SPOOKY NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS

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V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 25, Number 43, October 23, 2022, Article 18

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick recently added a number of spooky, Halloween-themed medals and tokens to his website. Featuring skulls and skeletons, satyrs and demons, and even some tombstones, this haunting area of numismatics is certainly growing in popularity for its off-beat nature. For all of the new items, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory. -Editor

102005 | FRANCE & NETHERLANDS. Lodge La Vertu gilt silver Medal. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the lodge and the gunpowder explosion at Leiden (38mm x 45mm, 20.63 g, 12h). By D. P. Wilno. VIRTUTIS SOCIIS FRATERNO MORE LIGATIS PROSPERA CONTINGIT CLAUDERE LUSTRA DECEM DIE 19 OCT 5807, female personification of Leiden kneeling right, trying to hold back the Grim Reaper (as a skeleton), holding scythe; demolished city in background; altar bearing scrolls and decorated with ouroboros and 1/2 between them; in three lines in exergue, DIE 12 IAN DEUS / NOS OMNES / SERVAVIT / VIVAT LUDOVICUS NAPOLEON BENEFICUS HOLLANDIAE REX! / civic coat-of-arms; in nine lines below, DUM REPETET SUBITAM, / TIBI, REX: TUA LEIDA RUINAM, / REDDETUR GRATAE DEBITUS / URBIS AMOR. / VIRTUTIS NOMEN FRATRUM / LAUDESQUE MANEBUNT, / DUM PIETAS MISERIS / DULCE LEVAMEN ERIT. / S. S. V. D. E. Edge: Some marks at a portion of the edges, and with loop and clasp attached at the top; otherwise plain. Bramsen 669; Dirks 1933; Julius 1809. Mint State Details. Some deeper toning nearer the peripheries on the obverse, though numerous hairlines from a prior cleaning are noted. Nevertheless, extremely rare and interesting, with just 48 produced in gilt silver, and 154 in silver, one of the latter recently selling for €2,640 in September 2022. $1,895.

A massive explosion took place in the city of Leiden in January 1807 which, at the time, was a part of the Kingdom of Holland—a client state among Napoleon's exploits across Europe. Given the expectation that the kingdom would be attacked by the British, a great deal of gunpowder was ordered to be on hand, with one of the barges carrying the munitions sparking an explosion that destroyed a portion of the city and killing some 155 people. The temple of the Lodge La Vertu was located in the blast zone, hence the reference to it on this medal. Upon hearing of the destruction, the King of Holland, Louis Napoleon (Bonaparte), arrived to assist in rebuilding the city and calming the public. One such medal was made in gold for the king, while another 48 in gilt silver and 154 in silver—one less than the number of lives lost in the blast.

Sad story, not unlike the more recent explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. -Editor

101887 | GERMANY. Johann Friedrich Blumenbach bronze Medal. Issued 1825. Commemorating the Jubilee of the Anthropologist's Doctorate (50mm, 66.73 g, 12h). By G. Loos and H. Gube in Berlin. I FR BLUMENBACH NATO GOTHAE D 11 MAII 1752 DOCT CREATO GOTTINGAE D 19 SEPT 1775, bust left / NATURAE INTERPRETI OSSA LOQUI IUBENTI PHYSIOSOPHILI GERMANICI D 19 SEPT 1825, three human skulls, as classified by Blumenbach: Caucasian, Ethiopian, and Mongolian. Edge: Plain. Storer 398; Brettauer 125. Choice Mint State. Rich glossy brown surfaces, with great reverse relief. An ever-interesting and haunting type. $695.

Blumenbach was an anthropologist from the University of Göttingen and specialized in the study and classification of human skulls from around the world—later known as craniometry. At the time of his death, he owned 245 whole skulls and fragments, along with two mummies. The term ‘caucasian' as a descriptor of race was also derived from him, as his influential use of it in 1795 quickly caught on in scientific circles. For more information on Blumenbach and a modern analysis of his career—as well as a reference to this medallic issue—visit Nell Irvin Painter's Why White People Are Called ‘Caucasian?'"

102018 | FRANCE. Banquet of Socialist Women satirical brass Medal. Issued 1848 (28mm, 6.20 g, 12h). LE DIABLE PRÉCHANT L'EVANGILE (the devil preaching the Gospels) / C'EST NOUS QUI SOMMES LES VRAIS APOTRES (it is we who are the true apostles), seminude Devil standing facing, with horns, wings, tail, and hooklike appendages / SOUVENIR / DU BANQUET FRATERNEL / DES FEMMES SOCIALISTES / LE JOUR DE NOEL / 1848 (a souvenir of the fraternal banquet of women socialists on Christmas Day) in five lines. Collignon 1015. Choice Mint State. Brassy yellow surfaces, with a great deal of brilliance. $225.

Though the French Revolution may have served as a republican cause for men, the sentiment didn't exactly extend to women, with the later revolution in 1848 serving to further the cause of female rights in France. Given the number of satirical medals issued at this time pertaining to the events of the day, it is rather predictable that there would be one such as the piece here, alluding to the idea that the devil must assuredly be involved with such licentious pursuits for women...like voting, education, and employment.

Odd item - I'd never seen one of these before. Hooray for licentious pursuits! -Editor

102024 | NETHERLANDS. Maastricht. Chapter of St. Servatius's Church lead Funeral Token (Begrafenisloodje). Dated 1828. Receipt for funeral expenses or as a funeral commemorative (28mm, 12.74 g, 12h). Skull and crossbones / ECCLESIÆ STI SERVATII, upright key. Edge: Some roughness, otherwise plain. Cf. Minard p. 196, 359 (cancellation punch on the reverse). Fine. Fairly well worn and some scattered marks, but still rather clear on the obverse. A very rare and engaging type. $465.

Begrafenisloodje served multiple roles in the Low Countries during the 16th-19th centuries, acting as payment for gravediggers, pallbearers, or other funerary expenses, or acting as a commemorative for the funeral of the deceased—either to those attending the ceremonies or to the respective church in remembrance of the departed. Where they were utilized to indicate payment, a punch was generally placed upon one or both sides to act as a form of "cancellation" for the services rendered and payment received.