Seringapatam medal
Encyclopedia
The Seringapatam medal, commissioned by the East India Company
in 1801, was a Conrad Heinrich-designed military medal distributed to those soldiers who contributed to the British victory in the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam
against the armies of Tipu Sultan
, ruler of the southern India
in the Kingdom of Mysore
. The medals were manufactured at the Soho Mint
.
Notably, medals were issued to all participants, although their materials were of various values. Those given to the highest-ranking commanders were made of gold, those given to intemediate ranks were silver, silver-gilt
, or bronze
, and those given to lesser ranks were made of tin.
The reverse of the medal displays the storming of the fort, with the sun at its meridian. The obverse shows a British lion overcoming a tiger
.
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in 1801, was a Conrad Heinrich-designed military medal distributed to those soldiers who contributed to the British victory in the 1799 Battle of Seringapatam
Battle of Seringapatam
The Siege of Seringapatam was the final confrontation of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War between the British East India Company and the Kingdom of Mysore. The British achieved a decisive victory after breaching the walls of the fortress at Seringapatam and storming the citadel. Tippu Sultan, Mysore's...
against the armies of Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
, ruler of the southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the Kingdom of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
. The medals were manufactured at the Soho Mint
Soho Mint
Soho Mint was created by Matthew Boulton in 1788 in his Soho Manufactory in Handsworth, West Midlands, England. A mint was erected at the manufactory containing eight machines, driven by steam engine, each capable of striking 70 to 84 coins per minute....
.
Notably, medals were issued to all participants, although their materials were of various values. Those given to the highest-ranking commanders were made of gold, those given to intemediate ranks were silver, silver-gilt
Silver-gilt
Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually silver-gilt; for example most sporting trophies, medals , and many crown jewels...
, or bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, and those given to lesser ranks were made of tin.
The reverse of the medal displays the storming of the fort, with the sun at its meridian. The obverse shows a British lion overcoming a tiger
Tiger versus lion
Historically, the comparative merits of the tiger versus the lion was a popular topic of discussion by hunters, naturalists, artists, and poets, and it continues to inspire the popular imagination in the present day. Lions and tigers have competed in the wild where their ranges have overlapped...
.