103354 | FRANCE & ROMANIA. Paris International Expo bronze Award Medal.

103354  |  FRANCE & ROMANIA. Paris International Expo bronze Award Medal. Issued 1900 as the official prize [awarded to the Polytechnic Society of Romania (at Bucharest)] (63mm, 102.20 g, 12h). By Jules-Clément Chaplain at the Paris mint.

 

REPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE, bust of Marianne right, wearing oak wreath; oak tree to the left; cityscape of Paris in the background to right // EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE INTERNATIONALE, Victory flying left, with head upturned to the right, holding a wreath and palm frond, and bearing victor, holding a torch, upon her back; view of the expo hall in the background; in exergue, cartouche with "SOCIÉTÉ / POLYTECHNIQUE / A BUCAREST" embossed in three lines. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE.

 

Button 29; Wurzbach 7193. Choice Mint State. Deep tan-brown surfaces, with a charming matte nature.

 

Visited by more than 50 million visitors, the 1900 Paris World's Fair, styled in French as the Exposition Universelle, ran from 14 April to 12 November, occurring in conjunction with the games of the II Olympiad—also held in Paris. The theme of the expo was a celebration of the century that was and the century that would be. Some of the technological advancements that were exhibited included the diesel engine, electric cars, talking films, and dry cell batteries, with Art Nouveau given a spotlight and being introduced to the world.

 

This particular award was presented to the Polytechnic Society of Romania, a society of engineers founded in December 1881 under the leadership of Ştefan Fălcoianu, then general director of the Romanian Railways and a former engineering student in Paris. The society was inaugurated in the presence of King Carol I following the completion of the first Buzău-Marăşeşti railway, which had the distinction of being entirely designed and built by Romanian engineers. The society would continue to gain members and prominence, eventually merging with General Association of Engineers of Romania in 1949.

 

Upload: 3 November 2025.

 

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