Olympic medals had their obverse design standardized.
 From the 16th century onward, medals were made, both by rulers for presentation and private enterprise for sale, to commemorate specific events, including military battles and victories, and from this grew the practice of awarding military medals specifically to combatants, though initially only a few of the much higher-ranking officers
 The early twentieth century saw art medals flourish, particularly in France, Italy, and Belgium, while later in the century Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, the US, Canada, and England produced much high quality work

