SA Union: Johannesburg Empire Exhibition: World Map

Form:

Rectangular with an arched gable for the upper edge. Uniface.

By:

Royal Mint, Pretoria

Date:

1936

Ref:

AM2: 229; Laidlaw: 0071;

Variations:

Size	Metal	Mass	Value
34.9 mm x 21.8 mm rising to 27.7 mm	Silver	19.1 gm	$60
34.9 mm x 21.8 mm rising to 27.7 mm	Bronze	16.6 gm	$45

Edge:

Plain.

Obverse:

A map of the world within a rectangular rim showing the extent of the British Empire marked in horizontal hatching. On an arched scroll across: “EMPIRE EXHIBITION 1936”. At the bottom a male lion (left) and antelope (right) face each other. At the top making the arc of the gable is a rimmed roundel with a protea flower on each side containing the arms of the City of Johannesburg and motto: “FORTITER ET RECTE”.

Reverse:

Blank. Occasionally stamped: RMP".

Notes:

Comes inside a blue cardboard box with: “RMP” in gold letters on the outside of the lid. The silver medal has no silver mark.

Johannesburg hosted the Empire Exhibition, held in Milner Park between September 1936 and January 1937. Milner Park (now part of the University of Witwatersrand) is the home of the annual Witwatersrand Agricultural Society Show, first opened by Paul Kruger in 1894. The exhibition coincided with the City’s Golden Anniversary. The centrepiece of the layout of gardens, buildings and pathways was the 200 feet tall “Tower of Light” which could be seen at night from anywhere on the Rand.