The medal on display at the Museum of Moscow is a testament to the revival and heyday of Russian medallic art of the second half of the 18th century.
By tradition, the medal is in the Baroque style, its designers are two prominent medallists of their time: Samuel Yudin and Johann Georg Wechter. From 1741, Samuel Yudin was an apprentice at the St. Petersburg Mint, and in 1762 he became the chief medalist there. He created coin and portrait stamps with images of Emperor Peter I, Empresses Elizabeth I and Catherine II. Johann Georg Wechter, a native of Germany, born in Heidelberg, arrived in Russia in 1762 and served at the St. Petersburg Mint, where he made a number of medal stamps, including those commemorating the accession of Catherine II to the throne.
During the reign of Catherine II, the appeal to the recent historical past through medallic art had political implications. In 1725, after the death of Peter I, an era of palace coups began in Russian history. Over the next 37 years, the Russian throne saw a succession of seven monarchs. Both empresses, Elizabeth I and Catherine II, came to power by force of arms, overthrowing and then depriving two legitimate monarchs of their lives. To ideologically justify the rights of Catherine II on the throne a medal was minted to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna.
The reverse side of the medal has the greatest ideological meaning and shows the main imperial insignia. In the center of the composition is a full-length image of the Empress herself with a scepter in her right hand. On top of it, God’s Providence crowns her with the imperial crown. At Elizabeth’s feet the kneeling Russia, or Love of the Fatherland (as a woman with a coat of arms), passes her the orb. On the right, on the high pedestals of the two columns, are the crowned monograms of Peter I and Catherine I — Elizabeth’s parents. Royal ancestry was the main argument of Elizabeth Petrovna as she sought to seize the forefathers’ throne. The sun rising from behind the horizon illuminates the beginning of the new reign with its rays. The same arguments and symbols were also appropriate for Catherine II.
