Item number: M511-1

Year: AD 1898

Material: Gilt Bronze

Size: 22.2 x 18.4 x 1.7 mm

Provenance: eMedals 2026

This is a miniature of the Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal, originally instituted in AD 1898.

The obverse features a central bust in right profile of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, dressed in the uniform of an Austro-Hungarian field marshal or senior commander. Upon his chest, he wears the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, the War Medal 1873, the 50-Year Long Service Medal, and the Russian Cross of Saint George. Surrounding the portrait is the abbreviated Latin inscription “FRANC · IOS · I · D · G · IMP · AVSTR · REX · BOH · ETC · AC · AP · REX · HVNG”, standing for “Franciscus Josephus I, Dei Gratia Imperator Austriae, Rex Bohemiae, etc., ac Apostolicus Rex Hungariae”, which translates as “Franz Joseph I, by the Grace of God, Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, etc., and Apostolic King of Hungary”. The reverse features a central rectangular plaque bearing the Latin inscription “SIGNVM / MEMORIAE”, meaning “Token of Remembrance”, flanked by a laurel branch on the left and an oak branch on the right. Arranged in an arc above are the dates “MDCCCXLVIII – MDCCCXCVIII”, representing the years of his reign to that point, namely AD 1848 to AD 1898. This miniature version differs noticeably from the full-sized medal; in addition to the larger proportion of the lettering, the positioning of the inscription causes the Emperor’s left shoulder to slope downwards to accommodate the text.

The Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal was established on 18 August AD 1898, coinciding with his sixty-eighth birthday, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his accession to the throne and to honour public servants who had served under his reign. It was primarily divided into military and civil versions, which differed slightly only in their obverse inscriptions. Furthermore, the ribbon for the military version was poppy-red, whereas the ribbon for the civil version was split vertically into white on the left and red on the right. There was also a special gold edition surmounted by a double-headed eagle, awarded exclusively to military personnel with fifty years of completed service at the time of issuance and to a select few close courtiers.

In AD 1898, despite the lingering gloom following the assassination of Empress Elisabeth earlier that year, government institutions and civic organisations throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire joined in enthusiastically holding events and issuing publications to commemorate the old Emperor’s fifty years of rule. Yet in certain territories, the Emperor’s celebrations appeared conspicuously hollow and awkward. In Bohemia, the Badeni Crisis (Badeni-Krawalle) that had erupted in AD 1897 was festering; bilingual policies were pitting German speakers and Czech speakers against one another, and rising nationalism was maturing into an imperial constitutional crisis. The aftermath of territorial expansion in the Balkans in AD 1878 also persisted, similarly exacerbating inter-ethnic conflict within the Empire. In Hungary, the AD 1898 celebrations met with official coldness from the Kingdom of Hungary, as the Emperor of Austria had only concurrently served as King of Hungary since AD 1867. The eventual dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was already discernible during these festivities.

Franz Joseph I was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary from his accession in AD 1848 until his death in AD 1916. Reigning for sixty-eight years, he was one of the longest-ruling monarchs in European history. His succession occurred amidst a series of major upheavals across Europe, including the revolutions of AD 1848, which swept through numerous countries demanding liberalism and national independence. During his reign, the Austro-Hungarian Empire occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina following the Congress of Berlin in AD 1878 and commenced administration over the region, whilst its former ruler, the Ottoman Empire, retained nominal suzerainty. In AD 1908, the Austro-Hungarian Empire formally annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina, an action that incensed Serbia and Russia, heightening tensions in the Balkans. In AD 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew to Franz Joseph I and heir presumptive, was assassinated in Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital—an event known to history as the Sarajevo Assassination. Subsequently, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia, setting off a sequence of events that ultimately led to the outbreak of the First World War.

