“NE CEDE MALIS"—“Yield not to misfortunes."—is the motto placed on the reverse of the medal. This quotation from Virgil’s Aeneid might have been intended by King Stanisław August—regarded as the originator of this medal (made by Jan Filip Holzhaeusser in 1770)—to refer to the political difficulties of Poland at the time. This is clearly illustrated by the reverse, which shows ‘the ship of state’ on a rough sea, sailing between rocks. The depiction is shown all’antica: the ship is stylized as an ancient galley, with six sailors, sitting with their backs (sic!) to the helmsman, wear ancient armour and shields with various coats of arms of the lands of Poland; according to Bishop Jan Chrzciciel Albertrandi, these are the Poznań, Kalisz, Podole and Ruthenia voivodeships. It could either be a literal representation of one of Aeneas’s adventures or also may have served as a means of political propaganda in response to Catherine the Great’s political activities. Another plausible interpretation is that the six brave companions of the helmsman (i.e. of the King himself) are, respectively: August and Michał Czartoryski, Andrzej Zamoyski, Stanisław Lubomirski, Antoni Przezdziecki and Jan Borch. The obverse of the medal shows an official portrait of the King, widely used since the start of his reign (1764).