Item number: M408

Year: AD 1859

Material: Bronze

Size: 75.6 x 75.6 x 8.7 mm

Weight: 189.2 g

Manufactured by: Paris Mint

Provenance: CGB Numismatics Paris 2024

This medal was issued in AD 1859 following a request by the French Council of State to the Senate for its authorization. It was minted at the Paris Mint to commemorate the Franco-Chinese and Cochinchina expeditions.

The obverse features a left-facing portrait of Napoleon III, encircled by the inscription “NAPOLEON III EMPEREUR” (“Napoleon III, Emperor”). Below the bust appears the signature “A. BORREL,” referring to the French sculptor Alfred Borrel.

The reverse depicts Marianne, the personification of France, draped in a robe adorned with bees, standing atop an ancient Roman war galley, whose prow bears the imperial eagle. She supports the imperial sceptre with her left hand and brandishes a thunderbolt in her right, threatening a defeated dragon. The bees, a symbol of the Merovingian dynasty, were adopted by Napoleon I as an emblem of his personal authority and the Bonaparte dynasty. By the reign of Napoleon III, bees came to symbolize the French people under the protection of the “socialist emperor.” The eagle, the insignia of the legions of ancient Rome, served as an official emblem of both the First and Second French Empires, reinforcing the imperial connection to Rome, a link further emphasized by the depiction of the Roman war galley. The thunderbolt represents power, a motif prevalent in various mythologies and frequently incorporated into imperial heraldry. The dragon, emblematic of Eastern empires, was an important symbol in both the Qing dynasty of China and the Nguyễn dynasty of Đại Việt. The surrounding inscription, “EXPEDITION DE CHINE ET DE COCHINCHINE” (“China and Cochinchina Expedition”), along with the date “1860–1862,” signifies that the medal commemorates the “Expédition de Chine”—referred to in Chinese historiography as the Second Opium War or the Anglo-French expedition—and the “Expédition de Cochinchine,” known in Vietnamese as the “Chiến dịch Nam Kỳ” (“Southern Campaign”). Although hostilities in both conflicts had already begun by AD 1858, from AD 1860 onwards, the French, in an effort to break the stalemate and offset their losses, expanded the scale of the conflict. What had initially been punitive and coercive operations escalated into full-scale predatory conquest. In AD 1860, French forces landed on Chinese soil, culminating in the capture of Beijing and the destruction of the Summer Palace. In AD 1861, French troops advanced southward to reinforce Saigon, capturing Mỹ Tho, Biên Hòa, and Vĩnh Long. In AD 1862, peace negotiations with Đại Việt resulted in the cession of multiple provinces and the formal establishment of French Indochina. The date range “1860–1862” on the medal likely serves to emphasize the historical memory of French military triumphs. The year “1869” appears on the lower right rim, marking the medal’s issuance. That same year, Napoleon III, having returned from his intervention in Italy, proclaimed a general amnesty and sought to distribute this medal widely, possibly as a means of glorifying the empire and facilitating his subsequent reforms.

The edge of the medal is smooth and bears the inscription “BRONZE” in small letters, indicating the material composition of the medal.

By the mid-nineteenth century, the Second French Empire had reached its zenith. Under the rule of the popularly elected emperor Napoleon III, Paris underwent a large-scale modernization. Meanwhile, France actively expanded its railway network, developed its industrial and commercial sectors, and, in AD 1859, signed a trade agreement with Britain to promote free trade. The Napoleonic Wars had previously facilitated the adoption of the metric system and decimal-based units, and subsequent international monetary instability led more nations to align with the franc-based currency system. The “Latin Monetary Union” of AD 1865 further cemented the franc’s role as a precursor to an internationally recognized currency, extending French financial influence across Europe and the Mediterranean.

In AD 1859, bolstered by its recent success in the Crimean War, France intervened in the Second Italian War of Independence, aiding the Kingdom of Sardinia in its victory over Austria and securing Lombardy, a pivotal step towards Italian unification. This conflict solidified France’s influence in European affairs. Simultaneously, France pursued territorial expansion in North Africa and sought to re-establish a colonial empire through military interventions in Cochinchina and Mexico.

Yet, beneath this grand vision of imperial prosperity lay the seeds of its own decline. The embrace of free trade undermined protected domestic industries, provoking fierce opposition from conservative factions. The Latin Monetary Union and the Italian campaign heightened tensions with Prussia, intensifying Franco-Prussian rivalry. In AD 1869, following his return from intervening in Italy, Napoleon III proclaimed a political amnesty, reversing the repressive stance he had adopted in the early years of his reign. Gradually, he eased press censorship in an effort to divide the opposition. By balancing repression with concessions, the Bonapartists managed to secure victory in the 1870 elections. Yet, later that same year, the catastrophe at Sedan saw Napoleon III decisively defeated and captured by Prussian forces. With his fall, the French Empire came to an abrupt end.

