Early Edinburgh School Medal

Started by JohnI, May 24, 2024, 08:17:54 PM

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JohnI

The medal below reads as follows;

Obverse  To Nichol Watson FROM Mr Davidson 27th July 1822

Reverse  DUX  in the arithmetical CLASS

The hallmark is RM
Nicol Watson 1822.jpg

Daniel Davidson ran a private school teaching writing, arithmetic and book keeping from about 1820 to 1835. His advert from the 6 Oct 1824 edition of The Scotsman is below;
Mr Davidson Class Advert The Scotsman  06 Oct 1824.jpg

The hallmark RM is probably for Robert McGregor, a Lapidary and Jeweller of Perth. He registered an RMcG hallmark in Edinburgh in 1825.

Nicol Watson was born in Pencaitland in 1807 to James Watson, farmer at Broomrigg and his wife Alice Hope. He is listed as a farmer at South Elphinstone when he married Mary Brownlee in 1838 and in the 1841 cenus. By 1865 Nicol was living in Glasgow and is listed in 1871 as a grain commission agent. A this time he was a widower living with his daughter Mary Anne, a housekeeper and son Henry, a warehouseman.  Nicol died in 1878, the causes being given as cardiac disease and gangrene of the foot. From these conditions it is possible that he had untreated Type 2 diabetes.


Regards;



John

Figleaf

The original meaning of Dux is chief or leader. Maybe Mr. Davidson wanted to show his erudition. Also, would "mathematical" have sounded better than "bookkeeping"?

A good initiative to create an instrument to instil competition and reward the first in class, especially when the recipient is the son of a farmer. It looks like Nichol's talents were appreciated and supported by his parents, who must have paid for his education. It made sense for Nichol to work his behind off, perhaps not only to show his gratitude to his parents, but also because he may not have wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. His education paid off. Starting out as a farmer, he ended up as a grain commission agent in the big city. This medal tells an uplifting story.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.