Watch List notes:

FRANCE. Great Britain - France. Society of the Friends of Peace Silver Award Medal, 1872. Paris Mint. UNCIRCULATED Details. Cleaned.

By Borrel & Bescher. Diameter: 56mm; Weight: 89.47 gms. Engraved and awarded to John Stock. Obverse: Female personification of Peace, seminude, standing facing, head lowered left; cherub to left, two other children to right, harvesting fruits; Reverse: Legend explaining the Society and the award, with engraving to "JOHN STOCK." Edge: [bee] ARGENT. Attractively toned and highly elegant, though just a hint of cleaning is noted for completeness. Nevertheless, a SCARCE and endlessly attractive piece.

This medal would appear to be a culmination of a life spent against warfare, as a search of John Stock reveals who this awardee likely was. According to "Baptist Peacemakers in Nineteenth-Century Peace Societies" in The Baptist Quarterly, "...strong statements against war by Baptist leaders suggest that the Peace Society influenced Baptist life. In 1846 the Reverend John Stock (1817-1884) of Chatham published a prize-winning essay, 'Is it lawful for a Christian to fight? and What is his duty when called upon so to do by the civil magistrate?' From the Bible and Christian history Stock argued that it is the duty of Christians 'when called upon by the civil magistrate to fight ...firmly and unhesitatingly, to decline obedience, and to persist in this refusal at any sacrifice.'"

Estimate: $100 - $200