100889 | SWITZERLAND. Einsiedeln Abbey bronze Medal.

100889 | SWITZERLAND. Einsiedeln Abbey bronze Medal. Issued 1861. Commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Meinrad (42mm, 35.71 g, 12h). By Sebald & Drentwett.

 

AB HOC FUNDATA, St. Meinrad among the clouds, holding quill and with two ravens at his side; below, two ravens attacking two robbers (his murderers), with his lifeless body lying to right; his hermitage in the background; S EREMUS ANTE MILLE ANNOS in exergue / AB HAC CONSERVATA, the Virgin Mary seated facing among the clouds, holding Holy Infant; below, contemporary façade of the abbey; S EREMUS POST MILLE ANNOS. Edge: Plain.

 

Cf. SM 942 (silver). Gem Mint State. Glossy brown surfaces with an intense prooflike nature.

 

Meinrad descended from the famous house of Hohenzollern, born near the end of the 8th century and becoming a hermit near Lake Zurich in 829. Practicing rather strict asceticism, he lived deep in the forest, passing along any gifts presented unto him by pilgrims to the poor and needy. While being visited by two men with nefarious motives, he was slain so that recent gifts may be plundered from his study. At the site of his martyrdom, the current abbey of Einsiedeln was established, with Meinrad as its saint. Two ravens—attributes of the martyr—even comprise part of the coat-of-arms of the Swiss municipality.

 

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