Item number: M494

Reference Number: Marienburg#7792; Lange#1190

Year: AD 1900

Material: Silver

Size: 36.8 x 36.8 mm

Weight: 25.37 g recorded

Manufactured by: Berliner Medaillen-Münze Otto Oertel

Provenance: Stack’s Bowers 2025

This silver commemorative medal was issued in August AD 1900 to commemorate Field Marshal Waldersee’s assembly of the German Expeditionary Force for its deployment to China.

Centred on the obverse is a bust profile of Field Marshal Waldersee attired in military uniform, wearing a side cap (Bordmütze), and adorned with the collar and grand cross of the Order of the Red Eagle; this central motif is encircled by a beaded rim, with his German title, “GENERALFELDMARSCHALL GRAF WALDERSEE”, translating to “Field Marshal Count Waldersee”, arranged along the outer rim.

The centre of the reverse features an ocean-going steamship (Dampfer) navigating towards the left. This depicts the SS Sachsen (Dampfer Sachsen), then operated by North German Lloyd. The inscription “1900” below denotes both the year of the historical event and the issuance of the medal. The motif is enclosed by a beaded rim, beyond which runs the encircling German legend, “FAHRT NACH CHINA AUF DEM DAMPFER SACHSEN”, translating to “Voyage to China aboard the Steamship Sachsen”.

This unsigned commemorative medal shares a similar design with another specimen signed by Oertel, which was likewise struck by the Otto Oertel Medal Mint in Berlin (Berliner Medaillen-Münze Otto Oertel); however, this specific unsigned piece features a larger module and carries a heavier weight. Furthermore, a decorative beaded rim (Perlkreis) has been introduced between the central motifs and the encircling legends on both the obverse and reverse. The obverse legend is supplemented with an additional five-pointed star, whilst the abbreviation “D. DAMPFER” on the reverse has been altered to the full form “DEM DAMPFER”.

The Otto Oertel Medal Mint (Berliner Medaillen-Münze Otto Oertel) was established in Berlin around AD 1887 by Otto Oertel, following a spin-off from the renowned G. Loos Medal Mint. By around AD 1900, it had developed into one of the private mints in the imperial capital of Berlin celebrated for its robust production capacity and exquisite craftsmanship. Throughout its development, the establishment attracted distinguished engravers and medal designers, including Ernst Deitenbeck, who worked there for many years. Most of its struck pieces bear marks such as “OERTEL”, “OERTEL BERLIN”, or the later “OERTEL BERLIN TAUER DIR.”. The enterprise was eventually managed by its final proprietor and engraver, Arthur Tauer, in AD 1938, and continued operations into the Nazi era.

North German Lloyd was founded in Bremen in AD 1857, subsequently developing into one of the most iconic and colossal global shipping giants of Germany from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Its steam passenger ship, the SS Sachsen (Dampfer Sachsen), was constructed by the AG Vulcan shipyard in Stettin and officially entered service in AD 1887 with an initial gross registered tonnage of 4,571 tons. The vessel underwent a hull-lengthening refit between AD 1893 and AD 1894, which increased its gross tonnage to 5,295 tons. During its service career, the Sachsen was primarily deployed on the Atlantic route between Bremen and the Americas, while also consistently operating regular Far East cruise routes to East Asia and Australia, until it was sold for scrap and dismantled in AD 1909.

Descended from the German aristocracy, Waldersee possessed the noble particle “von” within his full name, and both his father and maternal grandfather were generals. Following the receipt of the news in Germany that the German Envoy to China, Clemens von Ketteler, had been assassinated on 20 June AD 1900, Kaiser Wilhelm II promoted Waldersee from Chief of the General Staff to Field Marshal. The Kaiser commanded him to lead the German Expeditionary Force and successfully secured his appointment as the Supreme Commander of the Eight-Nation Alliance. However, by the time Waldersee arrived in China, the allied forces had already captured the city of Beijing; consequently, his primary tasks shifted to mopping up the remaining Boxer insurgents in Northern China and conducting negotiations with the Qing government. From March AD 1901 onwards, in order to avoid intensifying British and Russian hostility towards Germany, Waldersee progressively disbanded the German troops stationed in China and sent them home, returning to Hamburg, Germany, in August of that year. Shortly after his repatriation, Waldersee passed away at his residence on 5 March AD 1904 at the age of 71.

