(sold for $48.0)

1912, Kingdom of Serbia, Peter I. Silver-Plated  "St George's Church Foundation" Medal.

Mint Year: 1912 Denomination: Medal - Foundation of St. George´s Church (Oplenac) on 23rd September 1912.  Condition: Tooling spot on edge (where a suspension loop was removed), scratches, otherwise XF!  Material: Bronze (silver plated) Weight: 17.76gm Diameter: 33mm

St George's Church (Serbian: Црква Св. Ђорђа) also known as Oplenac (Опленац), is the mausoleum of the Serbian and Yugoslav royal house of Karađorđević located on top of the Oplenac Hill in the town of Topola, Serbia. The church of Oplenac was founded by King Peter I of Yugoslavia. Many members of the royal house are buried in the church, in the crypt beneath the church, or in the church yard.

n the 19th century this area was covered in woods. The term Oplenac most probably derives from "oplen", meaning wooden parts on ox cars. Karađorđe had settled here, built vineyards and orchards, and established the defence of the nearby Topola. His son Alexander built new buildings and renewed his father’s vineyards and orchards. It was not until the arrival of King Peter I that this place got its true importance.

Peter I, upon his ascension to the throne in 1903, chose a spot 337 metres (1106 ft) on the top of Mali Oplenac hill for the location of his St. George Church. The location was measured by geodesy experts; so the altar would face east according to Orthodox tradition. In 1907 the cornerstone was laid, and the Charter dedicated to St. George was placed in the foundation. The winning prize for the tender was given to architect Nikola Nestorović. After a long and animated expert discussion, primarily regarding the demand for the monumentality of the Serbian-Byzantine style, and due to the King’s own displeasure with the proposed solution, another tender in 1909 was launched. The committee was made up with basically the same previous members (Mihailo Valtrović, Andra Stevanović, and architect Konstantin Jovanović, who replaced Dragutin Đorđević from the previous committee).

The committee awarded first prize to the young architect Kosta J. Jovanović. On May 1, 1910 construction started following Jovanović’s plan. Stone breaking for the crypt and the foundation of the church lasted for four months. On 1 September 1910, the foundation was mostly completed. In 1911 the building process continued at a fast pace, and the church was already under the dome. It was decided that same year that the façade of the church would be made of white marble, which came from nearby Venčac mountain, even today known for its exceptionally white marble. In the autumn of 1912 the church was generally complete and ready for consecration. The Serbian Patriarch Dimitrije consecrated the church on 23 September 1912. During pauses of the 1912-1913 Balkan Wars and the First World War, there was also a pause in the construction of the church. When Austria-Hungary occupied Serbia in the winter of 1915, the church was looted – the copper cover was removed from the dome, roof and portals. The lighting conductor was also removed as well as the bells. Many windows were broken including little marble pillars and ornaments. Using the excuse that important records might be hidden, the occupiers desecrated the graves in the crypt.

Returning to the liberated homeland and to the historical creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Peter I was not able to see completion of his foundation. The king died on 16 August 1921, and his successor Alexander I took over its completion. He modified the original plan.

After the reconstruction of the crypt, by Jovanović, this was followed by the iconostasis, the lightning conductor, then a new copper roof with golden edges on the dome. The bells were made by Frères Piccard from Annecy le Vieux, France and the mosaics were made by Puhl & Wagner from Berlin, Germany. The bronze chandelier was made by Luks, Zagreb, Croatia. The church was once again consecrated in September 1930. Church services were held until 1947. After that it was declared a cultural monument and open to visitors. Oplenac was added to the list of Monuments of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1979, and it is protected by the state.

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Peter I of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes also known as Peter I Karadordevic (Serbian, Croatian, Serbo-Croatian: Petar I Karadordevic) (29 June 1844 – 16 August 1921), also known as King Peter the Liberator, was King of Serbia from 1903 to 1918 after which he became the first King of Serbs, Croats  and Slovenes, which from the very beginning was colloquially called  Yugoslavia within the kingdom and in the rest of Europe.

Peter was born in Belgrade to Prince Alexander of Serbia and his consort, Princess Persida Nenadovic. Prince Alexander  abdicated in 1858 and took his son with him into exile in present-day Romania.

The young noble spent much of his exile in France, where he received an education and even participated in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871 as a French Army officer. On one occasion during the war, after  being separated from his unit, he narrowly avoided capture by swimming  across the near-frozen Loire River. During the Serb uprising against Ottoman Empire in 1876 in Bosnia and in Herzegovina,  Peter took on the name Mrkonjic, a slavicized version of his last name,  and joined the freedom fighters. He had to leave the region at the  insistence of then-prince Milan Obrenovic, the ruler of Serbia, who saw Peter as a rival and feared his popularity among the Serbian people. He married Princess Zorka of Montenegro, daughter of King Nicholas I, in 1883. They had five children: Princess Helen in 1884, Princess Milena in 1886, Prince George in 1887, Prince Alexander in 1888 and Prince Andrew in 1890. Princess Milena died at the age of  one in 1887, and Prince Andrew, the last child, died in childbirth  along with his mother.

Peter returned to Serbia in 1903, when a military coup d'état removed King Alexander from the throne. Peter was crowned King of Serbia on 11 June.

The Western-educated King attempted to liberalise Serbia with the goal of creating a Western-style constitutional monarchy, even translating John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" into Serbian.

Peter chose to "retire" due to ill health following the Balkan Wars which, from a Serb perspective, were a great success. Executive power passed to his son Alexander.

The King was relatively inactive during the First World War,  although he did occasionally visit trenches to check up on his troops.  One memorable visit in 1915 involved Peter, by then 71, picking up a  rifle and shooting at enemy soldiers. Following Serbia's military  defeat to the forces of Austro-Hungary Peter led the army and civilian  refugees through the mountains to the sea on a 'Calvary known to few  peoples'. (R. Wolfson "Years of Change. European History 1890-1945")

His last public appearance was on 1 December 1918, when he was proclaimed King of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. King Peter I died in Belgrade in 1921 at the age of 77.

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