The medallions of the Order of the White Eagle, seven of which have survived, were for a long time considered the first badges of the Order. Recent studies show, however, that badges of the Order, in the form of a cross, had existed earlier, and that the medallions should be treated as so-called "small decorations", which were worn in place of the crosses. To date historiography has regarded the meeting between August II and Tsar Peter the Great at Tykocin in the autumn of 1705 as the time when the Order of the White Eagle was established; this was accompanied by information concerning its establishment in the press. It is known that in Tykocin the King awarded "small decorations" - medallions; hence, the origins of the medallions of the Order of the White Eagle should be largely associated with this particular event. The images on the medallions - the Polish white eagle with a shield bearing a cross and two crossed electoral swords on the obverse and a royal monogram with coronet on the reverse - allude to the crosses known to us from the Saxon period. Obviously the form and composition are different and the motto Pro Fide Rege et Lege is absent.
Gold, enamel.
Collection of Royal Castle in Warsaw.