Bronze. 56 mm. 79.6 grams. Cornucopia privy mark and BRONZE on edge with the recipient’s name engraved as MABEL D. PRICE. R.W. McLachlan describes the Prince of Wales Normal School medal as “one of a number of munificent gifts by the Prince of Wales presented to Canadian educational institutions during his visit in 1860. The Hon. P. J. J. O. Chaveau was at that time Deputy Minister of Education for Canada East, and he ordered the dies to be engraved by the chief French medallist.” Indeed, these medals were struck at the Paris Mint and engraved by Armand-Auguste Caqué. McLachlan listed the medals as R.5, while Dr. Joseph Leroux rated them R.7. Most examples seen, not that there are many around, feature an antiqued finish typical of the early 20th century, but this glossy example enjoys smooth coppery surfaces characteristic of the 19th century.

This piece is named to Mabel D. Price. The June 13, 1914 issue of the Sherbrooke (Quebec) Daily Record noted:

The report just issued of the examinations held in connection with the School of Teachers at MacDonald College [part of McGill University] shows that former pupils of Sherbrooke High School held their own. The following are some of the successes achieved by them:

Miss Mabel Dean Price of Capelton, winner of the Prince of Wales medal (1st General Proficiency in Model Class) and Governor General’s Bronze medal (1st place in art teaching).

Tragically, the same newspaper reported 15 years later on July 9, 1929:

The funeral of the late Gertrude May Price and Mabel Dean Price, daughters of Mr. Wm. Price and the late Mrs. Wm. Price of Waterville, who were drowned on June 23rd, at Oka Beach, Lake of Two Mountains, was held from their father’s home on June 26th. …

Mabel Dean Price, youngest daughter of Mr. Price, was educated at the Eustis School and Sherbrooke High School, from which she graduated with honors, leading the province, and later graduating with similar honors at MacDonald College. She also took some advanced work at Queen’s University. On graduating, Miss Price accepted a position at the Ste. Anne Model School. This position she held for ten years, leaving it at the request of the college to accept a professorship at MacDonald College, where she has been for the past two years as a lecturer in geography, history, and nature-study. Having been so long connected with the college and school, Miss Price leaves hundreds who mourn her loss, as she was in all respects a friend and a teacher of exceptional ability, beloved by all who had ever come in contact with her.

Not only is this a medal of some rarity preserved in excellent condition, it tells an incredible, if sad story — one certainly worth remembering. The only mentionable flaw is a diagonal pin scratch in the right obverse field.