The Ashanti Medal was sanctioned in October 1901 and was the first campaign medal authorised by Edward VII . This medal was created for those troops engaged in the Third Ashanti Expedition, also known as the War of the Golden Stool . This expedition lasted from March – December 1900, with the final outcome that the Ashanti maintained its de facto independence. Ashanti was made a Protectorate of the British Empire, but they ruled themselves with little reference to the colonial power.
26-473: The medal, designed by George William de Saulles , was circular and 36 millimetres (1.4 in) in diameter, with the following design: Obverse: The bust of King Edward VII in Field Marshal's uniform facing left with the inscription 'EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR'. Reverse: The British lion standing on a rocky cliff facing a rising sun with, below, a native shield and crossed spears with a scroll bearing
52-618: A Hong Kong coin produced until 1935. Those with the mint mark "B" were produced at the Bombay Mint; others, marked "C", were struck in Calcutta . Those with no mint mark were produced in London. The mint mark "C" can be found in the ground between the left foot of Britannia and the base of the shield, while the mint mark "B" is located in the center prong of the trident. The 1921-B dollar was struck but never released for circulation, and only
78-532: A direct result of the First (1839–1842) and Second Opium War (1856–1860), which broke out when Chinese authorities tried to stop Britain from smuggling opium into the country. The loser, China, had to open up a number of ports to British trade and residence, and cede Hong Kong to Britain . In the decades that followed, merchants and adventurers flocked to these areas, and international trade flourished. Foreign banks were established and large silver coins from all over
104-540: A limited number of 1934-B and 1935-B coins were released. In some cases, the date on an already manufactured coin die was altered. As this could not be done without leaving a trace of the former date, some coins show traces of an older date below the clearly visible date. These include 1897-B over 1896-B, 1900-B over 1894-B, 1901-B over 1900-B, 1909-B over 1908-B, 1904-B over 1898-B, 1903-B over 1902-B, 1908-B over 1903-B, 1904-B over 1903-B, 1929-B over 1901-B, 1908-B over 1907-B, and 1910-B over 1900-B. The British trade dollar
130-624: A merchant ship under full sail in the background. On the reverse is an arabesque design with the Chinese symbol for longevity in the center, and the denomination in two languages – Chinese and Jawi Malay. The British trade dollar was designed by George William De Saulles and minted from 1895 for Hong Kong and the Straits Settlements. But after the Straits dollar was introduced to the Straits Settlements in 1903, it became exclusively
156-604: The Birmingham School of Art , under the master, Mr. Taylor. He was apprenticed to Mr. Wilcox, die-sinker, in Birmingham, under whom he had a varied practice, which included the execution of large labels for Manchester goods. De Saulles came to London in 1884, and worked for John H. Pinches, the die-engraver, then in Oxenden Street, Haymarket. In 1888 he returned to Birmingham and worked for Joseph Moore ,
182-820: The Pacific to the Spanish-held mints and silver mines of Mexico , Peru , and Bolivia , in the other. The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade , led from the 16th Century onwards to the wide circulation of "pieces of eight" as a standard of trade in the Far East . The high regard in which these coins came to be held, led to the minting of the silver Chinese yuan , a coin designed to resemble the Spanish one. These Chinese " dragon dollars " not only circulated in China, but together with original coins of Spanish-Mexican origin became
208-647: The Spanish dollar , which had set the standard for a de facto common currency for trade in the Far East . The existence of trade dollars came about because of the popularity of the silver Spanish dollar in the Far East , such as in China , East Asia , and the East Indies . Following the establishment of Spanish Philippines , Manila (in the modern area of Intramuros ) became an entrepôt for Chinese goods in one direction and Spanish silver dollar , from across
234-597: The Spanish pieces of eight that had been brought to the Orient from Mexico on the Manila Galleons. It was initially on a silver standard of 1 piastre = 24.4935 grams pure silver. This was reduced to 24.3 grams in 1895. The Japanese Trade Dollar was a dollar coin, issued from 1875 to 1877. It was minted of 27.22 g of silver with a fineness of .900 (90%). The Yen coin had 26.96 g of silver at that time, and otherwise nearly identical in design to
260-655: The Spanish-Mexican coins so long trusted and valued in China. To control the money supply in French Indochina in 1885, the French introduced a new silver Piastre de commerce and associated subsidiary coinage throughout the entire Indo-Chinese colonies in order to increase monetary stability. The piastre was initially equivalent to the Mexican peso . The piastre was therefore a direct lineal descendant of
286-928: The colonies. At the time of his death he was preparing the models for the great seals of the United Kingdom and those of Ireland and Scotland, subsequently executed by Frank Bowcher. He was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy , 1898–1903. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Lee, Sidney , ed. (1912). " De Saulles, George William ". Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement) . Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co. Trade dollar Trade dollars were silver coins minted as trade coins by various countries to facilitate trade with countries in East Asia, especially China and Japan . They all approximated in weight and fineness to
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#1732779963738312-472: The domestic silver dollar ( Seated Liberty Dollars and Morgan Dollars ) of the time. It is 4 grains heavier than the Mexican peso ; however, the peso is .903 silver. The coin was designed by William Barber , the mint's chief engraver. More trade dollars were minted in San Francisco than Carson City and Philadelphia combined. San Francisco was closest both to the source of the silver as well as
