"Al talento y la aplicacion" Medal (1870)

Silver medal Al talento y la aplicación, dated 1870 and engraved by S. Navalón, among the pieces for scholastic and academic merit.

With the Restored Republic triumphant from 1867, the liberal government promoted public education as a pillar of national progress. Schools were founded and teaching was reorganized, and with it arose the custom of rewarding outstanding students with medals for talent and diligence.

These pieces were handed out at end-of-course ceremonies as an incentive to effort and a recognition of merit. The medal reflects the spirit of triumphant liberalism, which saw in instruction the path to forming citizens and modernizing the country, and which made education one of its great banners.

The "Al talento y la aplicación" medal of 1870 is a 19th-century Mexican school award, one of those that schools handed out to their best students at solemn end-of-term ceremonies. It is struck in silver, weighs 43.73 grams, and measures 45.57 mm in diameter. The design bears the signature of S. Navalón G., and it retains its suspension loop for hanging around the neck of the awarded student.

What it shows

The reverse, which is the main face, presents a central shield with a heraldic bird as its crest and, below, a star surrounded by laurel branches. The whole is framed by a decorative border with an engraved legend, now heavily worn. The obverse shows a plain central tablet or cartouche, meant for engraving the student's name, flanked by two floral sprays; at the foot the legend AL MERITO reads clearly. The piece shows wear and loss of the surface plating, normal for an example more than a century and a half old.

Context

In 19th-century Mexico it was customary to hand out prizes at solemn end-of-year school ceremonies, in both primary instruction and colleges and lyceums. Medals like this, with legends of merit, application, and talent, were part of that educational ritual meant to spur on the good student.

Value and collecting

A medal is not legal-tender currency, so its value comes not from a face denomination but from condition, metal, and collector interest. In silver and with a legible legend, a piece like this appeals to those who collect 19th-century Mexican school medals. If you want to appraise it or look for a similar one, check the shops directory and ask in the forum, where these rarities tend to turn up.