Description

Victoria, 1837-1901. Silver Medal 1846, 36.10 g. Repeal of the Corn Laws. By J. Allen and J. Taylor. A man wielding a twisted sword and displaying CORN LAWS prevents a destitute family from reaching a boat laden with produce. CORN MONOPOLY; A NATION'S CURSE. In exergue: THOU HAST WITHHOLDEN BREAD FROM THE HUNGRY JOB 22.C: V.V. Rv. A family unloading goods from a boat; shipping beyond. In exergue: FREE TRADE THE PEOPLE'S RIGHT'S. Plain edge. 43.5 mm. Eimer 1406 (not described in silver). BHM 1972. Fast FDC / About Mint State. Feine Patina / Nicely toned.

Purchased from Spink Numismatic Circular, London, December 2005, lot CM0971.

The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word "corn" in British English denoted all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The laws were designed to keep corn prices high to favour domestic farmers, and represented British mercantilism.

The Corn Laws blocked the import of cheap corn, initially by simply forbidding importation below a set price, and later by imposing steep import duties, making it too expensive to import it from abroad, even when food supplies were short.

The first two years of the Great Famine in Ireland of 1845 - 1852 forced a resolution because of the urgent need for new food supplies. The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, a Conservative, achieved repeal in 1846 with the support of the Whigs in Parliament, overcoming the opposition of most of his own party.