NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: JANUARY 14, 2024

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V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 2, January 14, 2024, Article 16

Jeremy Bostwick at Numismagram sent along 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

102608 | GERMANY. Nürnberg. End of the Century white metal Medal. Issued 1700 (43mm, 12h). By M. Brunner. EDO VT EDAM (I eat so that I may eat, —adapted from Quintilian's "Institutio Oratoria", Book IX), winged Kronos/Saturn advancing left, holding scythe and devouring child held upside down by his leg // AVREVS HANC VITAM IN TERRIS SATVRNVS AGEBAT (such was the life golden Saturn lived on earth, —from Virgil's "Georgics", Book II), ANNO MVNDI / CI?I?CC [MDCC] in two lines. Endter p. 5, fig. IV; Strothotte 1700-8 (this medal illustrated). NGC MS-62. Mostly even gunmetal gray surfaces. Exceptionally rare and provocative. $595.

This extremely interesting design alludes to the Titan Kronos (Saturn), who was the son of Gaia (Terra) and Ouranos (Caelus), and who overthrew the latter to serve as the leader of the Titans. He is traditionally depicted with a scythe or sickle, the instrument by which he castrated and deposed his father. Owing to a prophecy in which he would be overthrown by his children as he had overthrown his father, Kronos consumed each of his Olympic children upon their birth in order to prevent their fulfillment of the prophecy. Upon this birth of Zeus (Jupiter), however, Kronos's consort Rhea (Ops) devised a plan with Gaia in order to punish Kronos for his acts toward his father and children. Zeus was hidden in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete, and instead a rock wrapped in swaddling was presented for Kronos to consume. Once fully grown, Zeus confronted and defeated Kronos, forcing him to vomit forth his elder siblings—Demeter (Ceres), Hestia (Vesta), Hera (Juno), Hades (Pluto), and Poseidon (Neptune). Over time, the Titan Kronos and the personification of Chronos (Time) became rather linked, and quite probably for very good reason.

The personification for "Father Time" would involve an old, bearded man, usually nude or at least semi-nude, bearing a scythe for harvesting (as the harvest was a cyclical aspect that was all-important throughout history). He would also be depicted winged, as the wings played into the fleeting nature of time. As such, on this medal, Kronos (essentially, Father Time) possesses both wings and a scythe, and is eating a child—an act meant to show the past consuming the future, or the older generation suppressing the future generation. The Latin legend "edo ut edam" translates to "I eat so that I may continue to eat." This phrase is a shortening of one that is a bit more common: "non ut edam vivo, sed ut vivam edo," or, "I do not live in order to eat, but rather I eat in order to live." Despite the similarities between the aspects of Kronos and Chronos, as well as their virtual amalgamation over time, it is important to point out that Father Time remains undefeated, while Chronos was unable to escape his fate.

102484 | UNITED STATES. Chicago, Illinois. C. D. Peacock silver "Hard Times Token." Dated 1837, though issued ca. 1900-1906 for the jewelry firm founded in 1837 (31mm, 23.30 g, 12h). By Gorham Mfg. Co. C. D. PEACOCK. / JEWELER 1837 CHICAGO, peacock standing facing, head left, with tailfeathers fully spread // TIME / IS / MONEY in three lines within center of clock, with time reading 9:11. Edge: Sterling. Rulau HT-M24 (R9). PCGS MS-62. Light gray surfaces, with some enchanting pastel toning on the obverse and great brilliance throughout. Incredibly rare, and likely one of just three known. A similar type in silver, the slightly less rare right-facing peacock (Rulau HT-M20 [R7] in PCGS MS-65), recently realized a total of $5,000 in the December Steve Hayden auction (lot 422). No sales records are known for this type in silver, with this example tied with just one other in the PCGS census as the only representatives of the type there [https://www.pcgs.com/cert/47337770], and a third example listed in the NGC census being imaged only with no grade listed. A tremendous opportunity for the aficionado of the Peacock series, and the one that is undoubtedly the linchpin of completing the series in all formats. $4,495.

