NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: MAY 2020

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 18, May 3, 2020, Article 27

Jeremy Bostwick at Numismagram sent along some highlights from his most recent addition of new material at the beginning of May. Along with the pieces below are a couple interesting architectural types, two love tokens, two shooting medals (one of which is certainly out of the ordinary), three alluring Swedish medals from the hand of the skilled Erik Lindberg, and some high grade, attractively toned silver medals. Please visit numismagram.com/inventory for all of these new additions. -Editor

101102 | GREAT BRITAIN & GERMANY. Hilde (Krahwinkel) Sperling silver Award Medal. Engraved and awarded in 1930 for the mixed doubles runners-up at the Wimbledon Championships (37mm, 12h). By Fattorini & Sons. Athena, representing the virtues of athletic competition, kneeling left before tennis net, holding crowning Nike on globus and wrapping laurel wreath around the earth / THE LAWN TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS, â€¢ 1930 â€¢ / MIXED DOUBLES / RUNNERSâ€“UP / D. PRENN, / FRL â€¢ H. KRAHWINKEL engraved in five lines. Graded PCGS SP63 Matte. Deeply toned, with some subtle brilliance. An incredibly attractive and interesting medal from one of Germany's greatest female tennis players, second only to Steffi Graf. $2,250.

Likely among the top three female tennis players of the interwar periodâ€”along with Helen (Wills) Moody and Suzanne Lenglenâ€”Hilde (Krahwinkel) Sperling was born in Essen, Germany in 1908. During the decade of the 1930's, she was consistently ranked among the top ten, amassing Grand Slam singles victories at the French Open (1935â€“1937) and a mixed doubles victory at Wimbledon (1933). In her three-peat at Roland Garros, she became the second of just four women to ever perform such a feat, the others being the aforementioned (Wills) Moody along with Monica Seles and Justine Henin. She also had numerous runner-up performances at the Slams, one of which was the event commemorated on this prize medal, where she paired with fellow German Daniel Prenn in their loss to Elizabeth Ryan (United States) and Jack Crawford (Australia) at the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship in 1930. She married Dane Svend Sperling in December 1933 and was inducted posthumously into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013, having passed away in 1981.

Nice - I'd never seen one of these before. -Editor

101086 | FRANCE. Battle of the Marne bronze Medal. Issued 1918 (68mm, 142.59 g, 12h). By P.-A. Morlon. Marianne-Victory advancing right, holding sword and guiding a Saint-Chamond tank across the battlefield / Wreath surrounding central field left blank for inscription. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE, a few scattered marks. The Art of Devastation 15. Choice Mint State. Alluring bronze surfaces, with a pleasing matte nature. Compare to a similar piece which sold for a total of $408 in April 2020 (Stack's Bowers CCO, lot 30049). $325.

Seldom encountered in numismatics, this type presents a WWI-era tank being guided across the battlefield. First introduced in 1916 by the British at the Battle of the Somme, tanks were quickly adopted by other powers to be used during warfare

Amazing piece; love the obverse - great juxtaposition of soft curves and hard angles. -Editor

101052 | MEXICO & GERMANY. FIFA World Cup silver Medal. Issued 1970. Commemorating the games and the host country (60mm, 68.83 g, 12h). J RIMET / M?XICO '70, the original World Cup, known then as the Jules Rimet Cup, with views of the civic hosts, along with the winning countries up to that point, listed around / AZTEKEN STADION, interior view of the Estadio Azteca, set for a soccer match. Edge: 1000. Choice About Uncirculated. Highly lustrous and brilliant, with some lightly scattered hairlines. $175.

Fourteen teams, along with defending champs England and host country Mexico, were involved in the final stage of the tournament. From among them, Uruguay, West Germany, Italy, and Brazil made it to the final four, with the latter two meeting in the championship match. In this contest, Pelé and Brazil bested their Italian counterparts easily by a score of 4-1 at Estadio Azteca before the enormous crowd of 107,412 spectators. This victory represented Brazil's third World Cup which, per rules at the time, allowed them to keep the initial Jules Rimet trophy, thus necessitating a new trophy to be created for the next World Cup in 1974. Sadly, this cup was stolen in Rio de Janeiro in 1983, never to be seen again and likely melted by the looters.

Busy obverse, empty reverse, but still a nice piece. -Editor

101006 | VANUATU, FRANCE & GREAT BRITAIN. Bronze Medal. Issued 1956. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Condominium of the New Hebrides (68mm, 159.76 g, 12h). By G. Guiraud. QUEIROZ BOUGAINVILLE COOK, carved native totem / CONDOMINIUM FRANCOâ€“BRITANNIQUE DES NOUVELLES HEBRIDES, outline of the archipelago set over beach scene with anchored ship at a distance. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE. Ruedas, Ocean Pacifique 57. Gem Mint State. Warm brown surfaces. Very rare and interesting. $325.

An archipelago located in the south Pacific to the east of Australia and the north of New Zealand, Vanuatu first had contact with Europeans in the early 17th century. Over a century and a half would pass until more contact came, first by the French under Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1768, then by the British just six years later under James Cook, who gave them their long-standing nameâ€”New Hebrides. A century later, with both France and Great Britain claiming the islands, a pact was made whereby the archipelago would be jointly governed as an Anglo-French condominium. Independence from the pair was only gained in 1980, with the name changing from New Hebrides to the more indigenous c, meaning "home-stand" in several Austronesian languages. The ninth season of Survivor, airing in the fall of 2004, was filmed there, styled as Survivor: Vanuatu â€” Islands of Fire.

Unusual piece. I wish I could be on that beach right now. -Editor