Medallion No. 11
1965
Image courtesy of Downies
Event Commemorated
This medallion was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landings by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Anzac Cove on Gallipoli Peninsula on 25 April 1915 during World War I.
The landings at Anzac Cove were part of a series of Allied landings by British, French, and Allied forces on the western coast of the Gallipoli Peninsula of Turkey. The objective of the campaign was to capture the forts guarding the Dardanelles (the Mediterranean entrance to the Sea of Marmara which, in turn, led to the Bosporus and the Black Sea) with the ultimate aim of sending convoys to Russian ports on the Black Sea. Naval attempts to force the Dardanelles had already failed.
The Dardanelles Campaign quickly reached a stalemate with enormous losses on both sides, and after further unsuccessful Allied landings, and with the onset of winter, the Allies withdrew in December 1915 with the last Allied soldiers leaving before dawn on 20 December. While the Allies considered the campaign a failure, the Turks considered it an honourable draw. In Australia, 25 April is now a national holiday and the major day when we remember our servicemen in all armed conflicts.
On 25 April 1965, a group of Anzac veterans re-enacted the landing and were met by a group of Turkish veterans, but this time with handshakes.
Medallion
This 38 mm diameter medallion was struck by K G Luke, Melbourne in the following metals:
¨ Oxidised silver (200, numbered 1 to 200)
¨ Bronze (100, numbered 201 to 300)
All medals were individually numbered.
There exists a trial strike in lead showing both obverse and reverse.
The obverse design features the silver fern of New Zealand and the golden wattle of Australia almost enclosing the text “ANZAC 25TH APRIL 1915” with “NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA” around, and “1915 – 1965” below.
The reverse design was copied from a statue that was, at that time, outside the State Library in Melbourne.