Drawing inspiration from the reverse of an 1837 Hard Times token, that of Smith's Clock Establishment in New York's Bowery neighborhood, Chicago-based jeweler Charles Daniel (C. D.) Peacock commissioned a series of tokens to commemorate the firm's 50th anniversary in 1897. Issued a few years later between 1900 and 1906, these tokens feature a very similar clock-style reverse as Smith's token, along with the iconic phrase "time is money," but with an obverse that served as a pun upon the jeweller's name. While the date of "1837" was retained for these tokens, it served as a commemoration for the year when Peacock's father Elijah opened the company upon immigrating to the United States.

Rulau M19 and M20 display a right-facing peacock with the date within the inner circle, while M21 and M22 feature the same peacock, but with the date below the inner circle, and M23 and M24 display a slightly different peacock that is instead facing left. While Rulau lists mintages for the copper types (M19, M21, and M23) as 10,000, 7,500, and 10,000, respectively, he mentions scant mintages of the silver specimens (M20, M22, and M24) as 4, 4, and 1, respectively. The silver types are indeed excessively rare, though this example–barring a duplication or mistake in classification in the PCGS census–is listed as one of two (each MS-62), while NGC merely lists an image for M24 in their census (no mention of grade). It is clear from the NGC image that this example and the one in the NGC image are different examples. Nevertheless, the silver strikings clearly indicate exalted status as examples that were produced for the senior members of the Peacock family then in charge of the firm, or others of similar importance, and are the ultimate limiting factor in any Peacock set.

102685 | UNITED STATES & SWEDEN. Swedish Settlements in Delaware bronze Medal. Struck 1938. Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the Founding of New Sweden along the Delaware River / '17 Individuals' (69mm, 151.54 g, 12h). By U. A. Ricci for the Medallic Art Co. KALMAR - NYCKEL, ship under sail left upon the waters; TERCENTENARY / DELAWARE in two lines in exergue // State emblem of Delaware; around, wreath the names of 17 individuals on entwined garland: Read, Dickinson, MacDonough, Jones, Shipley, Tatnall, Saulsbury, Ridgely, DuPont, Gray, Bayard, Van Dyke, Layton, Kirkwood, Haslet, McKean, and Rodney. Edge: MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y. BRONZE. Rulau Q5A. Mint State. Brown-bronze surfaces. $195.

Established during the Thirty Years' War, the colony of New Sweden along the Delaware River lasted for nearly two decades, and served as a Scandinavian outpost in colonial America. Encompassing what is now modern-day Southeast Pennsylvania, Southwest New Jersey, and Northern Delaware, numerous locales convey this Swedish history, such as Fort Christina, Fort Casimir, and Swedesboro.

102591 | GREAT BRITAIN. "Night of Armour/Knight of Amour" bronze Medal. Issued 1988. (38mm, 27.41 g, 12h). By R. Elderton at the Tower mint. NIGHT of ARMOUR, bedroom scene, with female seated right on stool, nude save for chastity belt which she attempts to unlock with key; discarded keys on floor; mace and armor (armour) on floor to right; in background, dresser with mirror depicting scene in which the same female holds up the chastity belt, now removed, with knight facing her // KNIGHT of AMOUR, similar bedroom scene, but on the opposite side of the room, with male standing facing in medieval armor (armour) and with hands held together in act of prayer; in background, elaborate bed chamber, with shields to either side featuring somewhat suggestive iconography. Edge: Plain. "The Medal" 14 (Spring 1989), pp. 87 & 89. Choice Mint State. Red-brown surfaces. Extremely rare and virtually never encountered. $295.

Seemingly a popular concept on some of Elderton's medals, the punning between night/knight and armour/amour is quite clear. An evening filled with plating and protective coverings stands between the female on this medal and her libidinous medieval soldier. Featuring direct engraving into the dies, this endlessly provocative type is matched equally by its excessive rarity.