bavarikon4UDescription
Picture on obverse: The river god of the Rhine is handing a wreath to the Po opposite him. The river gods, each carrying an oar, are identified by the inscriptions on their water jugs: PADVS and RHEN. The city of Aachen is in the background.
Writing on obverse: ET MIHI ET TIBI
Exergue: AQVISGRANI / MDCCXXXXVIII
Picture on reverse: In front of a temple of Janus with closed doors, to the right of an altar, a crowned woman with an olive branch is wielding an incense burner. Behind the temple on the left a landscape with a field, on the right fighting troops in front of a town.
Writing on reverse: BONA IAM PERACTIS IVNGITE FATA HOR
Exergue: SIC IVNGIT PATRIA / VOTA
The medal celebrates the Peace Treaty of Aachen on 18 October 1748, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). Since peace treaties were a popular occasion for issuing medals in the early modern period, it was only logical to commemorate this event of world-historical significance in Aachen with a commemorative coinage. Peace brought the long-awaited respite from the ravages of war to the northern Italian territories in particular. The Po, which flows through it, is representative of this, and its river god receives a wreath from the Rhine as a sign of peace. The reverse not only refers to Roman antiquity through a quotation from Horace, but also through the closed doors of the temple of Janus. When these were closed in ancient Rome, peace reigned throughout the empire.