GERMANY. Empire. Wilhelm I/Brotherhood against the French Bronze Medal, 1871. GEM UNCIRCULATED.
cf. Marienburg-5834 (silver); Sommer-W11. Diameter: 45mm. Weight: 31.69 gms. By E. Weigand. Obverse: Laureate head right, with various battles mentioned in the border; Reverse: EINIG UND STARK ( united and strong ), German soldiers from various states standing united, rallying around a common cause. Edge : Plain. Rich brown surfaces, with stunning, exceptional brilliance and radiance, and a subtle cobalt tone accentuating the devices. Includes original box of issue. Under chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the various northern states of Germany became aligned as the North German Confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Neighboring France, worrisome that an expansion of the alliance with the southern states in Germany would tip the scales of western European power, began mobilizing troops on her northeastern border, with Germany countering. After fighting broke out, the superiority of the German forces was on display, as the war was over in six months; the overarching results being: Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, captured and forced into exile, the Second French Empire dissolved and replaced by the Third French Republic, the territory of the Alsace-Lorraine ( a focal point in World Wars I and II ) switching from France to Germany, and all of Germany coming into unification with the German Empire formed, headed by Prussian rule. The enmity between France and Germany would ensue from this point forward for the next 75 years until the end of World War II.
Estimate: $100.00- $200.00