Honorary Medal Awarded to Lourens Veijselaar, Survivor of the Gouden Buys Disaster, anonymous, 1695
engraving, d 7.8cm × l 31cm × w 0 More details
People who have performed a heroic deed or reached the end of a long career are sometimes awarded a medal as a token of esteem and gratitude. Often these are made of gold. Especially in the seventeenth century, gold medals with their chains were literally a reward. They were subsequently melted down and converted into money, which is why so few have survived.
