Though his attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, Denmark’s King Christian V received a medal for his 1693 destruction of a city in northern Germany in his efforts to seize control of the dukedom against the claims of the house of Hanover.

His son, the Crown Prince Frederick IV, commissioned the work, which is based on a contemporary engraving.

An example of the silver medal is among the many highlights of MDC Monaco’s June 12 auction.

The medal commemorates the bombings of Ratzeburg (also spelled Ratzebourg) in northern Germany, and was created in 1694 by artist Barthold Meyer in Dömitz, a town in Germany.

The crown prince gave the medal to his father for Christian V’s birthday.

In 1693, the king and Danish troops bombed Ratzeburg from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4, 1693, and ruined the city. Ratzeburg was the capital of Saxe-Lauenburg, part of the old Duchy of Saxony.

The king graces the obverse of the medal, while the bombing scene based on the contemporary print appears on the reverse.

The medal weighs 94.96 grams and measures 67.5 millimeters in diameter (or, about 2.65 inches).

The medal is rare, spectacular, and of great historical interest, according to the auction house.

In “superb” condition, the medal has an opening bid of €10,000 ($12,216 U.S.).

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