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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jaelus, post: 3142572, member: 46237&quot;]Here&#039;s a recent acquisition that is somewhat of a mystery to me.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hungary (dated June 6 1865)</p><p>Tin 42mm 24.74g</p><p>Engraved by Wilhelm Pittner, an Austrian who produced medals between 1856-1898.</p><p><br /></p><p>1so FERENCZ JOSEF AUSZT. CSASZ. MAGYAR. ORSZ. KIRALYA.// EMLEK 1865/ JUNIUS 6ara. Laureate head, right</p><p>( ELJEN ) // KI CÉLUNKAT TALÁLJA. Crowned coat of arms of Hungary with laurel and palm branch, below in clouds ELJEN!. </p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]803461[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>After the failed War of Independence of 1848-1849, Hungary was kept under martial law with the people uncooperative and at times openly hostile to Austrian rule (a Hungarian attempted to assassinate Franz Joseph in 1853). In 1861 the Hungarian Parliament met and issued a statement that they would only cooperate with Austria if they were granted autonomy and the Emperor was crowned the constitutional monarch of Hungary. Franz Joseph responded by dissolving the Hungarian Parliament. The situation worsened over the coming years with Hungary in all but open rebellion.</p><p><br /></p><p>On June 6 1865 (the date that this medal commemorates), Franz Joseph visited Pest in Hungary, re-established the Hungarian Parliament, and promised the Hungarian people the autonomy they had requested. The seeds for his ascending as King of Hungary were planted at this time, but his coronation would not occur until June 8 1867.</p><p><br /></p><p>So the mystery with this medal is that while it is dated June 6 1865, Franz Joseph&#039;s title is listed as Franz Joseph the first, Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, but he would not assume the title of King of Hungary until two years after this date. The appearance of his facial features and beard are consistent with his appearance around 1865-1870, but most closely resemble other busts and photographs from 1866-1867.</p><p><br /></p><p>As to the reverse, I&#039;ve found it difficult to translate without knowing the intent of the medal (is it parody? celebratory? for the coronation but commemorating the earlier date?), even after speaking to a couple people whose Hungarian is better than mine I haven&#039;t come to a conclusion about it. The only reference I found for this medal lists it as an 1865 Parliament of Pest medal (of which there were many issued).</p><p><br /></p><p>The other mystery is the presentation of the small shield of Hungary on the reverse. The small shield topped with the Holy Crown of Szent Istvan is a fairly typical depiction for this period, however, behind the shield are a crossed anchor and cross, and below the shield are crossed laurel and palm branches. The only similar iconography I&#039;ve found is on the Budapest district flag for Soroksár, which features the crossed anchor and cross (though reversed from how it is presented here).</p><p><br /></p><p>Medals of Franz Joseph with Hungarian legends minted during the Austrian occupation period (1849-1866) are exceedingly rare, as he was very unpopular during this period of Hungarian nationalism. If I had to guess, I&#039;d say the medal was likely produced prior to the coronation of 1867, but after Austria&#039;s loss in the Austro-Prussian War that led to Franz Joseph&#039;s resolve to assume the throne of Hungary. This would put the medal sometime in late 1866, with the intent being to celebrate the initial meeting in 1865 that led to the re-establishment of the Parliament and Hungarian autonomy under a constitutional monarch.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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