As well as being an auxiliary science of history and an essential branch of numismatics, medallistics is a very versatile field of study, as it brings together various aspects from other disciplines, such as jewellery and silversmithing. In fact, medals were often minted in precious metals, following the designs of renowned silversmiths, engravers and jewellers. Both their formal aspects and the more intrinsic aspects, referring to the circumstances of their creation, are of great interest to the researcher, which has favoured the publication of repertoires and collections since ancient times.

One of the most interesting collections preserved in Navarre, both for its level of conservation and its variety, is that of Pamplona City Council. It is kept in the premises of the Municipal fileand consists of around twenty practically unpublished specimens. There are also some insignia, decorations and badges of lesser importance, decontextualised and of little value, historically and materially speaking, which is why they have been excluded from this study. Apart from this, there is another collection of great value, which in itself would merit a detailed study, made up of the decorations offered to the distinguished violinist Pablo Sarasate from Pamplona, which were bequeathed to the city council of the capital of Navarre on his death.

In this virtual exhibitionwe have opted for a chronological order, as although we are aware that traditionally medals are classified by origin, typology (honorary, commemorative and devotional) or theme, none of these criteria is suitable for the municipal collection, plenary session of the Executive Council. Medals from the 17th century to the late 20th century are preserved, with those from the 19th century obviously standing out, as in that century the minting of all subjectreached its zenith.

During the Ancien Régime, municipal ceremonial became one of the most important aspects of the civil and religious celebrations that took place. Among the most interesting elements were the veneras or regidor medals, of which numerous examples have been preserved in the territories embraced by the Hispanic Monarchy. In Navarre, those belonging to the Cabezas de Merindad are particularly noteworthy, with variations in their decoration.

In the Pamplona collection there are four oval gold minted coins (5 x 3.5 cm), undoubtedly the most valuable pieces preserved. They are decorated on both sides: on the obverse, the arms of Pamplona, the lion passing through with a royal crown, bordered with the chains of Navarre; on the reverse is another emblem of the city, the shield with the five wounds surrounded by the crowns of thorns.

Although there is no documentation on its authorship, the circumstances of its creation are known. On 13 November 1599, with Pamplona ravaged by the plague, the Corporation undertook to wear the emblem on the back of the medal, the five wounds and the crown of thorns, sewn onto their clothes, following the instructions dictated in the vision of a Franciscan friar from the convent of Calahorra. The epidemic quickly ceased, and since then the city's vow has been renewed annually.

The minting of the coin was approved at the session of 2 September 1600, when it was agreed that the following would be minted

that the said insignia remain in the said city and be brought by the new mayors and councillors, who are charged and entrusted to bring them with the decency and respect due to such high signs.... The insignia are of hammered gold, sculpted on one side with the five wounds of Christ Our Lord, enamelled in red as blood, and with a green crown of thorns on the border; And on the other side, a lion argent with its royal crown on a blue field, with the chains of Navarre on a field of red gules, which are the arms of the said city, hung on a black silk cord; and we also agree to give another insignia to the secretary of the said regiment, a third smaller than the others, with its white border on the selvage.

Only two of the medals still have the remains of the enamel. The medals are accompanied by golden metallic thread cords for hanging and velvet pouches for storing the chains.

Popular religiosity manifested itself in a variety of media, including medals. The most coveted were made in Rome from the 16th to the 19th century, some of them in silver, but most in bronze and brass. They were imported both by ecclesiastical orders and by private individuals and pilgrims.

The municipal collection has one of these coins, minted in bronze (5 x 3.2 cm), which is decorated all over its surface. The obverse side of the circular coin, profile, shows the effigy of the Virgin, wearing a crowned mantle and rostrum, with the Child on her lap, also crowned, framed by the registration"N. S. del Sagrar de Pamplona. Roma", which runs parallel to the border; while on the reverse is the effigy of Saint Fermin, with a pluvial cloak, crozier and mitre, framed by the registration"S. Fermin O. P.M. Pat D Navarra", also parallel to the border. The medal has a pyramid-shaped handle hanging from an oval pin at the top.

If we look at its origin, it should be traced back to Don Pascual Bertrán de Gayarre, archdeacon of Pamplona Cathedral and agent of the Chapter in Rome, where he also had two engraving plates made of the image depicted. On his return in 1731, he brought with him a consignment of medals such as the one studied here, which were commissioned from the workshops of the Eternal City, and were even sent as a present to the viceroy of Lima, Don José de Armendáriz, in gratitude for his gifts to the cathedral. No information is available regarding its arrival at the Pamplona regiment, but its perfect state of preservation and its lack of circulation suggest that it arrived on dates similar to those described, as a gift from the cathedral chapter.

