100799 | FRANCE. Napoléon I bronze Medal.

100799 | FRANCE. Napoléon I bronze Medal. Issued 1807. Napoléon at Ostróda (Osterode) (40mm, 41.87 g, 12h). By Andrieu and Denon in Paris.

 

NAPOLEON A OSTERODE, laureate head of Napoléon right / FABIUS CUNCTATOR, bare head of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator left. Edge: Plain.

 

Bramsen 631; Julius 1735; d'Essling 1164; Zeitz 82. Choice Mint State. Warm chocolate brown surfaces, with a great deal of underlying luster; a minor spot near the rim on the reverse is noted merely for completeness.

 

This design alludes to the Roman statesman and general, Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus "Cunctator" (the delayer), who chose not to directly engage Hannibal (and his superior numbers) during the Second Punic War, but rather focus on supply lines and other narrow areas in which Rome's disadvantages could be lessened—essentially giving life to the idea of guerilla warfare. Similarly, following the difficult Battle of Eylau on 8 February 1807, Napoléon opted for a long stay in Osterode in preparation, a choice proven correct by his decisive victory at the Battle of Friedland later that year on 14 June.

 

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