Rusyn Award Medal for the Breeding of Horses, nd (1890). Silver. 41 mm. Laureate bust of Austrian emperor Franz Josef right. Latin legend around / Five-line Cyrillic legend in the Rusyn language within wreath. Rare and interesting. Very Fine. Estimated Value $250
These medals were issued in 10 different languages current in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This one was for the Rusyn-speaking population, then some 400,000, in Western Ukraine, in the Trans-Carpathian region (known as Carpathian Ruthenia), and is the only known medal type inscribed in Rusyn, a proto-Slavic language.