Although most of the collection is Hispanic, and more specifically from Pamplona, there are also two medals in the municipal collection that are not from the aforementioned environment, the provenance of which is unknown, although they are probably private donations.

The first of these, minted in bronze (4 cm), is decorated on both sides. It commemorates the Constitutional Charter of 1814, a document Cin France on 4 June 1814. It is not a constitution as such, but a charter granted, a concession by King Louis XVIII. According to agreement, sovereignty and executive power resided in the king by divine right. The articles recognised some of the original rights of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. The legislative power consisted of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Peers. On the obverse, the outlined bust of Louis XVIII encircled with the legend: "LOUIS XVIII ROI DE FRANCE ET DE NAVARRE"; on the reverse, the monarch handing the aforementioned charter to the two representatives of the chambers described above, accompanied by the legend accrediting the event: "CHARTE CONSTITUTIONNELLE/ IV. JUIN MDCCCXIV".

It was made by Jean-Beltrand Andrieu, an engraver of medals from Bordeaux, who is considered to be the restorer of the art of French medallistics, which had been greatly impoverished since the time of the Sun King. This led him to become the government's official medallist and he was commissioned to produce more than twenty models.

One of the most important events of the War of Independence in Navarre was the capitulation of Pamplona, which had been under siege since 25 June 1813 by Anglo-Spanish troops led successively by the generals Thomas Picton, Enique O'Donell and Carlos de España. The Napoleonic general Louis-Pierre Cassan, aware of the impossibility of holding place, in French hands since 16 February 1808, decided to capitulate on 31 October 1813.

A commemorative medal preserved in the municipal collection bears witness to this milestone in the history of Pamplona. Minted in bronze, it is decorated on both sides. On the obverse, the outlined bust of the Duke of Wellington, part of whose army liberated the city, surrounded by the legend: "ARTHUR DUKE OF WELLINGTON"; on the reverse, a scene in which he himself on horseback, dressed as a second Pompey - at the time, founder of the city - receives the keys of Pamplona from a personification of Pamplona, in the manner of a Roman matron, with a mural crown, in keeping with his status as placefortress. Above the scene and following the arc of the medal, there is
the registration"ENGLAND PROTECTS THE TOWN OF POMP.E.I"; below the composition, another accrediting legend: "CAPITULATION OF PAMPELUNE/ OCTOBER THE 31/ MDCCCXIII".

The origin of the medal dates back to 1820, when the Scotsman James Mudie (1779-1854), expelled from the English navy, embarked with a publishing houseto publish the metallic history of the British exploits against Napoleon (both at sea and on land, including Continental Europe, Asia, Africa, Portugal and Spain), in a series of forty pieces, stamped at the Thomasons factory in Birmingham. They were made to his designs by the most prestigious medallists in England and Europe, in the case presented here by Nicolas Brenet
(1773-1846), a Parisian artist who had already contributed to the series of Napoleonic medals commissioned years earlier by Dominique Vivant Denon; and the Swiss Jean Pierre Droz (1740-1823), who after making notable advances in the minting process and working for Louis XVI, went to England, where he produced a number of compositions, before returning to France, where he participated in the aforementioned projectby Vivant Denon. Both artists, as well as Mudie himself, engraved their credentials on the present medal.
credentials on the present medal.

The capitulation medal occupies the twenty-fifth space in the collection and the last of the Spanish anniversaries, after those entitled: Battle of Talavera (1809); the British army in the Tagus (1810-1811); Battle of Albuera (1811); Capture of Badajoz (1812); Battle of Almaraz (1812); Battle of Salamanca. The British army enters Madrid (1812); Battle of Vitoria (1813); Battle of the Pyrenees (1813); and Battle of San Sebastián (1813).

All were struck in gold, silver and bronze, and were sold separately (at averagepound, £1 and £15 respectively), or together in an elegant bound set (24 x 40 x 4 cm), with two trays of twenty medals each (at £20, £40 and £600, also depending on the alloy chosen). They were accompanied by a list of subscribers and the dedication to George IV, written in London on 15 August 1820. They were distributed in many parts of England including London, York, Newcastle, Newcastle, Salisbury, Edinburgh, Bath, Hull, Leeds, Oxford,
Wakefield, Liverpool, Worcester, Worcester, Dublin, Glasgow, Plymouth, Bristol and Manchester, where a recently reissued explanatory volume of them could also be purchased as an option. Despite its pretensions, the projectfailed miserably, bankrupting both publishing houseand Mudie himself, who, with a debt of £10,000, was forced to start a new life in New South Wales (Australia), where he flourished financially and also prospered socially.

