Medal, Commemorative

1 - Commemorative medal worn by United Spanish War Veteran, R. Hoffman. The medal has an rectangular brass top with a decorative border. A red, white, and blue vertically-striped ribbon hangs beneath along with crossed rifles and a circular brass medal. The medal shows the seal of the City of Detroit which includes two images of a Lady Columbia figure. In the left image, she is weeping for a burning town and in the right image, she is presenting a rebuilt town. Raised text along the perimeter shows the motto of the City, "Speramus-Meliora, Resurget-Cineribus [We hope for better things; it will arise from the ashes.]" Stars and a reeded border are also shown along the perimeter with the years, "1701," and "1901." The reverse side of the medal has raised text and engraved text that shows "The City of Detroit to R. Hoffman, for Service in the Spanish-American War." A decorative laurel wreath design is shown in the background along with an eagle and the years, "1898-1900." The medal is contained in a small rectangular blue box that has two printed labels on the end. One label shows "The Joseph Mayer Co." and the other shows "25907, Spanish War Service" along with other text.