and a Latin inscription commemorating her sixty years as Regent while the reverse shows a scene of the British navy flanked by two halved globes h sling the scope of Victoria's empire.
The medal is the work of Spink and Company, founded in 1666 The Queen was so pleased with Spink's work, including the delicate and finely crisp bas relief, that, in 1900 the firm was granted their first Royal Warrant. Spink & Co. is still in operation and is still the official provider of medals to HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and HRH The Prince of Wales.
The medal was intended for Royal presentation, but was also sold at Kutchinsky Jewelers in the high-tone area of Knightsbridge, London. Kutchinsky is still in operation in the Brompton Road. The medal I was given still has its original presentation box from Kutchinksy. The name is printed in gold on the black satin lining of the box lid followed by the words: Knightsbridge, London.
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