Commemorative issue
Battle of Rosbach and Lissa in 1757
Obverse
A left-facing Frederick II, the Great, on a warhorse, his sword drawn, a forest, military encampment and the town of Lissa behind him.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
FREDERIC · DG · BORVS · REX · ET · PROTESTANTI m · DEFENSOR
· LISSA · DEC · 5
Unabridged legend: Friedrich Dei Gratia Borussorum Rex et Protestanti Defensor
Translation: Frederick, by the Grace of God, King of Prussia and defender of the Protestants
Reverse
An illustration of an intense battle scene (between Prussian army
and Marie Theresa’s forces) from the Battle of Rosbach.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
QUO · NIHIL · MAJUS · MELIUSVE
ROSBACH · NOV · 5 1757
Translation: Which nothing greater or better
Edge
Plain
Composition Bronze
Weight 39 g
Diameter 48.2 mm
Suspension hole, considered scarce and Very Fine, better in parts
A 1757 Frederick the Great Lissa and Rosbach Campaign Medal.
The Battle of Rosbach took place on November 5, 1757 during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) near the village of Rosbach, in the Electorate of Saxony. Frederick II (AKA Frederick the Great), King of Prussia, defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire. This battle is considered one his greatest masterpieces, due to his exploitation of rapid movement, to achieve the element of complete surprise and destroying an enemy army with negligible casualties. One month later, on December 5, 1757, at the Battle of Lissa (AKA Leuthen), Frederick II used manoeuvre and terrain to decisively defeat a much bigger Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine, thus ensuring Prussian control of Silesia during the Seven Years’ War.