Gilt copper. 45 mm. 46.7 grams. Plain edge. The obverse reads EDWARD MURPHY * DONOR * FOUNDED A: D: 1873. A high-relief portrait of the prize’s benefactor appears at the centre. The reverse features CATHOLIC COMMERCIAL ACADEMY around the upper border with MONTREAL below. FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF COMMERCIAL EDUCATION is positioned within a wreath of maple with shamrocks above and a beaver below.

Executed by the esteemed fraternal team of Joseph Shepherd and Alfred Benjamin Wyon, this medal features rich yellow-gold colour without any significant loss of the gilting. Joseph Leroux rated the Edward Murphy medal R.5 in his 1892 reference, The Canadian Coin Cabinet.