Today it is not difficult to find bronze examples, as many of the participants in these events acquired the medals as souvenirs after the campaign against the emperor was over. Nevertheless, their aesthetic and historical value is undeniable, and some of them can be found in important collections, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the American Numismatic Society in New York.

agreementThe medal from the municipal collection was donated on 16 May 2013, when Andrés Armendáriz Ibiricu, a numismatic enthusiast, signed a transfer agreement with the Mayor of Pamplona, Enrique Maya, "taking into account its public interest and with the aim of guaranteeing its conservation and dissemination among researchers and society in general". The collector had acquired it a few years earlier from a colleague in California.

The second medal from outside the purely municipal sphere preserved in the collection, probably from a private donation, is that of Enrique de Borbón.

Minted in bronze (4.5 cm), it was issued in 1833 and is decorated on both sides: the obverse depicts the outlined bust of Henry of Bourbon, Count of Chambord, still a child, dressed in the armour of Captain General of the Hussars and encircled by the legend "JE VEUX ETRE HENRI QUATRE SECOND"; the reverse shows the bust of Henry IV "the Great" of France, born in Navarre, in the same arrangement, crowned with laurels and dressed in the same way, encircled by the registration: "HENRI LE GRAND ROI DE FRANCE ET DE NAV".

This is a medal that is more vindicatory than commemorative, presenting Henry of Bourbon as a second Henry "the Great of France", playing on his name and actions. The French Prince Henri de Bourbon was pretender to the crown of France under the name of Henri V and reigned briefly in 1830, as a consequence of the abdication of his grandfather Charles X. The medal was no doubt intended, like many other actions, to make him take precedence over the Duke of Angoulême, also a pretender to the crown under the name of Louis XIX. On the latter's death in 1844, he became the last member of the first-born branch of the Bourbons, and the only legitimist pretender to the French crown. In exile, he refused to be restored to the throne in 1873 because of the unacceptable conditions he felt were imposed on him, including acceptance of the tricolour flag.

As for its authorship, it is signed by Pierre-Amédée Durand, the famous French engraver and publisherof medal series, author of numerous designs during the first half of the 19th century.

As a testimony to the First Carlist War, a small wooden box containing two dies made for the stamping of a commemorative medal for Baldomero Espartero "the Sword of Luchana" is preserved in the municipal collection. Although they are not a medal, they should be considered part of the collection, as only one copy was minted.

The original medal, circular and struck in gold (7.5 cm), was decorated on both sides. On the obverse, a landscape composition with a sunrise, which put an end to the darkness that was hanging over the nation, in the centre of which is a bouquet of laurel. All this is clarified by the registrationat the bottom of the composition: "AL PACIFICADOR DE ESPAÑA/ DUQUE DE LA VICTORIA"; on the reverse, simply the legend "EL AYUNTAMIENTO DE ESPAÑA/ DUQUE DE LA VICTORIA",
simply the legend "EL AYUNTAMIENTO/ CONSTITUCIONAL/ DE/ PAMPLONA. / AÑO 1839.", stamped with a royal crown.

The exact origin of the medal is known. It was minted to reward the prestigious general after the end of the First Carlist War, following the Embrace of Vergara, which earned him the Ducat of Victory awarded by Isabella II on 14 December 1839. Following the document accompanying the dies:

Once the civil war was over, the Town Council agreed, among other demonstrations of rejoicing, to mint a gold medal as a gift to General Baldomero Espartero, Duke of Luchana and Morella, and having ordered the dies from Paris, they arrived in the spring of 1840. The medal was presented to the general, who was in Aragon with the army, and these are the dies. The cost of the medal, with the
dies and all the expenses of postage and commission, 6,748 reales vellon.

The medal from Pamplona was one of the many tokens of gratitude received by the celebrated leader, and his inventory of assets includes other gifts from cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Zaragoza. In the same document, under issueeight, the following is recorded: entrance"una medalla de oro, regalo del Ayuntamiento de Pamplona" (a gold medal, gift from Pamplona City Council), which evidently refers to the decoration minted with the dies presented here: reference letter.

Another of the medals preserved in the Municipal file, closely related to Espartero himself and minted only a year later, bears witness to another of the events that took place in the capital during the turbulent 19th century, specifically the uprising of General Leopoldo O'Donnell against Espartero's regency and in defence of María Cristina. On 2 October 1841 he entrenched himself in the Citadel, from where he bombarded the city. After failing to obtain the desired support, he left Pamplona on 13 October and went into French exile.

