"Admiralty, June 5, 1856.
Her Majesty having been graciously pleased to signify Her commands that a medal shall be granted to the Officers and Crews of Her Majesty's ships as well as to such Officers and Men of Her Majesty's Army as were employed in the operations in the Baltic in the years 1854-5, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty hereby give notice of the same."
The obverse of the award was again embellished by the familiar head engraved by Wyon, whilst the reverse depicted Britannia seated. The inscription "Baltic, 1854-1855," surrounded her. The ribbon was yellow, flanked with narrow edges of blue.
After the Baltic came the Crimea award. This is certainly one of the finest productions which the London Mint has ever given us. The well-known picture of Victoria filled the obverse, whilst a splendid allegorical group, depicting Victory crowning a Roman soldier, ornamented the reverse. The clasps were more decorative than usual, taking the form of elongated oak-leaves held in position by minute acorns. They were five in number and bore the designations of Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, Sebastopol, and Azoff (the latter only for naval victories). The ribbon was light blue, edged with yellow.
The medal commands but a very low price—considering how important was the victory which it commemorates—unless it bears the bar for Balaklava. If provided with this honour, and engraved for one of the cavalry regiments which took part in the famous charge, its value is considerable.
The last award to be paid for by the Honourable East India Company was the Indian Mutiny medal of 1857-8. This, of course, is one of the finest pieces which could enter the medallist's collection, yet it is procurable for a very modest sum, unless it bears the clasp for the Defence of Lucknow, when it is somewhat costly. The obverse shows Victoria's profile, as before, whilst the reverse displays Britannia seated on a lion, with the word "India" printed around the edge. The ribbon is silver grey, with two bars of red. The clasps are five in number: Delhi, Defence of Lucknow, Relief of Lucknow, Lucknow, and Central India. The medal was presented, generally, to soldiers in the 9th Lancers and the Bengal Horse Artillery, besides many civilians.
In 1867-8, a medal for Abyssinia was minted. In some measure it was an interesting award, as the usual head of Victoria was superseded by another design, engraved by J. S. Wyon and A. B. Wyon. In this case the royal features were portrayed within a small circle, which was surrounded by a star having nine points. In the angles formed by the points of the star the letters A-B-Y-S-S-I-N-I-A were printed. The reverse was a simple circular wreath. There were no clasps, and the ribbon—silver grey and red in colour—was passed through a circular ring, joined to the medal by a royal crown fashioned in silver.
In 1869, a much-belated decoration was struck for distribution among the soldiers and sailors who fought against the Maoris in New Zealand in 1845-7 and 1860-6.
The expeditionary force was landed in 1845, in order to uphold the rights of British settlers, who complained that after purchasing allotments of land they were denied their title. The Maori chiefs disclaimed all knowledge of such practices, but when a British magistrate presented a formal complaint to a certain Wairau chief, he was murdered. This seems to have been a signal for other native chiefs to rise and maltreat the Europeans generally. The British force, it may be added, only arrived in time to prevent a wholesale massacre of the settlers from the Motherland.
The obverse of the medal bore a new head of Victoria, wearing widow's weeds; the reverse showed a wreath, and the inscription "New Zealand, Virtutis Honor: 1846-65." For reasons which are not clear, a few pieces were struck bearing no date. The ribbon was blue and red.