Queen Victoria's Four Generations Medal

The coin's story

This bronze medal commemorates the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, who in 1897 celebrated sixty years on the throne, a reign begun in 1837. It is not an official medal: it was published by the firm H. Grueber & Co, of 37 Snow Hill in London, whose name and the word COPYRIGHT appear below the busts, and struck according to Numista by Heaton and Sons in Birmingham. It shows the four generations of the royal family who would succeed one another on the throne: Queen Victoria, her son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, her grandson George, Duke of York, the future George V, and her great-grandson Edward of York, born on 23 June 1894, the future Edward VIII. The reverse bears a radiant crown above the shields of Ireland, England and Scotland. This “four generations” theme was very popular at the time, and the royal family posed several times for group portraits from 1894.