1937 MANILA EUCHARISTIC CONFERENCE MEDALS

1937 Manila Eucharistic Conference Medals
Earl Honeycutt and Sandy Lichauco

Against the backdrop of the rise of communism in the world and 56 years after the first Eucharistic Congress held in Lille, France, the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress took place in Manila, Philippines, from February 3-7, 1937 with great significance. The Congress was notable as it was the first Eucharistic gathering in the Philippines and more importantly, in Asia. The event was attended by 1.5 million from around the world, and events were held in Rizal Park, with hundreds of thousands present at each gathering. It will also be remembered as having the largest religious procession of more than 600,000 Catholic devotees. At that time, it was considered the largest gathering held in what remains the only predominantly Catholic country in Asia. To memorialize this event, two medals were minted and presented/sold to attendees. This article seeks to highlight these medals as it coincides this year with the 500th anniversary of Christianity in the Philippines:

The initial, and most frequently encountered medal is the Honeycutt 284:

   

284

O: Congressus/ Eucharisticus/ Internationalis/ Manilanus/ 1937/ Vatican Scene
R: Evangelium/ Omni/ Creaturae/ Praedicate/ 1521
Worship Scene: Cross at Center, With Palm Trees,
Sea, & Mountains in Background
40 x 40 mm With Loop

The design on the obverse of the medal has the symbol of the Eucharist shining above the church to commemorate the Congress as a gathering of the clergy and the faithful to glorify Our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist. With the words Congressus, Eucharisticus, Internationalis and Manilanus translated from Latin as the International Eucharistic Congress (Manila). While the reverse of the medal has the scene of the very first mass in the Philippines held 500 years ago.

Recent research by the authors has documented seven metal varieties in aluminum, brass, bronze, gold, white metal, sterling silver, and silver plate. The sterling silver variety is stamped "sterling" on the medal's bottom edge. All medals were minted by Crispulo Zamora, one of the most well-known Manila medal makers in the Philippines. Sources also state that Zamora produced 100 sets of gold medals with matching stamps. To date, few gold medals examples are known to exist, which makes the gold variant the rarest amongst the different metal varieties of the medal, maybe even considered rarer than hen's teeth. The bronze variant is the next hardest to find amongst the H-284 metal variants.

Likewise, the medals were also differentiated by their pin bars which were silver, silver plate, or bronze, and read: XXXIII Eucharistic Congress/ Manila and had different designs. The authors are in possession or have pictures of multiple varieties of ribbons and pin bars.

The second Eucharistic Congress medal is similar to H-284 discussed above, but it features Pope Pius XI and is listed as Honeycutt 284-1. The medal was produced in silvered and bronze versions and is slightly smaller in size (30 x 30 mm).

   

284-1

O: Congressus/ Eucharistic/ Internationalis/ Manilanus/ 1937/ Pope Pius XI Bust
R: Evangelium/ Omni/ Creaturae/ Praedicate/ 1521
Worship Scene: Cross at Center, With Palm Trees,
Sea, & Mountains in Background
30 x 30 mm Silvered With Loop
284-1a Similar, but Bronze
284-1b Similar, but Silvered with Red Obverse

Interestingly, this fairly-common and distributed medal was unlisted in both Basso books, but it is increasingly popular and brings record prices in sterling silver, bronze, and the ever-elusive gold variety! Pristine medals that include pin bars and ribbons are highly sought after and sell for premium prices. It has become a challenge for both authors to gather and collect all variants of these medals, especially the elusive Gold variant.

   

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web