Item number: M428

Year: AD 1842

Material: Gold

Size: 15.9 x 15.9 x 0.9 mm

Weight: 1.95 g

Manufactured by: Royal Mint

Provenance: Sincona 2025

This gold medalet was struck at the Royal Mint of England from gold extracted from Chinese sycee silver.

The obverse bears St Edward’s Crown at the top, symbolising royal authority. Beneath appears the inscription: THIS GOLD DISCOVERED IN SYCEE SILVER THE PRIZE OF BRITISH ARMS IN CHINA WAS EXTRACTED AT H.M. MINT MARCH 1842, meaning that the gold discovered within the sycee silver—obtained as a prize of British arms in China—was refined at His Majesty’s Mint. The date “1842” marks the year in which the medalet was produced.

The reverse reads: THE RT. HON W. GLADSTONE MASTER BY A PROCESS FIRST APPLIED TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND TO THE BENEFIT OF BRITISH COMMERCE UNDER THE RT. HON. J. C. HERRIES 1829, indicating that the process employed under the mastership of the Right Honourable William Gladstone had first been introduced into public service, and to the benefit of British commerce, under the Right Honourable John Charles Herries. “The Rt. Hon.” is the abbreviation of “The Right Honourable”, an honorific used for senior British office-holders. The date “1829” refers to the year in which the Royal Mint first adopted the precious-metal refining technique for extracting gold, during Herries’s tenure as Master.

The First Opium War arose from Britain’s efforts to reverse its trade deficit with China by smuggling large quantities of opium into Qing territory, a practice that gravely damaged Chinese society and the economy. In AD 1839, the Daoguang Emperor appointed Lin Zexu as Imperial Commissioner; Lin enforced stringent prohibitions on opium in Guangzhou and publicly destroyed the opium surrendered by British merchants at Humen. This action provoked Britain and triggered the outbreak of war. Citing commercial losses and affronts to diplomatic dignity, Britain launched a military invasion in AD 1840. The conflict spread rapidly along the South China coast and into several southeastern provinces, where the Qing forces, disadvantaged by inferior weaponry and tactics, suffered repeated defeats.

During the course of the conflict, both sides attempted early in AD 1841 to end hostilities by means of the Convention of Chuenpi. Charles Elliot, representing Britain, and Qishan, the Qing Imperial Commissioner, signed the agreement near Chuenpi, close to Guangzhou. Its terms included the cession of Hong Kong to Britain, the reopening of Guangzhou to trade, the establishment of direct official intercourse on equal terms, and a payment of six million silver dollars by the Qing government as a “ransom” for the city. However, the convention was repudiated by both governments: the British Cabinet regarded Elliot as having exceeded his instructions, while the Qing court considered Qishan’s concessions unauthorised. The agreement was therefore nullified, and military conflict resumed. After further defeats, the Qing government was compelled to sign the Treaty of Nanking in AD 1842, ceding Hong Kong Island, opening five treaty ports, paying a large indemnity, and accepting a range of unequal stipulations including extraterritoriality.

Because contemporary Chinese refining methods were insufficient to separate gold from silver, gold—commonly occurring as an associated metal in silver ores—remained mixed within sycee. After Britain had obtained several hundred tons of silver, William Ewart Gladstone, Master of the Mint between AD 1841 and 1845, extracted the gold contained in these sycee ingots and commissioned the medalet to commemorate the unforeseen financial gain. Gladstone later served four terms as Prime Minister of Britain, and his political programme—known as Gladstonian liberalism—earned him great popularity among working-class communities, leading to his sobriquet “The People’s William.”

物件編號: M428

年代: 公元 1842 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 15.9 x 15.9 x 0.9 mm

重量: 1.95 g

製造地: 皇家鑄幣廠

來源: 辛康納拍賣行 2025

此枚金質獎章由中國銀錠中提煉出的黃金鑄成，由英國皇家鑄幣廠製作。

獎章正面上方為聖愛德華王冠，象徵英王王權。下方「THIS GOLD DISCOVERED IN SYCEE SILVER THE PRIZE OF BRITISH ARMS IN CHINA WAS EXTRACTED AT H.M. MINT MARCH 1842」，譯為「這些於銀錠中發現的黃金，為英國武力在中國所獲得的戰利品，並於陛下的鑄幣廠中提煉出來。」。句末「1842」則標示此獎章的製作時間。

獎章背面為「THE R^T. HON W. GLADSTONE MASTER BY A PROCESS FIRST APPLIED TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND TO THE BENEFIT OF BRITISH COMMERCE UNDER THE R^T. HON. J. C. HERRIES 1829」，即「非常尊敬的威廉·格萊斯頓(鑄幣廠)廠長，其所使用的工藝最初係由非常尊敬的約翰·查爾斯·赫里斯引入公共服務，並惠及英國商業」。「THE R^T. HON」為「The Right Honourable」的縮寫，即「非常尊敬的」，為英國高級官員稱號。「1829」則為皇家鑄幣廠在約翰·查爾斯·赫里斯廠長任內首次採用貴金屬的黃金提煉工藝之時。

第一次鴉片戰爭的起因，源於英國為扭轉對華貿易逆差而大量向中國走私鴉片，造成清朝社會經濟與民生的嚴重危害。公元1839年，道光帝委派林則徐為欽差大臣，在廣州嚴厲查禁鴉片，並在虎門公開銷毀英商鴉片，此舉觸怒英國，成為戰爭爆發的導火線。英國以商業利益受損與外交尊嚴遭侮為由，於公元1840年發動武力入侵，戰事自華南沿海一路擴展至東南沿海多省，清軍因軍備落後而屢遭挫敗。

在戰爭過程中，雙方於公元1841年初曾試圖以《穿鼻草約》結束衝突。英方代表義律與清廷欽差琦善在廣州附近的穿鼻簽署協議，內容包括割讓香港予英國、廣州重新通商、允許兩國官員平等往來，以及由清方支付六百萬銀元以「贖城」。然而，該草約既未獲得英國政府批准，亦遭清廷視為擅權之舉，因此均被否認，使戰事再度擴大。最終，清朝在連番失利後被迫於公元1842年與英國簽訂《南京條約》，割讓香港島、開放五口通商、支付巨額賠款，並確立領事裁判權等多項不平等條款。

由於中國白銀提煉技術落後，黃金作為銀礦之常見伴生礦而未能分離，而在英國獲得數百噸白銀後，於公元1841至1845年間任鑄幣廠廠長的威廉·尤爾特·格萊斯頓(William Ewart Gladstone)，提煉出這些銀錠中的黃金，並製作獎章以紀念這些額外收益。格萊斯頓日後四任英國首相，政綱以格萊斯頓自由主義著稱，在工人群體中的聲望使其博得「人民的威廉」(The People’s William)外號。