NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: JULY 2020

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V23 2020 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 23, Number 28, July 12, 2020, Article 22

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick recently added 24 lots of interesting Americana-themed medals and plaques to his website. -Editor

"In addition to the pieces below, there are items which span America's history, ranging from the colonial period, such as an Admiral Vernon medal and a nod to the French and Indian War, to the Delaware tercentenary and modern satirical issues. Of note, there is a particular focus upon issues from the era of the Columbian expo as well as the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Please visit numismagram.com/inventory for all of these new additions, and check back later this month (20 July) for another group of medals and plaques centered around animal and fairy tale themes."

101254 | UNITED STATES. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Libertas Americana /Harbach's white metal Token. Issued 1876. The centennial celebration (22mm, 4.82 g, 1h). LIBERTAS AMERICANA / 4 JUIL 1776, head of liberty left, with free flowing hair and Phrygian cap on pole / HARBACH'S / ORIGINAL / WALNUT / CANDY / 36 N 8 STREET / PHILADA in six lines. Edge: Plain. Miller PA-187 var.; Rulau Pa-Ph-930B. About Uncirculated. Some light handling on the high points, with a good deal of brilliance remaining in the protected areas. Restitution issue of the popular Libertas Americana type. $245.

Designed in part by Benjamin Franklin, the popular "Libertas Americana" motif was thought of as emblematic of the fledgling, newly-established nation—wild and untamed, hopeful and, most importantly, free. Here, the allegorical Liberty exhibits free-flowing, unkempt hair, while a Phrygian cap—an ancient symbol throughout Thrace and Anatolia that later came to represent liberty—tops a pole over her shoulder. During the country's centennial celebrations in 1876, this national iconography was restituted on many tokens of medals, such as this storecard for Harbach's in Philadelphia—famous for making replicas of the Liberty Bell in their well-known walnut candy during the centennial.

101275 | UNITED STATES. San Francisco, California. Mechanics' Institute silver Award Medal. Engraved and awarded to Weed & Kingwell in 1885. (49mm, 43.50 g, 12h). By A. Kuner. MECHANIC'S' INSTITUTE, Columbia standing facing upon base featuring "MI" (Mechanics' Institute) monogram; she presents laurel crown to personifications of industry—with hammer, anvil, gear, and compass—and of agriculture—with plow, sickle, bushel, grapes, palette, and harp; in background, locomotive crossing stone bridge and steamship sailing in the bay; SAN FRANCISCO in exergue / INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION / AWARDED TO, Weed & Kingwell / "Best Plumbers Goods" elaborately engraved in two lines; decorative scroll work above and below; all within laurel wreath; 1885 in cartouche in exergue. Edge: Plain. Gem Mint State. Extremely brilliant and prooflike, with very colorful toning throughout. A popular series and very rare when encountered this attractive and problem free. $895.

The Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco was originally established as a vocational school for unemployed miners in 1854, just a few years after the gold rush and California statehood. Without the presence of facilities such as universities and public libraries, it served as one of the only sources by which one could attain a more advanced education in a trade. In this role, the institute was instrumental in the formation of the University of California in 1868, along with its eventual public university system. The institute is still extant, though now mostly acts in a different role, housing a vast library as well as serving as a cultural center and as a home to the oldest continually operating chess club in the United States.

No stranger to technical prizes at industrial shows, the California Brass Works—with Joseph H. Weed and Vincent Kingwell as proprietors—was established in 1851 by Gallagher & Weed and recognized as one of the leading firms in this branch of trade. Located at 125 1st Street in San Francisco, their operation is summarized by this print advertisement from the 1883 Strangers' Guide to San Francisco and Vicinity: "Manufacturers of all kinds of Brass, Composition, Zinc and Babbit Metal Castings. Church and Steamboat Bells. Also, a full assortment of Steam and Water Cocks and Valves, Hydraulic Pipes, Nozzles and Hose Couplings, etc. Brass Ship Work, Spikes, Sheathing Nails, Rudder Braces, etc. Agents for Siebert's Eureka Lubricator."

