About the product

HEIC Anchor LSGC Medal

Honourable East India Company H.E.I.C. Indian Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal for Europeans 1848 (VR), ‘Anchor Reverse’ 1859 issue, unnamed.

Out of stock

Origin: United Kingdom
Nearly Extremely Fine

Description

Honourable East India Company H.E.I.C. Indian Army Long Service & Good Conduct Medal for Europeans 1848 (VR), ‘Anchor Reverse’ 1859 issue, unnamed.

 

one small mark to the obverse below Victoria’s Chin, suspension resoldered otherwise little wear and a nice example

 

A very rare and unusual medal. Although European officers served in the forces of the British East India Company, and British units served in India, for a while there was also a locally-raised Indian Local European Army among the Imperial forces in the subcontinent; its units were eventually subsumed into the Indian Army proper. The previous service of men so transferred was not forgotten, and in 1859 a Long Service & Good Conduct Medal was issued especially for them. the true origins of the medal is unknown but it would appear that about 100 were struck in error by Wyon as a Naval design and possibly originally designed as a prototype of the very first Naval LS&GC medal and sent out to India in 1859. They are known to have been issued to all three presidencies but the mistake was only discovered the following year by the Government of Bombay.