Commemorative medallions are metal tokens struck in honor of a living or a dead person or in celebration of a great event. Few duplicacates are made, a custom which accounts for the rarity of these art treasures.
A likeness of a man so honored appears usually in bas-relief on the obverse (the face) of the medallion; the dates of his birth and death and a descriptive phrase to explain his claim to fame are usually given on the reverse. Occasionally the latter side also bears an allegoric figure, symbolizing his work.
In spite of the rarity of medical medallions, I have been able to collect during my travels a sufficient number to get a bird's-eye view of medical history. Among them are a few of special interest to pediatricians. One cannot, of course, expect medallions of pediatricians in large numbers, since pediatrics as a specialty is less than a hundred