NUMISMAGRAM SELECTIONS: DECEMBER 18, 2022

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 25, Number 51, December 18, 2022, Article 19

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick sent along these three attractively toned medals from his recent addition of new material online. The theme of this particular upload was the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, which issued a number of medals celebrating its past members. Emanating mostly from the mid-late 19th century, they tend to offer some interesting iconography upon each reverse, especially those related specifically to various disciplines in the sciences. For all of the new items, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory. -Editor

102265 | SWEDEN. Erik Acharius silver Medal. Issued 1846. Commemorating the life (1757-1819) of the botanist and "father of lichenology" (31mm, 12.34 g, 12h). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences series. By Maurits Frumerie. ER ACHARIUS M D PROF EOU AUR / NAY 1757 DEN 1819, bust left in frock coat / TE REFERENT MUSCI TENERI FRAGILESQUE LICHENES, rocky knoll and dead tree, all covered in lichen; in three lines in exergue, SOCIO SUO MERITISS / REG ACAD SCIENT SV / MDCCCXLVI. Edge: Plain. Hyckert I, 50, 1; Granberg 235. Choice Mint State. Highly brilliant and deeply toned around the devices; a few light hairlines are noted for completeness. $175.

The last pupil of Carl Linnaeus, Erik Acharius pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and was a member of numerous learned societies in Sweden and Great Britain, not just the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, for which this medal was issued. He had a plant genus, several plant species, and even an insect has been named after him, as well as the Acharius Medal, which is awarded for lifetime achievement in the field of lichenology.

102268 | SWEDEN. Emanuel Swedenborg silver Medal. Issued 1852. Commemorating the life (1688-1772) of the theologian, scientist, philosopher, and mystic (31mm, 12.46 g, 12h). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences series. By Per-Henrik Lundgren. EMANUEL SVEDENBORG / NAT 1688 DEN 1772, bust right in frock coat / TANTOQUE EXSULTAT ALUMNO, robed man advancing left before the façade of the Temple of Isis, decorated with hieroglyphics: in four lines in exergue, MIRO NATURAE INVESTIGATORI / SOCIO QUOND AESTIMATISS / ACAD REG SCIENT SVEC / MDCCCLII. Edge: Plain. Hildebrand 173, 1; Hyckert I, 236, 1; Granberg 240. Mint State. Enchantingly brilliant and pleasingly toned, with some lightly scattered hairlines. $175.

Perhaps best known for his religious book pertaining to the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, Emanuel Swedenborg was a noted Christian theologian, inspiring what would later be known as the "New Church," or a form of Christianity less devoted to a particular denomination and its specific views, and more devoted to the idea that, as long as one does good in accordance with the truth of their specific church, then one will be accepted into heaven. As such, this concept of the "New Church" is also known as Swedenborgianism after Swedenborg himself.

102274 | SWEDEN. Sven Nilsson silver Medal. Issued 1901. Commemorating the life (1787-1883) of the zoologist and archaeologist (31mm, 15.34 g, 12h). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences series. By Adolf Lindberg. SVENO NILSSON PROFESSOR ZOOL LUNDENSIS / N 1787 O 1883, bust right in frock coat / ANIMALIA DESCRIPSIT VETUSTATEM INDAGAVIT, moose reclining right; in background, large stones arranged in temple-like formation, with birds of prey around; in three lines in exergue, SOCIO MERIT REG ACAD / SCIENT SUEC / MDCCCCI. Edge: Plain. Hyckert II, 185, 1; Granberg 294. Mint State. Light gray surfaces with intense mirroring in the fields and some deeper toning nearer edges; some lightly scattered hairlines noted for completeness. $165.

A professor of natural history at Lund University for nearly 25 years, Sven Nilsson was a prolific author on the subject, introducing ethnographic perspectives into the field of archaeology and specializing on the differing groups of fauna within Scandinavia. In addition to his accolades within Sweden, he was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1869.