The medal is oval silver (3.5 x 1.7 cm) and has decoration on both sides: on the obverse, a crowned lion rampant, surrounded by the registration: "TO THE DEFENDERS OF PAMPLONA"; on the reverse, the registration"OCTOBER/ 1841", surrounded by a laurel wreath. It still has the blue ribbon with its yellow fillets.

The origin of the medal, probably donated by one of the councillors who opposed the attempted coup, can be found in a decree by General Espartero, signed in Vitoria on 23 October 1841: "A cross of distinction is awarded in accordance with designC to the national militiamen, to the members of the army who on the days from the 1st to the 2nd of the present day were guarding the place, and to the other meritorious patriots who have remained loyal to the legitimate government, and have contributed to putting down the rebellion promoted on those days". Apart from the medal presented here
there is also a variant, enamelled in red and white, which bears the date on the obverse and no decoration on the reverse. It may be the designintended for members of the National Militia, referred to in the aforementioned decree.

The municipal collection also includes a medal minted to commemorate the siege of Bilbao, one of the most important episodes of the Third Carlist War, which lasted from 21 February 1874 until 2 May of the same year, when it was liberated by the Republican army.

Made in bronze (5 x 3.5 cm), it only has decoration on the obverse, specifically the arms of the town: the church of San Antón and the two-arched bridge located near this temple. The river Nervión is represented under the arches of the bridge by waves. To the left of the church, two wolves can be seen placed in parallel, an emblem derived from the heraldry of the house of Haro, making reference letterto the legendary founder of the town. All of this is surrounded by the
legend "TO THE LIBERATING ARMY AND THE DEFENDERS OF INVICTIOUS BILBAO - 2 MAY 1874".

Its origin can be traced back to a Royal Decree of 10 June 1874 with the purpose of

to give a public testimony of appreciation in the name of the nation, to the defenders of the unconquered Bilbao, to the army and navy that took part in the glorious battles sustained until the lifting of the siege of the aforementioned town on the 2nd of May last, and that the memory of the triumph obtained over the Carlist hosts be joined to that of the merit contracted by the generals, chiefs, officers, soldiers and volunteers who achieved it, suffering with abnegation, courage and constancy, the fatigues of a difficult campaign.

It originally hung from a ribbon that varied according to the owner's status as defender or liberator, and had a silver pin with four variants, depending on the actions in which he had participated.

As mentioned above, the reverse is plain, but there are variants with a laurel wreath, perhaps to inscribe the name of the recipient. There are also subversive variants in which the wolves are smaller or are replaced by donkeys. Perhaps this is because it was minted by a private businessand not by the Mint.

Also interesting is another coinage commissioned by Pamplona City Council in 1876 to commemorate the rising waters of the Arga during the siege of the city, which also took place during the last of the Carlist wars.

Circular and minted in copper (6 cm), the obverse shows a symbolic composition with an allegory of Pamplona as a Roman matron, identified by the arms of the city, accompanied by two sons, in reference letterto its inhabitants, who hurry to drink water from the sourcein a pitcher. Presiding over the composition and opening the water pipe is a guardian angel symbolising Salvador Pinaqui. All of this is surrounded by the legend explaining the process: "The work began on 3rd October/ The waters of the Arga flowed through the fountains on 6th November". The reverse is samplemuch simpler, with the following phrase in the centre: "He gave drink to the thirsty", in reference to the well-known work of mercy, surrounded by a triumphal crown of bay leaves.
laurel leaves. Around the perimeter is the legend accrediting the event: "A Dn. Salvador Pinaqui, Pamplona agradecida/ 1874" (To Mr. Salvador Pinaqui, grateful Pamplona/ 1874).

As far as its origin is concerned, we must go back to 1874 to understand the coinage presented here, specifically to 14 September, when the followers of Don Carlos cut off the water supply to Subiza, leaving placewithout supplies and with obvious health problems. The difficulties spurred the ingenuity of Salvador Pinaqui Ducasse, an industrialist from Bayonne who had settled in the capital of the Old Kingdom. On 1 October, he discovered a spring of high quality water, and with municipal funding and after great effort, he managed to install a turbine that finally brought water to the springs of Pamplona. This event became one of the most important milestones of the blockade and, even before the blockade ended, the city council wanted to thank the French industrialist at sample. For this reason, on 3 January 1875 it agreed to award him with a commemorative gold medal, whose modelfollows the one presented here. fileThe dies, currently conserved in the Municipal Museum of Pamplona and probably made in France, arrived in 1876 and were sent to Madrid to be minted at the Casa de la Moneda (Mint).

