NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: MAY 2019

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V22 2019 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 22, Number 18, May 5, 2019, Article 24

Jeremy Bostwick at Numismagram forwarded these four medals from his recent addition of new material to his website. In addition to the pieces below, you will find a focus this month on the popular Wiener architectural series, the nude in medallic art, and silver medals with a WWI-theme. Visit numismagram.com/inventory for all of the new items. -Editor

100632 | ROMANIA & FRANCE. Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne bronze Medal. Issued circa 1923. Commemorating the founding of the French-Romanian airline by Aristide Blank (72mm, 153.83 g, 12). By H. Nocq. QUÆ SUNT QUÆ FUERINT QUÆ MOX VENTURA TRAHANTUR... (what is, what was, and what shall be...–adapted from the Georgics by Virgil), transportation scene: countryside setting featuring stagecoach driven left, locomotive emerging from right, biplane flying overhead to left, and antique racing car left to lower right / COMPAGNIE FRANCO ROUMAINE DE NAVIGATION AERIENNE / PARIS PRAGUE VARSOVIE VIENNE BUDAPEST BELGRADE BUCAREST CONSTANTINOPLE, two biplanes flying over outline of southeastern Europe, with the airline's routes highlighted; in two lines in exergue, FONDEE en AVRIL 1920 / PAR ARISTIDE BLANK. Edge: CUIVRE. Dogan 6801. Choice Mint State. Splendid light brown-olive surfaces. A very rare and interesting piece of aviation history and judaica, featuring the 'transportation trinity' of planes, trains, and automobiles. $645.

Born in Bucure?ti (Bucharest) to a wealthy Jewish-Romanian family in 1883/4, Aristide Blank followed his father into the world of finances, directing his family's bank, Banca Marmorosch, Blank & Co., as well as patronizing the arts and other humanistic causes. He founded the CFRNA (Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne)—the subject of this medal—sponsored a Romanian edition of the Bible, and founded the Cultura Na?ionala (National Culture) publishing house, writing numerous social and economic analyses. A supporter of Jewish causes, he himself was the victim of an anti-semitic attack in Bucharest in 1924 while giving a lecture to a group of Romanian bankers. By 1950, persecuted by the communists under Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, Blank found himself financially ruined, ultimately fleeing to Paris.

Great medal! -Editor

100633 | GERMANY. Bremen silver Medal. Issued 1917. Commemorating the need for the shipping industry (35mm, 14.15 g, 12h). By an uncertain designer. NAVIGARE NECESSE EST—VIVERE NON EST NECESSE ("seafaring is living, nothing else comes close") / 1 IVLI 1917, ornate key (civic coat-of-arms) over star-filled field / Façade of the Roselius-Haus; R" - Co / grad - dör across field. Edge: Beaded. Gem Mint State. Highly lustrous and reflective, with an attractive mélange of cobalt and crimson tone around the devices. $245.

Featured on the reverse of this medal, the Museum im Roselius-Haus (Ludwig Roselius Museum) is a historic edifice in Bremen's old town, having been completed in 1588. In 1902, Ludwig Roselius, a German coffee merchant, purchased the home, utilizing it as a museum for various artifacts and objets d'art from the middle ages to the Baroque period.

100634 | GERMANY. Dresden uniface bronze Plaque. Issued 1911. Commemorating the International Health Exposition, held in Dresden from May–October 1911 (66x113mm). By P. Pöppelmann at the Glaser & Sohn Workshop in Dresden. KEIN REICHTUM / GLEICHT DIR O / GESUNDHEIT ("no wealth equals you, o health"), nude male standing facing, head right, with hand on hip; tree in background to left; to right, nude female seated left on base, head facing, suckling an infant held in arms; in three lines in exergue, INTERNATIONALE / HYGIENE–AUSSTELLUNG / DRESDEN 1911. Edge: Plain. Brettauer –; Storer 4800b. Gem Mint State. Attractive yellow-bronze surfaces, with a charming matte nature; exquisite relief. Includes original box of issue (though one edge is slightly split). $325.

Organized by Karl August Lingner, a German philanthropist and businessman, the International Health Exposition in 1911 was an expansion upon a similar, more local event which Lingner had overseen in 1903. Meant to inform and educate the public about advancements in health, the expo prominently featured visual representations of the human body, whereby transparent organs were displayed for the first time—anatomist Werner Spalteholz having derived a means of 'drenching' human tissue with liquids which possessed similar light refracting properties, thus allowing one to see within both skin and tissue.

100628 | FINLAND & SWEDEN. Adam & Eve bronze Medal. Issued 1987. Adam & Eve and the fall of Man (59mm, 166.13 g, 12h). By K. Räsänen and produced by Sporrong AB in Solna. ADAM, Adam reclining left, head facing; behind to left, Eye of God from which dove emerges / EVA, Eve reclining right, head facing, raising hand in protest and with serpent coiled around arm; crescent moon behind to inner left, Tree of Knowledge behind to outer right. Edge: SPORRONG. HK 132. Gem Mint State. Deep brown surfaces, with some lighter hints of antiquing on the high points. Very rare, with a mintage of just 50 pieces. $565.

Kauko Räsänen was born just inside what is now modern-day Russia in 1926, becoming a magnificent sculptor and creator of medallic art until his recent death in 2015 at the age of 89. His sculptures feature a distinctive modern flare which can be seen, often in extravagant ways, in his works of medallic art as well. Räsänen would utilize bizarre shapes and even additional pieces to convey his entire medallic concept, often leaving the viewer with the idea that the medals were miniature sculptures in their own right. The piece above exemplifies his ultra-modern approach, with highly stylized artistry, intense relief, and a somewhat mirrored approach, whereby the aspects of the obverse mimic those of the reverse in numerous ways, while still maintaining their own story.

An oddly stylized piece, yet attractive nonetheless. Unusual and interesting piece. -Editor