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:

Jewelers painstakingly assembled beautiful medals from various elements:

The French and other European medal makers approached designs as an art form. Goddesses were often depicted to embellish the image:

Championship medals were awarded for major events:

And medals awarded at US regional championships:

Many medals were suspended from ribbons and pins:

Medals and plaques were struck to commemorate anniversaries or special events:

Regatta plaques: