MEDAL SELECTIONS FROM NUMISMAGRAM: SEPTEMBER 2018

Ernst August and Viktoria Luise Marriage Medal

100363 | GERMANY. Braunschweig (Brunswick). Ernst August with Viktoria Luise silver Medal. Dated 1913. Commemorating the Royal Marriage (33mm, 17.85 g, 12h). By L. C. Lauer in Nürnberg.

VIKTORIA LOUISE PRINZss v PR • ERNST AUGUST HERZG zu BRAUNSCHW LÜNEBG, facing busts of Viktoria Luise and Ernst August / Two crowned coats-of-arms within wreath of roses. Edge: SILBER 990.

Brockmann 580; Fiala 5954. Choice Proof. Deeply toned near the peripheries, exceedingly lustrous and brilliant, though with a fair degree of hairlines.

The marriage of Ernst August and Viktoria Luise, which took place on 24 May 1913, was a gallant affair with over 1,000 guests in attendance. Given the union's political importance (it ended the long-standing rift between the Houses of Hannover and Hohenzollern) and familial connections (Ernst August was, on his paternal side, the great-grandson of another Ernst August, the fifth son of Great Britain's King George III, and, on his maternal side, the grandson of King Christian IX of Denmark, the "father-in-law" of Europe––while Viktoria Luise was, on her paternal side, the daughter of the German Emperor Wilhelm II and the great-granddaughter of Great Britain's Queen Victoria), it served as an important and momentous European gathering.

Noteworthy guests were Wilhelm's cousins––Great Britain's King George V and wife Mary, along with Russia's Czar Nicholai II and wife Alexandra. The wedding represented the largest gathering of reigning monarchs in Germany since her unification in 1871, and one of the final grand events before Europe, and much of the world, would be plunged into the chaos of World War I little over a year later.

To read the complete item description, see:
100363 | GERMANY. Brunswick. Ernst August with Viktoria Luise silver Medal. (https://www.numismagram.com/product-page/100363)

Le Cynocéphale Plaque

100381 | FRANCE. Bronze Plaque. Issued 1906. "Le Cynocéphale" (60x53mm, 88.57 g, 12h). By P. Jouve in Paris.

Simian cynocephalus (dog-headed monkey) seated left, holding ushabti (Egyptian funerary figurine) / Four monkeys seated left and facing upon tree branch. Edge: «hallmark» BRONZE «hallmark» 134.

Maier 37. Choice Mint State. Pleasing yellow-brown surfaces, with a delightful matte appearance; a few light spots on the reverse. Very rare and extremely interesting. Compare to a similar example in iNumis (3 May 2018), lot 202 (which realized a hammer of €820 [plus buyer's fee]).

A characteristic which has existed in various mythologies and art forms since antiquity, cynocephaly comes from the Greek ???? (dog) and ?efa?? (head). Some deities in the Egyptian pantheon were represented with the heads of jackals and, in Christianity, St. Christopher was oft-depicted as such, while Paul the Deacon refers to the phenomenon in his Historia gentis Langobardorum.

Paul Jouve, having created the sculpture which inspired this plaque, added to this tapestry with an interesting arrangement featuring a dog-headed monkey holding a relic of the past, an Egyptian figurine, also dog-headed, blending the past with the present. The holder of the relic possesses a near-human level of contemplation as it considers this similar-looking ancient object. On the reverse, though the monkeys feature no cross-species characteristics, the iconic "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," a decidedly anthropomorphic trait, can definitely be felt.

To read the complete item description, see:
100381 | FRANCE. "Le Cynocéphale" bronze Plaque (https://www.numismagram.com/product-page/100381)

Andrées Polar Expedition Medal

100400 | SWEDEN & NORWAY. Salomon August Andrée & Fridtjof Nansen white metal Medal. Issued 1897. The Scandinavian Polar Expeditions (50, 53.45 g, 12h). By A. Högel in Stockholm.

ANDRÉES POLAR EXPEDITION / FRÅN GÖTEBORG DEN 7 JUNI 1896, hot air balloon Örnen flying over representation of the earth, centered upon the North Pole; to upper left, bust of Andrée right within oval medallion / FRIDTHIOF NANSEN / FRÅN KRISTIANIA DEN 24 JUNI 1893, the Fram under sail left upon the ocean; at center, bust of Nansen facing slightly left within oval medallion. Edge: Plain.

Malpas 156. Choice Mint State. Exceedingly lustrous and brilliant, with a few scattered marks. Great aviation and nautical type.

In 1897, S. A. Andrée led a hydrogen balloon expedition which was intended to see its explorers go from Svalbard (a Norwegian archipelago situated halfway between Norway and the North Pole) to either Canada or Russia, passing over the geographic North Pole in the process. The trip was ill-fated, however, and the balloon crashed only a few days into its journey. While the crew was uninjured, it was left deserted on the uninhabited ice cap island of Kvitøya as winter was approaching. Photographs taken by the crew were eventually developed when their exposed film and belongings were discovered decades later, the mystery of their fate finally being answered.

Equally as challenging, Fridtjof Nansen had been pondering an expedition to the North Pole since the early 1880's. After observing wreckage from a ship wash up near Greenland (on the opposite side of the Arctic whence it had gone asunder), the theory was made that there was, in fact, an ocean current even near pole. Nansen believed that he could sail northward until pack ice was encountered, at which point the engines would be powered down and rudder raised, allowing the vessel to be frozen with the ice, drifting along with the Arctic current and hopefully across the North Pole. The theory was correct, but very unpredictable, and Nansen made the calculation that the crew would not endure the lengthened time of the journey (five years had been planned). Nansen and Hjalmar Johansen then broke away and attempted to pursue their polar destination through dog sledding. Though they were able to get further north than anyone prior in recorded history (86°13.6'N), Nansen again made the calculation that supplies would not allow a completion, and they began their retreat, ultimately rejoining their crew nearly a year-and-a-half after parting ways with them while the Fram was still stuck in ice.

To read the complete item description, see:
100400 | SWEDEN & NORWAY. Andrée & Nansen white metal Medal. (https://www.numismagram.com/product-page/100400)

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