"In the summer of 1902 there appeared in Paris a number of Orientals, of doubtful aspect and mysterious actions, who laid before the astonished eyes of the Paris experts a series of gold medals, similar to the ones found many years ago near Tarsus, but far surpassing them in beauty and boldness of their design. But the possessors inspired little confidence; the whole business looked too "fishy"... It was the astounding quality, preservation, and the bold workmanship of these medallions which prejudiced numismatists against them in the early days of their discovery." (E.T. Newell, The Gold Medallions of Aboukir, AJN XLIV (1910), p. 128)
11 of these Aboukir medals, having first been acquired by J. P. Morgan Library and bought from them by Gulbenkian in 1949, are today at the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. They are astonishing: large (about palm sized), round, very yellow gold (perhaps 20K), with very high relief of excellent quality. The obverse represents busts of famous military figures -- chiefly Alexander the Great but also Caracalla, the other a smaller scale figure in action: a man spearing a boar, an armed goddess holding up a shield.
Although fragments of several such series survive, and more may have been made in antiquity, their purpose is completely unknown. Some have suggested a propaganda effort, possibly by Caracalla who aspired to great conquests in the East.
The guides leading groups through here announce blandly that these were -- Olympic medals.
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