The gold medal was presented to him in August "begging him on behalf of the Town Council to accept it, as an eternal testof gratitude for the good wishes that encourage him, in favour of the intelligent and tireless genius to whom he is dedicated". In the Town Hall's possession, apart from the luxurious case with the dies, was a silver medal described by Dr. Arazuri in one of his most famous monographs and even reproduced in the magazine Pregón, of which nothing is known today. In addition to these two medals, another fifty copper medals were minted, such as the one under study here, which remained in the hands of

all the councillors, also being handed over to His Excellency the Captain General; Mr. General; Second Corporal; Mr. War Auditor; Mr. Civil Governor; Mr. President and Prosecutor of the Territorial Court; Mr. Judge of First Instance written request; Mr. Bishop of this Diocese; Mr. Colonel; Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers, Paulino Aldaz; Mr. Provincial Deputy and Secretary; Mr. of the Provincial ; Mr. President of the Commission of Historical and Artistic Monuments of Navarre; and Messrs. Provincial Deputy and Secretary; Mr. Director of the Provincial high school; Mr. President of the Commission of Historical-Artistic Monuments of Navarre; and Messrs. Aniceto Lagarde, Juan Vilella, Nicasio Landa, Pedro María Irigoyen, José María Villanueva, and Crisóstomo García, from Madrid, who was in charge of the necessary diligences for the contracting.

Minted in the following decade, the medal of the associationEuskara de Navarra, a cultural corporation of some renown during the last quarter of the 19th century, was preserved. Its main purpose goal, according to its founding certificateof 1877, was "to preserve and propagate Basque-Navarre language, literature and history, to study its legislation and to procure all that tends to the moral and material well-being of the country". A large part of the Navarrese intelligentsia of the time took part in it, although lack of funds and internal dissensions between fueristas and liberals caused it to disappear from the internshipin 1885, although it did maintain some activity until 1897.
it maintained a certain level of activity until 1897.

Stamped in bronze (4.6 cm), circular and certainly damaged, with both sides decorated. According to the description of the period:

The obverse is engraved with the oak tree of Guernica, crowned by the Cross or Lau-buru, holding the coat of arms of Navarre on the trunk, with a royal crown, and seven mountains in the background, representing the seven Basque provinces on both sides of the Bidasoa River. The legends it bears are as follows: NAFARROKO EUSKARAZKO ELKARGOA - JAUNGOIKOA ETA FUEROAK. On the reverse there is an empty circle for engraving the name of the prize-winner or the dedication, surrounded by oak leaves intertwined with chain links. The legend is as follows: associationEUSKARA DE NAVARRA, date and name of town.

The origin is to be found in a agreementof the aforementioned institution in 1880 with the aim of offering them to the winners of the floral games, a periodical intellectual competition organised by the institution in Vera de Bidasoa in August of that year. skillThe designwas designed by Juan Iturralde y Suit, "one of the intelligent members of the Euskara, who handles the pen as well as the paintbrush with as much skill". Its execution was entrusted to D. J. Kummer, a German engraver established in Madrid,
where the cases were also made. According to surviving documentation, they were minted in gold, silver, bronze and copper. Iturralde's design, disseminated by a lithograph by Francisco Cortés, crossed Spanish borders and was even used by the Galician Centre of Buenos Aires to award its own floral games in 1881.

In any case, the medals of the associationEuskara were not restricted to the aforementioned competitions, but were also offered to its associates and collaborators, and even to Pamplona City Council itself, which in turn offered them as awardin its San Fermín competitions. The copy preserved in the file, as the back shows, must never have been delivered, and most probably formed part of the consignment to which the associationcontributed in 1884.

to the literary competitionannounced by Pamplona City Council for the forthcoming San Fermín fiestas, with a silver medal for the author of the best poem in Spanishsinging the exploits of the Navarrese in the conquest of Zaragoza, under the orders of D. Alfonso el Batallador, with a bronze medal as runner-up for the same topic; and with another silver medal for the author of the best dramatic essayin Basque verse, with freedom of subject matter, with a bronze medal as runner-up for the same topic.

Probably one of the runners-up prizes was left empty and the medal has been in the municipal collection ever since.

Among the illustrious recipients of the aforementioned medal was Pablo Sarasate y Navascués himself (14 July 1882), whom the associationalways considered to be just another Euskaro. This coinage, which is much better preserved and made of silver, has also been kept in the Sarasate Museum, dependent on the file, since the beginning of the 20th century. Queen María Cristina was also awarded the same distinction during her visit to Pamplona on 26 September 1887, during her visit to visit. She received a representation of the society, headed by Nicasio Landa, who explained its origins and purpose, while thanking her enormously for having pronounced a few words in Basque, something that a Spanish monarch had not done since Charles V. For this he was presented with a bronze medal, with its corresponding ivory box, on the back of which was engraved in gold with a dedication in Basque: "B. M. Erregiñ Erondari María Kristinari".

