Historic Waterloo Commemorative Dispatch Will Carry Unique Treasure Chest
LONDON, June 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
Coin and medal experts, The London Mint Office along with medallists to the Queen, Worcestershire Medal Service, are providing a treasure chest as part of The New Waterloo Dispatch, a ceremonial re-enactment of the journey that the Duke of Wellington's message of victory took from the Waterloo battlefield to the Prince Regent at St James's Square.
The chest will travel from the Waterloo battlefield on Friday 19th June, accompanying a document celebrating the Battle of Waterloo's lasting legacy of peace and replicas of the two Imperial Eagles and Standards, captured from the French armies in the original Waterloo Dispatch. The journey will be made by two re-enactors playing Major Henry Percy and Commander James White RN who carried the original victory message, travelling in a horse-drawn post chaise.
The chest arrives at St James's on Sunday 21st June. Each piece will receive a certificate signed by Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter and Tim Cooke, Co-Chairmen of Waterloo 200, confirming they travelled on the New Waterloo Dispatch to London, exactly 200 years after the original journey. The limited edition medals and coins will be available to purchase, with a proportion of the sales being donated to Waterloo 200 to fund its ongoing education programme.
The Waterloo Treasure Chest will include:
- Benedetto Pistrucci's world famous Waterloo Medal made in pure 99.9% silver and weighing 2kg. One of these medals has been received by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her private collection.
- A £10 coin in pure gold, featuring the two opposing generals that fought at Waterloo forms the centrepiece of the strictly limited edition Philatelic Numismatic Cover (PNC). The PNC includes the official Belgian stamp for the commemoration stamped at the Waterloo battlefield on 18th June 2015, the 200th anniversary of the Battle.
- The Waterloo Campaign Medal in both silver and bronze. This was the first medal produced whereby soldiers of every rank were to be given the same medal made out of the same metal.
James Deeny, Managing Director at The London Mint Office, says, "It's exciting to have our Waterloo Treasure Chest on board The Dispatch. The medals produced for the Waterloo bicentenary have really captured the imagination with hundreds of thousands ordering them to date. The limited number of coins and medals will provide collectors with a one-off opportunity to buy a real piece of history."
Contact:
Clare Johnson
clarej@loudmouthpr.co.uk
+44(0)7581277125
Share this article