Damasquinado
A �damascened medal,� an old, inaccurate name for cameo gilt or gold plating. A dangerous liquid mercury flux ormolu process adding gold detail to bronze medals. It is not damascene jewelry technique or gold leaf work. Unrelated damascene jewelry is made by first putting sharp-edged scratches on a steel base. Small sheets and wires of silver and gold, cut into shapes of flowers, leaves, ribbons, etc. are tapped into the cross-hatched steel, binding the metals together. The steel is then chemically treated with black oxide. Nothing remotely like this occurs on these medals.
Source: Numiscadero Spanish to English Glossary (Gary Beals)