101085 | UNITED STATES & GERMANY. Christopher Columbus silver Medal. Issued 1892. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Columbian voyage to the New World (38mm, 19.44 g, 12h). By J. Christensen & E. Deitenbeck at O. Oertel's mint in Berlin. CHRISTOPH COLUMBUS, bust facing slightly right; wreath with anchor below / ZUM 400 JÄHR=JUBILAEUM DER ENTDECKUNG AMERICAS 12 OCTBR 1892, Fama flying right, holding banner inscribed 1492 billowing above; below, mapped horizon indicating points of the eastern and western hemispheres between which the voyage took place. Edge: Reeded. Rulau B16. Choice Mint State. Exceedingly lustrous and prooflike, with some scattered hairlines in the fields. Pleasingly toned, especially on the obverse. $285.

During the lead-up to the quadricentennial of Columbus's initial contact with the New World, numerous medals were designed and struck, both in the United States—in conjunction with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago—and abroad, sometimes for this event or for similar others. In this case, the expansive mint of Otto Oertel in Berlin produced this rather elegant type commemorating the quartercentenary.

The female figure on the reverse is stunning. A beautiful medal. Check out the higher resolution photos on Jeremy's site. -Editor

101115 | UNITED STATES & GERMANY. St. Louis, Missouri. Louisiana Purchase International Exposition bronze award Plaque. Issued 1904. Engraved and presented to Stephan Lindeck, physicist (75x113 mm, 356 g, 12h). By P. Breuer. ARTA ARTIS VINCULA (narrow are the shackles of your craft), personification of America seated right, clasping hands with and presenting olive branch to personification of Germany seated left; "DR. STEPH LINDECK" engraved within rectangular cartouche above / ZUR ERINNERUNG / AN DEUTSCHLANDS / BETEILIGUNG AN / DER WELTAUSSTEL / LUNG IN ST. LOUIS / MCMIV (in commemoration of the German participation in the World's Fair in St. Louis) in six lines between pillars; in vignette above, World's Fair scene showing the German Pavilion and Cascade Gardens. Edge: Plain. Heidemann 1017. Mint State. Deep brown surfaces, with a hint of light rub on the high points; a darker stain is noted in the field on the obverse. Very rare. Compare to a similar piece awarded to a different individual (S. M. Felton) in Heritage 1100 (17 September 2008), lot 28283 (which realized a total of $1840 [after buyer's fee]). $865.

Billed as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, as it commemorated the 100th anniversary of the massive land transaction between the United States and France, the fair covered an enormous area, taking visitors nearly a week to explore its offerings. 60 countries participated, one of which was the German Empire, which issued a series of plaques to be awarded to her citizens presenting or exhibiting at the fair. Among these Germans was this plaque's recipient, Dr. Stephan Lindeck, a physicist who participated in the German Educational Exhibition, specifically dealing with scientific instruments.

101118 | UNITED STATES. San Francisco, California. Panama-Pacific International Exposition gilt bronze award Medal. Issued 1915. Presented at the expo for the "gold" award (70mm, 132.18 g, 12h). By J. Flanagan. Nude male and female (personifications of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans or eastern and western hemispheres) greeting one another as the sun rises over the Panama Canal in the background; DIVINE DISIVNCTA IVNXIT HOMO (the divine difference unites mankind) / PANAMA–PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION SAN-FRANCISCO / MCMXV, façade of the Tower of Jewels within wreath of palm fronds; MEDAL OF AWARD in garnished cartouche below. Edge: Plain. Baxter 114; cf. Marqusee 150-152 (bronze and silvered bronze). Choice Mint State. Brilliant golden-yellow surfaces. Very rare this attractive and problem free. $945.

Designed by the famous American sculptor John Flanagan (best known in U.S. numismatics as the designer of the Washington quarter), the Panama-Pacific medal was issued as an award for many products and exhibits on display at the expo. Just 2,000 of these were struck and issued in bronze by the U.S. mint, and are now often encountered with spotting, scuffs, and other blemishes. Far fewer were issued gilt as this one, meant to serve as the "gold" prize at the expo. The elegant design features personifications of the two oceans meeting, with the Panama Canal being at their middle. The expo itself was styled as a celebration of the completion of the canal (its first use was just six months before the opening of the expo), but in a wider sense, the fair gave the world a chance to see the recovery of host city San Francisco following the devastation of the 1906 earthquake.