Watch List notes:

CHINA. China - France - Japan. "Closing of the French Legation at Beijing" Engraved Gold Medal, 1943. ALMOST UNCIRCULATED.
Diameter: 34mm; Weight: 21.82 gms. All elements engraved. Obverse: "QUARTIER DIPLOMATIQUE / PEKIN / 1900-1943 / GONE WITH THE WIND" in four lines; ornate cross above and below middle two lines; semi-circular border of stylized bats above; Reverse: Frontal view of the Temple of Heaven. Edge: 18K hallmark, along with a vertical test mark. Quite brilliant from the fields being cleaned, a rather INCREDIBLY RARE and quite possibly UNIQUE relic from the WWII geo-political climate in Beijing.

Following the upheaval emanating from the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, most of the buildings located in the legation quarter of Beijing (then styled in the west as "Peking") were severely damaged or outright destroyed. The French had originally established their legation (a representative office of similar nature to an embassy, though lower in status) in 1861, with this medal likely pointing to a re-establishment in the post-rebellion period in 1900. This legation quarter was rather bustling in the years that followed, with numerous foreign outposts in operation. Japan began their imperialist move into China with an advancement upon Manchuria in 1931, with increased aggression in that sphere paralleling the increased turmoil posed by Hitler's Germany in Europe. As World War II continued to rage, the inhabitants within the legation quarter were placed under greater threat, ultimately causing their evacuation--likely the cause for the issuance of this medal. The addition of the phrase 'gone with the wind' appears to be a nod to Margaret Mitchell's book--still a cultural phenomenon following the release of the cinematic interpretation in 1939--and a lamentation over an end to the period of harmony that largely existed for westerners in the interwar years at the quarter.

Estimate: $1000.00- $1500.00