The Panama Canal Medal

The first Panamanian medal dates to 1879, when the state (then part of Colombia) authorized Count Ferdinand de Lesseps (1805–1894) and engineers of the Panama Canal Company to study the feasibility of a sea-level canal. The medal was instituted by Panama’s chief magistrate, Dámaso Cervero, and the accompanying certificates were issued in the name of “El Presidente del Estado Soberano de Panamá en los Estados Unidos de Colombia.”