338-435: The inscription 'ASHANTI'. Metal: Awarded in silver to combatants and in bronze for native carriers . Ribbon: Green, 33 millimetres (1.3 in) wide, with three 5 millimetres (0.20 in) black stripes, one at each edge and one in the centre. Naming: The rim of the medal was impressed with the recipient's name and unit in small square capitals. Officers' medals often had details engraved in script. The clasp 'KUMASSI'
364-735: The issue of English coins made in 1902 after the accession of Edward VII. His signature on the coins is "De S." De Saulles also designed and engraved the dies for colonial coins, such as the British Trade Dollar , the British East Africa copper coins, 1897; the British Honduras coins 1894; the British dollar for India, 1895, and the Straits Settlements dollar, 1903. He made the last Great Seal for Queen Victoria (1899), and many designs for official seals for
390-496: The medallist. During 1892 De Saulles was in London at the Royal Mint , on the death of Leonard Charles Wyon the chief engraver. In January 1893 he was gazetted "engraver to the mint", and from that time to his death produced dies for British and colonial coins and for official medals. Engaged in the preparation of the new seal of Edward VII , De Saulles died at Chiswick , after a few days' illness, on 21 July 1903 aged 41. He
416-653: The medals included: Besides these he engraved and designed a number of official medals such as: A fuller list was given by J. H. Pinches in the Numismatic Chronicle ,' 1903, and by Hocking, Catalogue of Coins in Royal Mint . He executed the dies for the new issue of coins of Queen Victoria in 1893, designed by Thomas Brock . He designed the Britannia reverse of the English bronze coins of 1895, and
442-618: The preferred currency of trade between China and its neighbours. Defeated in the First Opium War , China was forced to open its ports to foreign trade, and in the late half of the 19th Century Western nations trading with China found it cheaper and more expedient to mint their own coins, from their own supplies of silver, than to continue to use coins from Mexican sources. These so-called trade dollars would approximate in specification, weight 7 mace and 2 candareens (approx. 27.2 grams; 7 ⁄ 8 troy ounce) and fineness .900 (90%),
468-554: The right. The coins were then released for use in Japanese-occupied Taiwan, Korea and Lüshunkou . With the extension of British trading interests in the East, especially after the founding of Singapore in 1819 and Hong Kong in 1842, it became necessary to produce a special dollar so as to remove the reliance of a British Colony upon the various foreign coins then in circulation. "China trade silver dollars" were
494-427: The silver medal, as well as 131 European civilians, mainly local administrators and doctors. Some 4,000 locally recruited troops and constabulary received the medal in silver. About 900 carriers qualified for the medal in bronze. In addition, numerous local levies were employed who may also have received the bronze medal. George William de Saulles George William de Saulles (4 February 1862 – 21 July 1903)
520-458: The trade dollar. 2,736,000 coins of this type were minted, the vast majority in 1876-77. When Japan introduced the gold standard in 1897, the silver 1 yen coins, including the trade dollars, were demonetized. The majority of the trade dollars were counterstamped with the character "gin" (Japanese for "silver"). The Osaka mint placed the mark on the left side of the reverse, the Tokyo mint on
546-548: The ultimate destination of the coins, China. Many Trade dollars have what are called "chopmarks" on them. Chinese merchants would stamp the coins in order to verify their correct weight and value. The United States Congress authorized the U.S. Mint to create a trade dollar to improve trade with the Orient , China in particular. Prior to that, the Mexican peso had been the primary silver coin used in trading with China . In fact,
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#1732779963738572-470: The world began arriving to pay for tea, silk and Chinese porcelain to be shipped abroad. These .900 fine silver trade dollars were then circulated throughout China, where they were readily accepted as a medium of exchange. The British trade dollar, minted exclusively for use in the Far East, depicts Britannia standing on the shore, holding a trident in one hand and balancing a British shield in the other, with
598-590: Was a British medallist . He designed the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom and its colonies under Queen Victoria and King Edward VII . He was born on 4 February 1862 at Villa Street, Aston Manor , Birmingham. His grandfather Samuel was from Switzerland and had been a Page of the Presence in the household of George IV and William IV ; his father, William Henry de Saulles, was a Birmingham glass merchant. At an early age he began his art training at
624-461: Was awarded to the forces besieged within Kumassi between 31 March and 15 July 1900 and to members of the two relieving columns, under Colonel James Willcocks and Colonel A.P. Burroughs respectively. About 4,400 silver and at least 900 bronze medals were awarded. While no British Army units took part in the campaign, 183 European officers and 80 European NCOs seconded to local forces received
650-478: Was buried in Chiswick churchyard. He was married, but had no children. De Saulles as craftsman worked rapidly, and he designed, modelled and engraved most of his dies. He was somewhat influenced by the French school of Louis-Oscar Roty and Jules-Clément Chaplain , but for his official work there was little innovation. His medallic work between 1894 and 1903 comprised at least thirty medals and three plaques, and
676-604: Was demonetized on 1 August 1937. The United States trade dollar is a silver ( fineness of .900 or 90%) dollar coin that was issued by the United States Mint and minted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , Carson City, and San Francisco from 1873 to 1885. Business strike trade dollars were last produced in 1878 and proof coin production continued until 1885. The coin weighs 420 grains (27.2 g), about 8 grains (0.52 g) more than
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