物件編號: M511-1

年代: 公元 1898 年

材質: 青銅鍍金

尺寸: 22.2 x 18.4 x 1.7 mm

來源: eMedals 2026

這是一枚金禧紀念章的迷你版，原章於公元1898年設立。

正面中央為奧匈帝國皇帝法蘭茲·約瑟夫一世右側半身像，身著奧匈帝國元帥/高級將領軍服，胸前佩帶有金羊毛勳章（Order of the Golden Fleece）頸飾、瑪麗亞·特蕾莎軍事勳章大十字勳章、1873年戰爭勳章、 50年服役紀念章以及俄羅斯聖喬治十字勳章。周圍環繞著拉丁文簡寫「FRANC · IOS · I · D · G · IMP · AVSTR · REX · BOH · ETC · AC · AP · REX · HVNG」，即「Franciscus Josephus I, Dei Gratia Imperator Austriae, Rex Bohemiae, etc., ac Apostolicus Rex Hungariae」，意為「法蘭茲·約瑟夫，蒙上帝恩典，奧地利皇帝，與波希米亞等地，與匈牙利的使徒國王」。此迷你版與原章差別較大，除字體比例較大外，銘文使皇帝的左肩塌陷以容納文字。

背面中央則為一長方形牌匾，上鐫拉丁文「SIGNVM / MEMORIAE」，即「紀念之銘」，以左側的月桂葉枝和右側的橡樹葉枝環繞。上方章緣環列「MDCCCXLVIII – MDCCCXCVIII」，為法蘭茲·約瑟夫一世當時執政的年代，即公元1848至1898年。

金禧紀念章於公元1898年8月18日設立，當日也是其六十八歲生日，該章用以紀念他登基已屆五十周年，並表彰於其治下服務的公職人員。主要分為軍事版和民事版，僅正面銘文稍有不同。此外，軍事版的綬帶為罌粟紅；民事版的綬帶為左白右紅。另有一種以雙頭鷹為頂飾的金質特別版，僅授予頒發時服役滿五十年的軍人與少數近臣。

公元1898年，儘管同年皇后伊莉莎白遇刺身亡的陰霾未散，奧匈帝國各地的政府單位與民間組織仍一同熱烈地舉辦活動、出版各類刊物，以紀念老皇帝的50周年執政。但在一些領地，皇帝的慶典顯得格外空洞而尷尬。在波西米亞地區，公元1897年開始的巴德尼危機(Badeni-Krawalle)正在發酵，雙語政策正在使德語使用者與捷克語使用者相互敵視，興起的民族主義正在醞釀成帝國的憲政問題。公元1878年，在巴爾幹地區進行的領土擴張餘波猶存，同樣加劇了帝國內部的族群衝突。在匈牙利地區，公元1898年的慶典遭匈牙利王國官方的冷遇，因為自公元1867年起，奧地利皇帝才兼任匈牙利國王。日後奧匈帝國的解體，在這次慶典中已可見一班。

法蘭茲·約瑟夫一世是奧地利皇帝兼匈牙利國王，自公元1848年登基，統治直至公元1916年去世，統治時間長達68年，是歐洲歷史上在位時間最長的君主之一。繼位之時，正值歐洲發生一連串重大動盪事件，包括公元1848年的一系列革命，這些革命浪潮席捲歐洲多國，要求自由和民族獨立。他在位期間，奧匈帝國於公元1878年柏林會議後佔領了波斯尼亞和黑塞哥維那，並開始對該地區進行統治，原統治者鄂圖曼土耳其帝國成為名義上的宗主國。公元1908年，奧匈帝國正式吞併了波斯尼亞和黑塞哥維那，這一舉動激怒了塞爾維亞和俄羅斯，加劇了巴爾幹半島的緊張局勢。公元1914年，法蘭茲·約瑟夫一世的侄子、皇儲法蘭茲·斐迪南大公在波斯尼亞首府薩拉熱窩被刺殺，史稱「薩拉熱窩事件」。隨後，奧匈帝國向塞爾維亞宣戰，引發了一系列事件，最終導致第一次世界大戰的爆發。