The̴ Delhi Durbar 1911 Medal

The̴ Delhi Durbar 1911 Medal was awarded in Gold (300 medals) and Silver (30,000) to commemorate the Dehli Durbar held in the King’s honour. The inscription on the reverse is Farsi reads “The Durbar of George V, Emperor of India, Master of the British Lands”. This superb die-struck medal with swivel suspension represents the silver version of the Dehli Durbar medal. All were issued unnamed but it is common to see them personalised by being engraved or locally impressed in a variety of styles. Interestingly, those potential recipients who had been present in the earlier coronation celebrations in Britain and had received the British coronation medal were not allowed to receive the Delhi Durbar medal as well. Instead, they were simply given a silver clasp bearing the crowned word Delhi to wear on the ribbon of the British medal.

Examples are very rare, with only about 134 known to have been awarded to recipients – mainly Indian soldiers – who had been present at both the British and Indian coronation celebrations. In military terms there were 1,177 British army officers and 15,050 British “other ranks” present along with 894 officers and 31,669 Indian soldiers of the Indian Army and 351 officers and 852 “representat -ive” other ranks of the Indian Volunteers. This gives a total military presence of around 49,000 officers and men. From the British forces present, 905 silver medals were awarded to officers and only 3266 to British “other ranks” – so that only about 25% of the British troops actually present in the Durbar celebrations received a medal.

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