This medal was won by the British armaments firm, Armstrong & Co. which hoped to sell weapons to defence forces in the colonies. The Melbourne International Exhibition medals were actually made from gold unlike many 'gold' medals of the era, which were gold plated. The firm had previously won a gold medal at the Sydney exhibition in 1879 for the same exhibit.

Gold Medal Melbourne International Exhibition, obverse.

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Gold Medal Melbourne International Exhibition, reverse.

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Obverse – Veiled head of Queen Victoria around which is legend MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION MDCCCLXXX.		Reverse – The Latin legend VITAM EXCOLVERE PER ART.

Purchased, 1995