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| Great Britain. Royal Exchange white metal Medal |
$85.00 |
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Attribution: Eimer 1392
Date: 1844
Obverse: ROYAL EXCHANGE OPENED BY H:M: QUEEN VICTORIA / OCT: 28 1844, crowned head left
Reverse: FIRST STONE LAID BY H.R.H. PRINCE ALBERT / JANY 17 1842, three shield, grasshopper above
Size: 27.49mm
Weight: 10.92 grams
Rarity:  5
Description: From the Tom D Slater (Slater's Americana) Collection of British and related Coinages. On January 17, 1842, the first stone was laid for the New Royal Exchange in London. This was a massive public event in Victorian England. The foundation stone was laid by Prince Albert (Queen Victoria's husband) at Cornhill, in the City of London. The stone was lowered into place inside a massive specially-constructed marquee. Because of the royal presence and the importance of the building to British commerce, thousands of people attended, and many commemorative lithographs and engravings were made to document the day. Prince Albert used a specially inscribed silver-gilt trowel for the ceremony, which is still a noted historical artifact today. The building was designed by Sir William Tite in the Greek Revival style. The previous Royal Exchange had been completely destroyed by a fire in January 1838. The 1842 ceremony marked the official "rising from the ashes" of London's center of commerce. The building completed after this ceremony is the one that still stands today (though it no longer functions as a trading floor). The building was officially opened by Queen Victoria on October 28, 1844.
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