28 November 2025
By Bill Miller
I thought it would be fun to add another Photo Essay and focus on rowing medals.
There are hundreds of rowing medals floating around auction sites. Some were simply stamped and others were elaborately created. Their beauty is amazing.
Some medals were awards for successful rowing races. And some were struck to commemorate an event or anniversary. Medals took various forms. Some were circular or other simple shapes with no other embellishments. Some were very intricately garnished with embellishments. And some hung from ribbons that were suspended from fancy bars with pins.
Some medals used common metals such as copper and bronze while others were struck from sterling silver and solid gold. Many medals were stamped with the metal content and with the manufacturers mark. I’m not including coins in order to keep this photo essay manageable.
Also, many medals were designed by well-known medalists. Their identification mark is usualy found stamped or struck on the medal. Lastly, inscriptions were added with winner’s name, and/or event, and/or date.
I’m happy to share images from my collection with our HTBS readers. In many cases I’ll show the obverse and if the reverse is interesting, I’ll show it also.
British medals were beautifully struck:
W J Taylor, sculptor
Won In the Boat Five Brothers (Edward Clasper)
National Rowing Foundation Collection
Won By John H Clasper
National Rowing Foundation Collection
Thames Challenge Cup – Senior Fours
Junior Eight Oared Challenge Cup
Jewelers painstakingly assembled beautiful medals from various elements:
Won by the Hillsdale Four
Won by the Hillsdale Four
Won by James Corbet
Won by James Corbet
Junior Four
San Diego Rowing Club, Senior Four
Four Oar Shell
Single Gig
Eight Oared Shells
Massachusetts
The French and other European medal makers approached designs as an art form. Goddesses were often depicted to embellish the image:
Paris
Paris
J.F. Quille, sculptor
(no inscription)
Budapest, Hungary
Germany
Vienna, Austria
France
France
France
France
France
France
Antwerp Sculling Club
Junior Four
Vienna, Austria
Oostende, Belgium
Germany
Ostende, Belgium
Belgium
Championship medals were awarded for major events:
FISA – 1902
Strasbourg
FISA – 1961
Prague
FISA – 1989
Bled
Philadelphia
National Rowing Foundation Collection
St Catherines, Ontario
St Catherines, Ontario
Cambridge, Massachusetts
And medals awarded at US regional championships:
Baltimore
New York
Oakland
Springfield, Massachusetts
Buffalo
Many medals were suspended from ribbons and pins:
Presented to John H. Abeel
Spring Regatta
Springfield, Massachusetts
Dedicated To Women’s Racing
Washington, D.C.
Worcester, Massachusetts
(no inscription)
Medals and plaques were struck to commemorate anniversaries or special events:
“Memorial To Commemorate The Fallen And Tortured Rowers”
Regatta plaques:
Hear The Boat Sing 
I noticed:
no medals from Lucerne, Lake Rotsee, would you like to get one? Alex Peyer ; peyer.alex@gmail.com
This is a wonderful collection of Bill’s, which I recently had the pleasure of viewing at his home and which we are working with him to incorporate virtually into the Rowing History Project’s site now in its final stages of development. Wondering if he might comment on the Head of Charles medal which I believe was sculpted by Joseph Brown a famous Philadelphia/Princeton sports sculptor who I had the pleasure of meeting many years ago.
He has many of his larger works on display in Philadelphia, including those at the current sports arenas in Philadelphia.
Rick Stehlik