| AR, AE 41. Published by J. Mudie, manufactured by E. Thomason. |
| The following set of forty medals was issued in 1820 to celebrate the most important military and naval events during the reign of George III. They were produced in silver and bronze by a Mr James Mudie of London; the prospectus also states that they were available in gold but no specimen in that metal has been met with. There is, however, a record of an example of No. 37 which was offered for sale by Sotheby in the Matthew Young collection, 28th February, 1840 (lot 246). The specimens in gold were offered at fifteen guineas each or six hundred the set, the silver at one guinea each or forty the set, and the bronze at half a guinea each or twenty the set. The complete set was issued in a leather case (usually either green or red) in the form of a book with one velvet lined tray holding twenty medals; a second tray forms the base of the box. The lid is gold tooled and a leather bound book describing the medals is occasionally found with the medals. A list of the agents acting for Mr Mudie from whom the series could be obtained is listed in the book, as is a list of the subscribers. |
| Although the list of subscribers also gives the number of sets that they purchased, it is not possible to compute accurately the number issued. No doubt some sets were sold over and above the original subscription list. Generally speaking, a complete set in bronze may be described as rare, and a complete set in silver, as of the highest rarity. |
| The cost of producing the series is believed to have amounted to over £10,000. The medals were struck by Edward Thomason, mainly from dies engraved in France. Mudie proposed the series to Thomason in 1817 (See Memoirs pp. 140-41) and a letter from Durand is reproduced on pp. 265-7 concerning his dies for the Wellington and Napoleon medals. Durand states that 'to date' (1824) six medals had been struck but if this statement is correct it is curious since it would not tally with the fact that the book describing the series was published in 1820. |
| Some examples of the medals were struck in pewter; or white metal; these were probably struck at a later date and are not strictly part of the set. There are also some mules between obverses and these too, are probably later strikings. |
| from British Historical Medals, Volume I, pp. 256-60 |
| In May, 2003 I purchased an original copy of the book that James Mudie caused to have researched in order to accompany the release of the medals in the series. This is the book mentioned above. I've started going back through my few existing medals and adding the appropriate text from the book. |