M020
Bronze, UNC, restrike of 1839 “Hercule étouffant Antee”
53 mm (2”), 80 grams
OBVERSE: Original medal by André Vauthier-Galle (1818–1899), winning the 1839 Premier Grand Prix de Rome. The action design shows Antaeus, who had promised Poseidon, his father, to build him a temple with human skulls, being beaten by Heracles (his Greek name; also known in Rome and the West as Hercules and translated in France as Hercule) with his club between his feet and a lion pelt behind. A stone pedestal, also in the background, can be seen with a flame at the top, a skull at the base, and Poseidon’s inverted trident carved into the stone.
REVERSE: Blank, no inscription.
EDGE: Incused cornucopia mint mark (Paris Mint) c. 1965.