Also related to royalty and belonging to the 20th century, a rather popular medal is kept in the municipal offices, although it is not without interest. It commemorates the homage paid by the Spanish city councils to Alfonso XIII and Doña Victoria Eugenia de Battenberg in Madrid on 23 January 1925, in response to a defamatory campaign against the kings by exiles abroad, motivated by their strong support for the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera.

Coined in bronze (5 x 3.5 cm) and decorated on both sides, it takes the form of a cartouche of twisted leather and is stamped with the royal crown. On the obverse, superimposed busts of Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia, with an oval border with the registration: "HOMAGE FROM THE TOWN HALLS TO THE KINGS/ 23 JANUARY 1925"; on the reverse, an allegory of the national workis represented by a worker accompanied by the registration: "ALL AND ALL FOR THE KINGDOM", all surrounded by a laurel wreath.

As for its origin, it was regulated by Royal Order of 17 May 1925, at the request of Miguel Primo de Rivera. classIt had to be minted in bronze, in accordance with the modelpreviously established by the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre (National Mint), and was accompanied by an accrediting diploma . In addition to commemorating the aforementioned tribute, it also sought to express the feeling of attachment to the Crown. For this reason, it was extended to all citizens, including those who did not attend the event but who wished to join in. The proceeds from the feesof the medal, which from then on would be called "de homenaje" (10 pesetas), would be used for the recovery of the documentation of Christopher Columbus' file,
It was foreseen that, if necessary, the surplus would be used for the construction of a monument to the "Spanish mother". One year later, it was decided to allocate all the proceeds exclusively to the first of these objectives.

Initially it was only to be minted until mid-1925, but such was its success that its production was gradually extended until 31 May 1930, so that any Spaniard who wished to obtain it, even abroad, could do so, and an office was even created specifically for this purpose. A year later, during the Second Republic, the medal was repealed by decree on 10 December.

Another of the medals preserved in the collection belongs to the Republican period. It originates from the Pamplona School of Arts and Crafts, a century-old institution founded in 1873 by the Provincial Council of Navarre and the Pamplona City Council, the establishment of which culminated a process that began at the end of the 18th century, replacing the trainingguilds that had been in existence during the Ancien Régime.

Circular and minted in silver (4 cm), it is decorated on both sides. On the obverse, an allegory of the arts, personified in the manner of a Roman matron who samplegives a student, also dressed in classical style, the basic elements that will make up her training(casts, models, a palette, a hammer, an anvil, etc.), while the back depicts a new dawn, illuminating the knowledge. At the bottom, dotted with laurel leaves, is the academic yearto which it belonged: "1931-1932"; on the back, the arms of Pamplona City Council, on which the school became exclusively dependent from 1917 onwards, set in a cartouche of twisted leather,
The crowns, the one that stamps them and the one bearing the lion, are mural, which links it to the Republican period, the period in which it was minted. On the perimeter of the composition is inscribed: "ESCUELA DE ARTES Y OFICIOS DE PAMPLONA" (PAMPLONA SCHOOL OF ARTS AND CRAFTS).

The author, whose credentials "R. Badía" are stamped on the obverse, is Rafael Badía y García, a Catalan sculptor of whom little is known. Badía" are stamped on the obverse, is Rafael Badía y García, a Catalan sculptor of whom little is known. He studied at the School of Industrial Arts and Fine Arts in Barcelona, where he excelled, winning several prizes in the categories of "Theory and History of Fine Arts", "AnatomyPictorial" and "Modelling and Casting" during the second decade of the 20th century. At the end of this period, he continued his studies at trainingwith the famous Barcelona sculptor Antonio Parera y Saurina, in whose studio, located in Carrer Provença, he remained until the master's death in 1947.
until the master's death in 1947. In fact, the style of the medal shows inescapable affinities with some of Perera's designs, such as the obverse of the medal that commemorated the inauguration of the Palace of Justice in Barcelona in 1908. In addition to the medal from Pamplona, another designby Perera is kept at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Barcelona, made for a rally of the Women's Section in Medina del Campo after the end of the Civil War.
the end of the Civil War.

As far as its origin is concerned, it is most likely to be one of the silver coins commissioned by the municipality, not only to reward the most outstanding students of the School of Arts and Crafts, but also to do the same for the students of the Salesian Schools, to whom a medal was given that same year at the request of their director. Testimonies of the time show that in addition to the medal, only a diploma was given, and the local press even went so far as to apply forto add an object of interest, such as a drawing set, which "would be highly valued by those who, while showing a fondness for it, lacked the means to acquire it".

