obv. laureate head of Alexander right,

rev. radiant all-seeing eye

68mm, 142g

Extremely Fine

The obverse stamp for the medal commemorating the death of Alexander I, designed by F.P. Tolstoy, was damaged during minting and copied by A.A. Klepikov. Gold and silver medals were awarded to dignitaries present at the funeral ceremony, while copper copies were given to the small number of soldiers standing guard at the Emperor’s coffin. Making the copper medal rare

(E.S. Shchukina. See Alexander I “The Sphinx, Unraveled to the Coffin…”. Exhibition Catalogue. St. Petersburg, 2005. P. 311).

The inscription on the reverse side of the medal, “Our Angel in Heaven” – “Notre ange est ciel” – is the opening lines of a letter from Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna, written to the mother of Emperor Alexander I, Empress Maria Feodorovna, on the day of his death.

Bramsen 1880; Diakov 429/2 – AE