France: Commemorative Medal for the China Expedition 1860 (Médaille commémorative de l'expédition de Chine de 1860). Unsigned & unmarked contemporary variant

The medal is a privately unsigned & unmarked contemporary variant, with reverse die faults

The Medal fitted with original silk 'moire' corded silk riband with distinctive blue embroidered Chinese characters on both sides of the riband

The medal was established by imperial decree on 23 January 1861, by Emperor Napoleon III, as a military award of the Second French Empire to reward French soldiers and sailors who had taken part in the latter stages of the 'Second Opium War' 1856-1860

On 3 August 1860, a British and French 'Expeditionary Corps', comprising an estimated 11,000 British and 6,700 French soldiers landed at Pei Tang and captured the Taku Forts on 21 August. The force then marched on Peking (now Beijing) and captured the Imperial City, there on, 6 October 1860. The war ended on 18 October 1860 with the humiliating 'Convention of Peking' that ceded numerous territorial concessions in China to the foreign powers

It is estimated that 8,000 medals were awarded to French military and naval personnel for the China Expedition of 1860

A nicely toned variant example with a good length of original silk riband

Condition: GVF

Code: 21157