Two medals are also preserved referring to the Coronation of the Virgen del Sagrario, which took place in 1946, in times of the so-called National-Catholicism in which the Franco regime tried to dissociate itself from fascist totalitarianism by means of a more rigorous internshipof religiosity.

Among the most relevant manifestations of the religious fervour described above was the so-called "Marian canonical coronation". This rite arose in Italy in the 17th century and remained confined to that territory until the end of the 19th century, when it was included in the Roman Pontifical, thus extending to the whole Catholic world. In Spain, the process began in 1881 with the coronation of the Virgin of Veruela and continued uninterruptedly until the Second Republic, when only three images were crowned (the Virgin of the Forsaken in Valencia, the Virgin of Health in Palma de Mallorca and the Virgin of Sonsoles in Avila). After the Civil War, the
internshipwas reactivated with great fervour (Virgen del Coro de San Sebastián-1940), maintaining a good pace until the present day (Virgen de la Hermandad de la Paz y la Esperanza de Córdoba-planned for 11 October 2020). By the end of 2020, 551 Marian images will have been crowned in Spain.

In the case of Navarre, the first to be crowned was the Virgen del Romero de Cascante (1928), followed by the Virgen del Sagrario de la Catedral de Pamplona (1946), the Virgen de Ujué (1952), the Virgen del Villar de Corella (1956), the Virgen del Puy de Estella (1958), the Virgen de Roncesvalles (1960); and, more recently, the Virgen del Yugo de Arguedas (2010). All of them generated expectation, literature and art, although, as they are located in the capital, the most notable was that of the Virgen del Sagrario, which since then has been known as Santa María la Real.

The coronation of the Virgen del Sagrario, titular image of the Pamplona cathedral, as Queen of Navarre took place during the Eucharistic congressheld in the capital of Navarre from 15 to 22 September 1946. Apart from the aforementioned congress, of a diocesan nature, the most notable event was the procession that closed it, in which the cathedral image was accompanied by numerous relics and more than thirty Marian images from different parts of Navarre, such as: Our Lady of Roncesvalles, the Virgin of El Puy de Estella, Santa María de Irache,
Our Lady of Rocamador from Sangüesa or the Virgin of Ujué, among many others. San Miguel de Aralar, one of the most widespread devotions in the region, was also present at quotation, to the astonished gaze of those present.

The procession finally arrived at placedel Castillo in the capital, where the Virgen del Sagrario was solemnly crowned by Dr. Manuel Arce y Ochotorena, archbishop of Tarragona, who had been named cardinal in February of that year by Pope Pius XI. The same rite was followed as in the past when the coronations of the kings of Navarre were celebrated before this image, in a ceremony in which the giants, the brotherhoods, the army, music choirs, the chapter, the Navarrese town councils, and the entire provincial council, among many other institutions and dignitaries, took part. Prior to this, the image made a station at the placePríncipe de Viana, where 16,000
children received communion in the largest mass communion in the history of Navarre. As the chronicle of the coronation narrates:

The final apotheosis of the event had some spectacular moments. Planes flew overhead, dropping petals on the place. The artillery fired 21 cannon shots from library porter. The brass band played the Royal March. All the dancers present performed their repertoire of dances. Hundreds of pigeons were released in the vicinity of the altar. The giants of the Pamplona comparsa danced.

As mentioned above, two official medals were minted to commemorate these events, very different in morphology, materials, promoters and recipients, of which several examples have been preserved in private and public collections, such as that of Pamplona City Council.

The first of these, from profileand minted in silver (5.5 cm), has both sides decorated and bordered by a moulded edge. On the obverse and on a straight field there is a relief of the image of the Virgin of the Tabernacle framed by two arches of Gothic tracery from the cloister of the cathedral, also in relief, and surrounded by the registration: "SANTA MARIA LA REAL DEL SAGRARIO, ROGAD POR NOSOTROS" (SAINT MARY THE ROYAL OF THE SAGRARY, PRAY FOR US). On the reverse, the same model is repeated, with the registrationin Gothic letters: "Coronación
Gothic letters: "Coronación Canónica en Pamplona Septbre MCMXLVI" in the border and the coat of arms of Navarre with the laureate of Saint Ferdinand, granted by General Franco after the Civil War, in the field.

As far as its origin is concerned, it was minted by order of the Diputación Foral de Navarra, which in a session held on 22 July 1946 approved the modelwhich was actually followed, and more modest examples in bronze and aluminium are also preserved. Nothing is known of its author, although its recipients are known: "prelates, adopted sons and representations, who had been his guests". Among the Pamplona institutions that received this gift and which still have it today, apart from Pamplona City Council, which contributed the not inconsiderable sum of 100,000 pesetas to the event, is the Cathedral Chapter, the owner of the crowned image. A bronze copy was awarded by the Provincial Council to Ignacio Baleztena Ascárate for his role as master of the backbone of such a unique ceremony.

