Kroning van Elizabeth tot tzarina van Rusland 1742

This silver medal commemorates the coronation of Elizabeth as Tsarina of Russia, back in 1742. The use of silver for such an object is very telling. It is a precious metal, but not nearly as precious as gold. It is perfect for this kind of propaganda piece, which was probably distributed to a wide circle of elites. The medal was likely made by a process of die-striking, where the design is carved in reverse onto a hardened metal die, which is then pressed onto a blank of silver. The nature of this process means that the design is impressed all at once. The inscription circling the royal crest on one side, and the text on the other, would have required considerable skill to execute. And of course, there would have been other labor involved as well - mining, refining, distribution. All of this gives the medal its significance, beyond simply its symbolic value. This is not just a representation of power, but an embodiment of it.