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 Replies: 33 / Views: 3,211 |
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New Member
United States
44 Posts |
I was researching this race medal to what history I could learn and I've hit a wall. Hoping someone here can help me understand the script that follows Alexandra on the reverse of the medal. Those script letters have me stumped ('something something Club'?). thanks Front Reads: Three Miles / Won By / J Henderson / Second / Time / 21 M / 39 S Back Reads: Alexandra ?C / Annual Races / 8th Feb / 1868     |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3644 Posts |
First,  Just a random guess here, but a time of 21:39 for 3 miles is just under 7.25 minutes per mile. To me, that sounds like a 3-mile boat race, maybe a sailboat or rowboat race around a buoy and back or between two close points along a shoreline or river. If the letters are "Y.Y.C.," it could be a yacht club. Since the inscriptions are in English, searching for boat racing information in Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. might be a good start. "Alexandra," rather than "Alexandria" may help limit the searches. A good question is whether the miles are nautical miles or statute miles. That's the best guess I can offer. Interesting medal! Edited by fortcollins
06/04/2025 7:29 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
5239 Posts |
Canada and probably Britain would not be having Yacht races in February!
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Valued Member
 United States
220 Posts |
Most likely UK - Alexandra S.S.C.
Similar to the Maltese cross - with four lions and rounded tips
Let us know what you find.
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Moderator
 Australia
16826 Posts |
I'd agree the letters are most likely "SSC".
I'd also point out that running 3 miles in 27 minutes is entirely possible (top athletes today can do it in 13 minutes). So my guess would be the medal is for a 3-mile foot race and "SSC" may be some kind of sporting club?
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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New Member
 United States
44 Posts |
All very helpful comments. I'll keep going at it and let you all know what I find. thanks!
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Moderator
United States
34408 Posts |
While I can't be sure that place-names haven't changed over the last 150 or so years, right now there are nine placenames of Alexandra: Barbados, Brazil, Moldova, Greece, Singapore, Australia (x2), and New Zealand. Removing those that didn't exist in 1868 and/or don't have English as the primary language seems to limit this to ANZ. My money is on Alexander, NZ as there were plenty of British folks emigrating there looking for gold and there seems to be a long-standing emphasis on sports and recreation there, at least according to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexa..._New_ZealandI see that there is a museum--you might consider connecting with them to see if they can provide insight. In any case, if you do happen to make a positive ID on this cool medal, please be sure to update the thread with your results. Thx! "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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New Member
United States
44 Posts |
Great! I've reached out to the National Library of New Zealand and provided photos to see if any light they can shine on it. I'll keep this thread updated as I learn anything.
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Moderator
United States
188213 Posts |
Very interesting!   |
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Moderator
Australia
16826 Posts |
The Alexandra in Victoria, Australia did have "annual races" in the 1870s, though these were horse races and 27 minutes for second place in a 3 mile horse race sounds awful slow. Trove archived newspaper reference from 1885. I'd also expect a horse race prize medal would also probably name the horse, as well as the jockey. Both Alexandra Vic and Alexandra NZ are good candidates for this medal as both were gold mining towns and this medal appears to be made from low-carat gold, despite the lack of hallmarks, suggesting a possible local jeweller origin. You might want to get it tested to see if it really is gold? Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Quote:
I'd also point out that running 3 miles in 27 minutes is entirely possible (top athletes today can do it in 13 minutes). Indeed 27 minutes is probably a little too slow for a 2nd place in a 3 mile footrace; 3 miles is a bit under 5 km and it doesn't seem very unusual even for a practicing runner to get 27 minutes on that distance. (I just checked an Australian blog I follow, by a 40+ guy in a non-sports job, and he regularly clocks in under-27-minute times on 5k.) But I imagine running technology was worse in 1868 so it's still (on the slower side of) plausible. [EDIT: oh, it's 21 minutes, not 27. Footrace sounds much more plausible then.] I would definitely read SSC and guess that the C stands for Club and one of the S's stands for Sports or Sporting. Note that Alexandra Park in London did not open its racecourse until June 1868... though apparently the park itself was open earlier and in theory races could have been staged elsewhere in the park. Unlikely for February, though. Edited by january1may
06/06/2025 03:52 am
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Moderator
United States
34408 Posts |
@sap, I was kinda thinking that Alexandra (Victoria), AUS was unlikely to be the best guess due to it evidently being first known as Redgate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra,_Victoria. Of course it isn't clear from wikipedia exactly when the change of name occurred, so it is still a possibility. "If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
Australia
16826 Posts |
True, most places in the British Empire named "Alexandra" did the name change in the early 1900s during the reign of Edward VII and his wife, Queen Alexandra, but Trove lists the local paper being named the "Alexandra Times" dating from 1868, so it seemed like a good candidate.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Moderator
United States
34408 Posts |
Great point @sap. I'm looking forward to an update from the OP as to what they find out!
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
95802 Posts |
to CCF and a very nice runners medal. when I was younger I was a very fast CC Runner ran 5 miles in 30 minutes. My fastest time was 4min32 sec for a 1.5 mile run. |
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New Member
United States
44 Posts |
Update: I also reached out to the Central Stories museum in Alexandra, NZ as recommended, and their very helpful team looked at the photos and mentioned that they don't have anything like it in their collection of medals.
So still trying to pinpoint which Alexandra it may have been and also understanding that script. My best guess at this point is SSC (Sports and Social Club) but I wouldn't put much money on that.
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Replies: 33 / Views: 3,211 |
Posted 06/04/2025 8:15 pm