The second (3 cm) is from profileand is only decorated on the obverse. Inside it is inscribed with a Greek cross, openwork and cut out, with trapezoidal arms and a circular square in which is set the anagram of Christ on a white enamelled background, from which four bevelled beams of lightning emanate. At the top is a turned ring from which a band of white and yellow cloth, the colours of the Vatican, once hung, as can be seen on other surviving examples. The circular edge of the medal, enamelled in green, bears the following inscription: registration: "Coronation of St. Mary. congressEucharistic. 15 - 22 - Sepbre - 1946 - Pamplona" in golden letters. The arms of the cross are
The arms of the cross are alternately enamelled in blue and red; on the former are a relief of the Virgin of the Tabernacle and a pitcher of lilies, the emblem of the Pamplona church, while the latter frame the coats of arms of Navarre and Pamplona, all on a gilded structure.

The origin can be found in the local press:

The boardorganising these two great religious solemnities that are going to take place in Pamplona, together with the coronation of Our Lady of the Sagrario, has Cthe official modelcommemorative medal, which will be worn on the chest by the many thousands of Navarrese who will be in Pamplona from 15th to 22nd September this year... we have nothing to say in view of the beautiful designthat has been devised for the medal, as it brings together, with dignity, all the motifs that concur with the solemnities that the whole of Navarre will be celebrating.

Therefore, the recipient of this one, which was rather more modest than the previous one, was the faithful people of Navarre, who were also offered another subjectof souvenirs, such as stamps, posters, stamps, manuals or congress cards, which could be purchased in the small chalet of the charity tombola administration, located on Paseo de Sarasate. In the case of the medal, four versions were minted: modelneedle (2 pesetas), silver-plated model(5 pesetas), modelenamel (10 pesetas) and modelgold-plated (15 pesetas). The one in the Town Hall is the third model.

As far as designand iconography are concerned, it is the work of the multifaceted artist Leocadio Muro Urriza (1897-1987), who was also commissioned to design the poster for the event described here. In the words of José María Muruzábal, he has not been properly valued because of his work professorat the Pamplona School of Arts and Crafts and his controversial personality.

The last of the medals in the collection, minted practically during the constitutional period, is the one commemorating the 12th centenary of the Battle of Roncesvalles (778), in which the Vascones ambushed the rearguard of Charlemagne's army returning from its peninsular adventure across the Pyrenees.

Coined in silver (4 cm), both sides of the coin are circular and decorated. On the obverse, a scene relating to the commemorated event, showing a Vascon throwing a large stone from the Valcarlos gorge, the location where the ambush theoretically took place. Below it is the legend: "Vascones in summi montis vertice surgentes", taken from the Vita Caroli Magni by Eginardo, the emperor's official biographer. All of this is surrounded by the legend: "BATTLE OF RONCESVALLES - XII CENTENARY - 778. 15 August. 1978". Between the words can be seen the cruciform staff of the monastery of Roncesvalles and two inverted crescents with six-pointed stars, the original symbol of Roncesvalles.
The reverse shows plant forms surrounded by the legend: 'S'[igillum] CONCILLI RONCIDEVALLIS'. The composition emulates the monastery's waxy seal, minted in 1303 to commemorate its independence from the Cathedral Chapter of Pamplona.

As far as the origin of the event is concerned, we must place it in the VIII congressof the International Roncesvalles Society, which, according to the press, became the main European academic congressin 1978, as it brought together the efforts of all subjectof public and private institutions to commemorate the event. It was an itinerant event with several venues along the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago de Compostela, particularly Roncesvalles - where a commemorative monument was erected - Pamplona, and Santiago. A year before the event was held, the instructionsguidelines were established, and one of the most ambitious ideas was the minting of a commemorative medal, which went to positionof the Diputación Foral de Navarra (Regional Council of Navarre).

The medal was also stamped in bronze, as a copy is kept in the Pamplona cathedral collection. An exclusive gold coinage was also made, which was presented by the provincial deputy Julio Asiáin Gurucharri to King Juan Carlos I at the closing ceremony of the successful international congress, on 24 August 1978. reference letterAlthough the reverse bears the "P*" mark, which probably refers to a mint in Pamplona, nothing is known about the maker.

The Basque Museum in Bayonne (France) also has a silver specimen like the one preserved at fileMunicipal. It was donated to its collection in 1991 by the abbot of Notre-Dame de Belloc, a Benedictine monastery in the French Basque Country.

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