The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 10, March 6, 2005, Article 13

DICKIN MEDAL HELP SOUGHT

I'm writing an article on the Dickin medal for the American
Numismatic Association's Numismatist magazine.
The Dickin medal is awarded to animals for bravery and
was written up in The E-Sylum late last year. See
v07n48
>From some web searches, and kind assistance from Mark
Quayle of Spink, I have the following references to sales of
Dickin medals:.

Christie's, 13-Apr-83, Mercury, a pigeon;
Spink, 23-Sep-93, Simon the Cat
Spink, 30-Nov-04, Commando, a red chequer cock pigeon

If anyone can help me locate the sale and lot number for
any other Dickin medal, I'd appreciate it. I also still need to
get a copy of the lot description from the Spink, 23-Sep-93
sale; the ANA and ANS libraries were unable to supply
them. Thank you. -Editor

I unfortunately sent ANS Librarian Frank Campbell on a
wild goose chase looking for Mercury in a Spink sale, when
if fact it was in a Christie's sale. Sorry!!

Frank writes: "Your inquiry struck a responsive chord when
I noted that you were in search of a medal awarded to Mercury,
the pigeon. Had Mercury been a Canada Goose, a goldfish, or
a squirrel monkey I would have probably said to myself, "Is he
kidding?" But no, Mercury was a pigeon and I hold pigeons in
high regard. So, I set off in search of Mercury, whose name
was buried somewhere in a 1983 Spink auction. I started with
London, moved to America and ended in Australia. While I
can't say I read each lot with extreme care - and there were
lots of lots - Mercury was not to be found. There were a few
Mercury dimes along the way, but no Mercury, the pigeon.
I'm not going to tell you how long I pursued Mercury but, let's
just say, I could have flown to Australia in less time.

In my youth, I bred and flew homing pigeons, which I would
occasionally bring to the Society, where Geoffrey North (then
Librarian) would take them from me on a Friday afternoon
and set them aloft on one of his weekend trips to Vermont.
They always returned to a small bathroom window located
on West 162nd Street, where I lived at the time."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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