On the 5th of January 1856 Her Majesty approved the design with one amendment. Her Majesty preferred that the motto on the Cross should be:

"For Valour" rather than" For the Brave" as this would lead to the inference that only those are deemed brave who have got the Cross".

The design having been approved the first metal proof was submitted to the Queen on February 4th and was not accepted. A revised proof was submitted on the 21st February with more amendments being made. Further proofs were then submitted and on the 3rd March 1856 the matter was finalised when the samples were returned to Lord Panmure, one having been chosen as satisfactory.

On March 4th 1856 the War Office instructed Mr C.F. Hancock to prepare 106 specimens.

The Medal Itself

The obverse of the medal has as its main feature the Royal Crown surmounted by a lion and under this a ribbon bearing the motto For Valour. The Cross itself hangs from a bar of laurel leaves supporting the letter V, and the whole is suspended from a crimson ribbon. The original Warrant denotes "a blue riband for the Navy and a red riband for the Air Force." This was the case until the formation of the Royal Air Force when in a Warrant signed by King George V on 22nd May 1920, all Victoria Crosses have the same ribbon irrespective of the Service in which the recipient is acting

The reverse of the medal is unique in that each one issued is engraved with the individual recipient's name, regiment and the date of the action for which the award is made. The reverse of the suspender bar has the name, rank, regiment and serial number of the recipient. The reverse of the Cross has a circle in which is engraved the date of the action

There is no differentiation between a posthumous award in the manner of its engraving or its detail. Such awards have been made only since 1906.

There is provision made in the event that a holder of the Victoria Cross is awarded a Bar to his medal. In the same manner as other awards it is possible to be awarded a Victoria Cross more than once, but this has happened 3 times only. Such awards have an "abbreviated" version of the suspender bar attached to the ribbon above the original and the details of the "new" award are engraved on the reverse of this Bar.