Gold medal of Mary I

From: Brussels or London
Date: about AD 1554-55

Jacopo da Trezzo was a craftsman who designed medals for his employer, King Philip II of Spain. In 1554, King Philip married Queen Mary I of England and had Jacopo make a medal to celebrate the marriage.

The medal has a portrait of Mary on one side. The other side has a person burning weapons, a symbol of peace. The meaning of the medal was that Mary ruled over a peaceful country, something that was actually not true. Mary was a Catholic, and she came to be known as ‘Bloody Mary' because of the number of Protestants she had burnt at the stake.