The E-Sylum:  Volume 7, Number 19, May 9, 2004, Article 17

NUMISMATICS AND RIOTS

  Steve Pellegrini writes: "When thinking about the incidence of
  Riots on Medals I immediately thought of the 1478 medal by
  Bertolo di Giovaanni which commemorates the Florence riot
  instigated  by the Pazzi conspirators  to cover the assassination
  attempt on the Medici brothers, Lorenzo and Giuliano. In fact
  only Giuliano was killed. Lorenzo escaped with only a flesh
  wound. Stephen Scher, in his beautiful book 'The Currency
  of Fame' has assigned this medal #41 - and included photos
  of the historical piece on pp. 129 & 130.

  Another example of medals, or rather a tokens with riotous
  connections are the Middlesex Conder Tokens issued by
  Thomas Spence featuring the portrait of Mendoza, the popular
  prize fighter of 1790-1810 London. During the 'Old Prices'
  riots in Covent Garden in Sept.- December 1809 Mendoza
  and his boxing colleagues were hired by harassed theatre
  owner John Kemble.  Kemble hired Mendoza and his boxing
  cronies to help keep order in the theater on performance nights.
  The boxers were prominently seated (free of charge) where all
  the theater-goers could not fail to see them. Should any 'New
  Prices' dissenters begin to disrupt the performance Mendoza
  and his boxers very publicly made swift work of them.

  During this period prize fighting was dominated by Jewish
  boxers, much as was US boxing during the hard immigration
  years of the early 20th century. The anti-Semitic allusions found
  on these 'Old Price Riot' tokens stem from Kemble's
  employment of these Jewish boxers to suppress further rioting."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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