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The Spanish word "Santa Barbara", the
corresponding Italian word Santa Barbara, and the obsolete French Sainte-Barbe
signify the powder magazine of a ship or fortress. It was customary to have a
statue of Saint Barbara at the magazine to protect the ship or fortress from
suddenly exploding. Even today Saint Barbara is the patron saint of
artillerymen, military engineers, gunsmiths, miners, and anyone else who works
with cannon and explosives. Saint Barbara's intersession is invoked against
thunder and lightning, accidents arising from explosions of gunpowder, and she
is venerated by Catholics who face the danger of sudden and violent death in work.
This medal is 2 inches long and weighs 25 grams of
bronze. It is an original medal from my late mother's vast estate collection of
Catholic Medals (Bertha; the founder of Church-Woman Antiques).
This medals dating can be confirmed on pages 2 & 3 of
the book AN INTRODUCTION TO RELIGIOUS MEDALS, by Bob Forrest, and published by
NUMISMATICA INTERNATIONAL in 2004.In addition, this book has chapters (outlined
in the table of contents), describing each of the categories of medals, their
possible place of pilgrimage (acquisition), and origin of the mint where they
were made. We recommend that anyone serious about collecting medals from this
period acquire a copy of this book.
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