物件編號: M408

年代: 公元 1859 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 75.6 x 75.6 x 8.7 mm

重量: 189.2 g

製造地: 巴黎鑄幣廠

來源: 巴黎錢幣收藏 2024

這是一枚公元1859年，法國國務院呈請參議院頒發的中國暨交趾支那遠征紀念獎章，由巴黎鑄幣廠鑄造。

獎章的正面為拿破崙三世的左側肖像。周圍環繞著法文「NAPOLEON III EMPEREUR」，即「拿破崙三世皇帝」。下方「A. BORREL」為法國雕塑家、阿爾弗雷德·博雷爾(Alfred Borrel)的署名。

獎章的背面為法蘭西的擬人化身瑪麗安娜(Marianne)，身披繡有蜜蜂圖案的長袍，站立於一艘古羅馬戰船上，船首裝飾著帝國鷹徽。她左手扶著帝國權杖，右手持閃電，威脅著被擊倒的龍。蜜蜂被視為墨洛溫王朝的象徵符號，為拿破崙一世所採用，作為其個人及波拿巴皇室的象徵。至拿破崙三世時期，蜜蜂被視為受「社會主義皇帝」所保護的法蘭西臣民們。鷹則是古羅馬帝國軍團的徽記，作為第一與第二帝國的官方象徵，與古羅馬戰船一同強調了與羅馬帝國的連結。閃電則象徵著力量，在許多神話中皆有體現，同時也經常出現於帝國紋章上。龍則是東方帝國的象徵，大清與大越皆有採用。周圍環繞著法文「EXPEDITION DE CHINE ET DE COCHINCHINE」，即「中國暨交趾支那遠征」，與下方「1860-1862」指明了該獎章所記念的事件是中國遠征(L’expédition de chine)，中方稱「第二次鴉片戰爭」或「英法聯軍之役」；以及交趾支那遠征(L’expédition de Cochinchine)，越方稱「戰役南圻」(Chiến dịch Nam Kỳ)。雖然兩場戰役之軍事衝突於公元1858年便皆已開始，但自公元1860年起，法方為打破僵局，也為了彌補損失，決定擴大戰役的規模，從原本懲罰性、恐嚇性的戰爭升級為一場劫掠性的征服。公元1860年，法軍登陸中國領土，同年北京陷落，圓明園焚毀。公元1861年，法軍南援西貢，陷美湫、邊和、永隆。公元1862年，大越和談，割讓多省，法屬印度支那殖民地成立。標示公元1860至1862年，用意可能在於強調法軍勝利的歷史記憶。右下邊緣「1869」為發行年，拿破崙三世於該年干涉義大利後歸國，旋即大赦全國，並嘗試廣頒該獎章，可能是為彰顯帝國榮耀，以使後續改革順利進行。

獎章的側面平滑，有小字「BRONZE」，標示了獎章材質。

十九世紀中葉，法蘭西第二帝國國勢達到鼎盛。在民選皇帝拿破崙三世治下，巴黎進行大規模的現代化改造。此外，法國也積極興築鐵路、發展工業與貿易。公元1859年，更與英國簽訂通商條約，推動自由貿易。同時，由於拿破崙戰爭對公制單位與十進制的推廣，加以國際事件造成的幣值動盪，逐漸有國家加入法郎體系。公元1865年的拉丁貨幣同盟，更是使法郎成為國際通用貨幣的雛形，法郎在歐陸和地中海區域的影響力進一步擴增。

公元1859年，挾帶克里米亞戰爭後的勝勢，法蘭西帝國在第二次義大利獨立戰爭中，協助薩丁尼亞王國擊敗奧地利，獲得倫巴第地區，促成了日後義大利的統一。在當時，這一戰爭鞏固了法國在歐洲的影響力。與此同時，法國在北非地區也不斷擴張，並嘗試出兵交趾支那與墨西哥，再建殖民帝國。

但法蘭西帝國的盛世圖景，早已蘊含了傾覆的危機。自由貿易傷害國內的受保護產業，保守派抗議蜂起。拉丁貨幣同盟與義大利戰爭引起普魯士的警惕，加劇普法之間的競爭與敵意。公元1959年，拿破崙三世於干涉義大利後歸國大赦政治犯，並一改即位之初對異議者的彈壓政策，逐漸放寬言論審查，以分化反對派。軟硬兼施之下，公元1870年的大選中，波拿巴主義者仍然勝選。但也就在同年，在色當慘敗於普魯士軍隊後，法蘭西的最後一位君主被俘，帝國風流雲散。