The Turkish Crimean War Medal () is a campaign medal issued by Sultan Abdülmecid I of the Ottoman Empire to allied military personnel involved in the Crimean War of 1854–56. It was only awarded to those who survived the war and not to next of kin. There are three different issues of this medal for British, French, or Sardinian personnel. The medal was designed by James Robertson. British recipients also qualified for the British Crimea Medal. Design and identification The medal is silver and in diameter. The obverse shows the Ottoman Sultan’s tughra with the Muslim calendar year of 1271 on all versions. The reverse depicts a cannon standing upon the Imperial Russian flag, with an anchor and a mortar. The four flags of the allies are to the rear, their order identifying the country for which the medal was intended, either Great Britain, France or Sardinia. The identifying flag is the central right hand flag, positioned above the anchor, the Union Flag for Great Britain, the tricolour for France or the flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia, based on the Italian tricolore. Since Sardinia was ruled at the time by the House of Savoy, this flag has the Savoy shield in the central panel. The Turkish flag is placed centre left on all three versions. The inscription in the exergue reads "Crimea 1855" for British issue, "La Crimee 1855" for French issue, and "La Crimea 1855" for Sardinian issue. Due to the loss by shipwreck of 22,000 of the medals intended for British recipients, many awards were made with whatever issue came to hand, the most common being of the Sardinian type. Over the years many have mistakenly believed the flags and cannon to be the obverse of this medal, and many of the recipients wore it that way. The side with the Sultan's cypher or tughra is the correct obverse, although most collectors today continue to mount the medal with the flags and cannon as the obverse. The general quality of these medals was poor and some British officers had copies of superior quality made in 925 silver with plain or scroll suspenders. These have clearer detail and are generally thicker and heavier; they are often seen in groups mounted by Messrs. Hunt and Roskill. The British versions of this medal are also generally believed to have a slightly higher silver content than the French or Sardinian versions.