Item number: M349

Year: AD 1938

Material: Silver

Size: 87.5 x 38.4 x 2.1 mm

Weight: 28.2 g

Provenance: Spink 2024

This is a medal issued in AD 1938 by Sir George Moss, KBE, the British Consul-General in Hankou, to the officers and sailors of the Royal Navy’s “China Station”. Known as the “Fatman Dollar” medal, it was awarded to commend their efforts in safeguarding the consulate from the ravages of war during the Battle of Wuhan.

This medal was not an officially established award but rather personally designed and issued by the Consul-General. It repurposed the widely circulated one yuan silver coin, commonly referred to as the “Yuan Big Head” or “Fatman Dollar,” as its base.

The medal’s design largely retained the coin’s original features. On the obverse, it displayed a left-facing portrait of Yuan Shikai in military attire, with the inscription “Republic of China Year 10” at the top. Below, the Consul-General added the engraved English text “HANKOW 1938.”

The reverse featured the coin’s original design: a pair of knotted Jiahe (rice ears) framing the vertically inscribed Chinese characters for “One Yuan.” The medal was adapted for wearing by attaching a yellow ribbon through two circular loops affixed at the top.

Between June and October 1938, amid the full-scale war between China and Japan, the two sides engaged in a large-scale campaign for control of Wuhan, a strategic hub along the Yangtze River in central China. Following the fall of Nanjing, Wuhan had become the de facto capital of the Nationalist government.

After approximately four months of intense fighting, Japanese forces succeeded in capturing Wuhan. However, they failed to annihilate the Nationalist government’s primary military forces. This outcome marked a turning point in Japan’s strategy, shifting from an initial goal of a swift and decisive victory to becoming mired in a prolonged war on the Chinese front.

物件編號: M349

年代: 公元 1938 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 87.5 x 38.4 x 2.1 mm

重量: 28.2 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2024

這是公元1938年，英國駐漢口總領事喬治·莫斯爵士頒予皇家海軍「中國艦隊總司令」轄下官兵的「胖子元」獎章，以此勉勵在武漢會戰保護領事館免於戰火波及的貢獻。

這一枚獎章並非由官方正式設立，而是總領事自行設計頒發，以中國廣為流通的壹圓，即俗稱為「袁大頭」或「胖子元」的銀幣作為獎章。獎章外觀基本沿襲錢幣的原始設計，正面是袁世凱身穿軍裝的左側肖像，上緣鐫刻「中華民國十年造」字樣，下方為總領事打印的英文字樣「HANKOW 1938」(漢口1938) 。獎章背面是打結的嘉禾，中央是直寫的漢字「壹圓」面額。獎章頂端則以兩個圓環銜接黃色綬帶。

公元1938年6月至10月間，全面開戰的中日雙方在華中長江沿岸的重鎮，即南京淪陷之後，成為國民政府實質首都的武漢展開大規模的戰役。經過4個月左右的戰事，日軍成功攻克武漢，但是卻沒能殲滅國民政府的有生力量，使得日本從原先的速戰速決戰略，演變為陷入中國戰場的持久戰。