The obverse bears Boston silhouette in decorated medallion. Above, CITY MEDAL; below, 1821.
The reverse bears banner and flowers. In banner, AWARDED / TO; below, F. W. MITCHELL, SC. This medal is dedicated to Catharine E. O'Brien and is dated 1861.
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston and briefly attended the public grammar school there before he left for Philadelphia to join his brother. When Franklin died, he left £100 sterling to the City of Boston for medals to be given to the best boys in the then 7 public schools (3 to each school, for a total of 21 per year initially). These medals were first awarded in 1792 and were the prototypes of all school medals that followed.
By 1821 girls were now also attending the public schools and it was regarded as unfair to exclude them from merit awards. As only boys were attending public grammar school at the time Franklin had made his will, the School Committee reasoned that he probably meant "children" when he wrote "boys." They therefore created a new medal that was awarded to girls.
In 1821 Boston was still officially a town, so the banner read "Town Medal." In 1822 Boston became a city and the medal was updated to account for that change.
The medal measures 34mm in diameter and was struck by the United States Mint. This medal is catalogued as Julian SC-11 and SC-12.