Medal of the Universal Company of the Suez Canal (by Roty, c. 1890, Carnavalet Museum)

Medal of the Universal Company of the Suez Canal, by Louis-Oscar Roty, c. 1890. The obverse features the inscription "L'ÉPARGNE FRANÇAISE PRÉPARE LA PAIX DU MONDE" (French Savings Prepare World Peace), with an allegorical figure of Thrift standing before an anvil and a seated allegorical figure of Peace holding a torch. The reverse has a six-line inscription stating that the canal was opened to great navigation on November 17, 1869. The records of the Carnavalet Museum note a diameter of 6 cm and a weight of 82.36 grams. In 1875, the British government sought to purchase the canal shares held by the Khedive of Egypt, and chronicles record that Lionel personally lent four million pounds to his friend Disraeli. A single house advanced the payment for a nation's purchase.