物件編號: M494

參考書目編號: Marienburg#7792; Lange#1190

年代: 公元 1900 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 36.8 x 36.8 mm

重量: 紀錄為 25.37 g

製造地: 柏林奧特爾獎章鑄造廠

來源: SBP錢幣拍賣 2025

這是一枚公元1900年8月，紀念瓦德西元帥組建德國遠征軍遠赴中國，所發行的銀質紀念章。

章體中央是頭戴甲板帽（Bordmütze），身著戎裝，配戴紅鷹勳章領綬鏈章的瓦德西元帥半身胸像，以珠圈環繞，外緣環列其德文頭銜「GENERALFELDMARSCHALL GRAF WALDERSEE」，即「陸軍元帥 伯爵 瓦德西」。

背面中央為一艘正在向左航行的蒸汽遠洋客輪（Dampfer）。這是當時北德勞埃德公司（North German Lloyd）旗下的「薩克森號」蒸汽船（Dampfer Sachsen）。下方「1900」為事件發生年與獎章的發行年。周圍環列珠圈，其外環列德文「FAHRT NACH CHINA AUF DEM DAMPFER SACHSEN 」，譯為「乘坐薩克森號客輪前往中國的航程」。

這一無署名的紀念章與另一枚章圖類似，署名奧特爾的紀念章同樣由柏林奧特爾獎章鑄造廠（Berliner Medaillen-Münze Otto Oertel）所鑄造，但章體較大，重量也較重。正背面的中央章圖與環列銘文間也多了分隔用的珠圈。正面環銘多了一顆五角星。背面「D. DAMPFER」的縮寫則改為「DEM DAMPFER」。

柏林奧特爾獎章鑄造廠（Berliner Medaillen-Münze Otto Oertel）由奧托·奧特爾於公元1887年左右創立，係由著名的洛斯勳章造幣廠分拆而來。至公元1900年前後，該廠已發展為德意志帝國首都柏林中，以強大產能與精湛工藝聞名的私營造幣廠之一。在其發展歷程中，曾吸引恩斯特·戴滕貝克等知名雕刻師與徽章設計師長年在此工作，其作品多帶有「OERTEL」、「OERTEL BERLIN」或後期「OERTEL BERLIN TAUER DIR.」等標識，直至公元1938年由最後一任經營者兼雕刻師阿瑟·陶爾掌管，並一直延續到納粹時期。

北德勞埃德公司（North German Lloyd）於公元1857年在不萊梅創立，隨後發展為十九世紀末至二十世紀初德國最具代表性且規模龐大的全球性航運巨頭之一。旗下蒸汽客輪「薩克森號」（Dampfer Sachsen）由斯德丁的伏爾甘造船廠（AG Vulcan, Stettin）建造，於公元1887年正式投入營運，初始總噸位為4,571噸。該船在公元1893至1894年間進行了船體加長改裝，使總噸位提升至5,295噸。在服役期間，「薩克森號」主要肩負著不萊梅至美洲的大西洋航線，並長期開闢與經營前往東亞、澳大利亞等地的遠東定期郵輪航線，直至公元1909年出售報廢拆解。

瓦德西出身於德國的貴族故擁有中間名「馮」，其父親和外公同為將軍。公元1900年6月20日，德國駐華公使克林德遭到殺害的消息傳回國內後，德皇威廉二世將作為參謀總長的瓦德西晉升為元帥，命令他指揮德國遠征軍和爭取到擔任八國聯軍的總指揮官。然而瓦德西到達中國之際，聯軍早已攻佔北京城，故其主要任務是掃蕩華北剩餘的義和團及向清政府進行談判。公元1901年3月起，為避免激化英俄對於德國的敵意，瓦德西陸續將駐華德軍遣散歸國，本人在8月返抵德國漢堡。瓦德西歸國不久，即在公元1904年3月5日逝世於家中，享年71歲。