Thames Tunnel Medals

A few years ago I picked up a series of 4 medals by the 19^th century medallist William Joseph Taylor commemorating the construction of the Thames Tunnel which was completed in 1843. The tunnel was made possible by an innovative construction technique developed by Isambart Marc Brunel and took 22 years to complete. An interesting side note, the entryway to the tunnel is currently being developed as a new underground arts auditorium and performance space.

William Joseph Taylor opened his shop as a die sinker, medallist, and engraver in London in 1829. He created the dies (and provided the press and coining shop) for some of the early Australian issues as well as coins an patterns for Haiti and Liberia. He struck a good number of medals, among which we find the commemorative medals for the Thames Tunnel.

The obverse of each of these medals shows the bust of Sir Isambart Marc Brunel, with the reverse on 3 of the medals showing the entrance to the tunnels, the final medal has a text reverse listing the amount of funds expended by the initial proprietors of the tunnel, and the additional money supplied by a grant from Parliament. The medals range from 44mm to 24mm in diameter.