NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: DECEMBER 17, 2023

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V26 2023 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 26, Number 51, December 17, 2023, Article 19

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick forwarded these four medals from his most recent upload of new material to his site. For all of the new items, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory. -Editor

102604 | GERMANY. Silesia. Noah's Ark silver Medal. Issued circa 1736. On the desire for an end to famine (21mm, 2.71 g, 12h). By J. L. Oexlein in Nürnberg. BEFIEHL DEM HERREN DEINE WEGE (surrender yourself to the Lord...), Noah's Ark facing right upon the water; above, dove flying left, with olive branch in beak; in two lines in exergue, UND HOFFE / AUF IHN (...and place your hope in Him...) // ER WIRDS WOHL MACHEN (...for He will do it), seven worshipers on their knees in act of prayer; lighted altar between them; rainbow arcing across the sky above; representation of an ark (alluding to Noah's Ark atop Mt. Ararat) upon hill in background to right. Edge: Plain. F&S 4240; Erlanger 2751. Mint State Details. Lightly toned and highly brilliant, with a few inconsequential marks on the rims accounting for the details designation. A charming and fairly small medal that packs a great deal into its size. $395.

The precise sentiments of this small medal are not entirely known, as some have ascribed it to the plight of Salzburg emigrants, while others suggest an end to famine being experienced locally in Silesia. Given the iconography, a famine seems more likely given the cataclysmic effect of the flooding relating to Noah's Ark, but the religious sentiment is strongly recounted no matter the event commemorated.

102646 | UNITED STATES & GREAT BRITAIN. Crystal Palace white metal Medal "So-Called Dollar." Issued 1854. Commemorating its removal and re-opening in Sydenham (41mm, 12h). By Pinches in London. Britannia standing facing, head lowered left, holding key and caduceus, and opening the doors of Industry and Science; lamb to left, crested helmet to right; interior view of the palace in the background // CRYSTAL PALACE / OPENED MDCCCLIV, perspective view of the Crystal Palace. HK 8 (listed as Extremely Rare); BHM 2549; Eimer 1847. PCGS SP-61. Extremely lustrous and brilliant in the fields. Compare to an NGC MS-63 that realized a total of $840 in Heritage's February 2023 British Medals Showcase Auction #61308, lot 22073 (and for which its current owner wants at least $1,260 [!]). $565.

One of the earliest pieces listed in the popular reference on "so-called" dollars by Hibler & Kappen, this Crystal Palace type isn't actually American, but in fact, British. It commemorates the re-opening (in 1854) of the Crystal Palace in Sydenham in south London after it had been deconstructed and removed from Hyde Park in central London. In the United States, a version was constructed in New York City in the area that is now Bryant Park. It opened on 14 July 1853, and remained open intermittently until 5 October 1858 when it was destroyed by fire.

102653 | FINLAND. International Women's Year multipiece bronze Medal. Issued 1975 (50mm, 206.57 g, 12h). By K. Räsänen for Sporrong. Top piece, obverse: Female head right, wearing earring and with hair strands billowing around her // Top piece, reverse: KAUKO RÄSÄNEN 1975, nude female in incuse, with hands raised, revealing heavily pregnant midsection. /// Middle piece, obverse: Fetus curled within womb // Middle piece, reverse: Exterior of the woman's midsection /// Bottom piece, obverse: Four nude females embracing, their bodies somewhat overlapping in design // Bottom piece, reverse: INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S YEAR 1975, nude female in relief, with hands raised, revealing heavily pregnant midsection. Edge: SPORRONG 0182•3500. Hackl & Klose 70. As made. Brown-bronze surfaces, with an alluring matte nature and excellent relief. A stunningly tactile multi piece medal that is a hallmark of Räsänen's work for the period. Includes original box of issue. $295.

No stranger to the multi piece medal, Kauko Räsänen designed this maternal-themed medal for the International Women's Year in 1975. The interior "side" of each of the two larger medals features opposing views in relief and in incuse of a pregnant woman, with her midsection detachable as a third, smaller medal that reveals the developing fetus.

102589 | GREAT BRITAIN. "Cow-Pat" cast bronze Medal. Issued 1984 (100mm x 93mm, 538.70 g, 12h). By N. Moss. Highly stylized cow standing left, head quizzically facing; horizon in background, with smooth texture to the sky above // Dung pile, with horse fly sitting in its small, slightly recessed center. Edge: Plain. "The Medal" no. 6 (Spring 1985), p. 40. Essentially as Made. Olive-brown surfaces, with great texture imparted unto the reverse. An extremely rare and whimsical medal from very early in Moss's career. $565.

Born in High Wycombe northwest of London, Nicola d'Alton Moss was the first non-American to sculpt a medal for the Society of Medalists series, when her design for the Charles Darwin medal was issued in 1989 (the society having issued medals since 1930). This extremely interesting and rare issue, also being one of the earliest in her career, was the result of her attendance on a scholarship at John Cook's International Medallic Workshop during the summer of 1984 at Penn State University. Given the very rural and agricultural setting of central Pennsylvania, it is clear that many such cows, as well as their piles of dung, served as an inspiration to explore the dual nature of the medal. In 1996, she became the youngest recipient of the American Numismatic Society's prestigious J. Sanford Saltus Award given "for lifetime achievement in medallic art."