NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: APRIL 7, 2024

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V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 14, April 7, 2024, Article 17

Jeremy Bostwick with Numismagram forwarded these five items from his most recent upload of new material to his site. This upload featured a great mix of topics and themes, spanning the realm of historical medals to modern, and with some colorful toning thrown in as well. For all of the new items, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory.

Great medals! -Editor

102784 | GREAT BRITAIN. England. Elizabeth I "Phoenix Badge" oval cast silver Medal. Issued circa mid-late 18th century (40mm x 44mm, 29.10 g, 12h). + HEI MIHI QVOD TANTO VIRTVS PERFVSA DECORE NON HABET ETERNOS INVIOLATA DIES / ELISABETHA D G ANG FR ET HIB REGINA (Alas! That virtue endued with so much beauty, should not uninjured enjoy perpetual life), bust left wearing ruffled collar and with hair in bonnet // FELICES ARABES MVNDI QVIBVS VNICA PHŒNIX PHŒNICEM REPARAT DEPEREVNDO NOVAM/ O MISEROS ANGLOS MVNDI QVIBVS VNICA PHŒNIX VLTIMA FIT NOSTRO TRISTIA FATA SOLO (Happy Arabs whose only Phoenix reproduces by its death a new Phoenix. Wretched English whose only Phoenix becomes, unhappy fate, the last in our country), Phoenix standing slightly left amid flames, with wings spread; above, crowned monogram of Elizabeth. Edge: Some filing marks as made. Cf. MI 124/70 (for prototype); cf. Eimer 48B (same). Choice Extremely Fine. Attractively toned, with some wear upon the high points and great relief on the obverse. A rare and very desirable type, with originals being virtually unobtainable. $985.

The originals of this type, almost never encountered, are believed to date to 1574, as the dress of the queen is less decorated than normal, and in that year, she issued a proclamation that condemned the use of excess ornamentation. Given the sentiments expressed in the legends, and the idea of a loss of the queen, it may indicate that it was worn by those personally attached to her at a time at which the plague was raging in London.

102509 | GERMANY. Kronprinz Wilhelm silver Medal. Issued 1914. World War I series: The Siege of Longwy (35mm, 18.70 g, 12h). By H. Splieth for O. Oertel in Berlin. WILHELM KRONPRINZ D DEUTSCH REICHES U V PREUSSEN, bust facing, wearing Totenkopfhelm (Prussian kucsma of the Death's Head Hussars) // DEM SIEGER VON LONGWY, soldier in medieval armor left, weiling sword and shield; panel in background with battle scene. Edge: SILBER 990. Zetzmann 4018. PCGS SP-63. Most attractively toned, with tremendous vibrant iridescence and a prooflike nature in the fields. $545.

Friedrich II der Große (Frederick the Great) created a regiment of hussar cavalrymen in the Prussian army and adorned their busbys (tall military hat) with the Totenkopf symbol, the skull and crossbones. This symbol continued to be worn by various prominent German military figures in World War I, such as August von Mackensen, Kaiser Wilhelm II, and the kaiser's son, Kronprinz Wilhelm.

102508 | GERMANY. Generalfeldmarschall Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen silver Medal. Issued 1915 (34mm, 17.24 g, 12h). By F. Eue and H. Grünthal in Berlin. GENERALFELDMARSCHALL von MACKENSEN, uniformed bust facing slightly right // Soldier advancing right, holding banner and sword, and leading other soldiers into combat. Edge: SILBER 800. Zetzmann 4101. PCGS SP-63. A great prooflike nature, with some colorful iridescent toning on part of the obverse. $395.

Nicknamed "the Last Hussar," Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen was born in 1849 in the Kingdom of Prussia and would go on to have a successful military career during his 95 years, seeing him serve not just the Kingdom of Prussia, but also the North German Confederation, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Third Reich. Dying just a few months after the close of WWII in Europe, he would even see the post-war allied occupation of Germany. During his military career, some of his most important roles came during WWI, with much of his focus being in the east with campaigns in Serbia, Romania, and the Eastern Front. His nickname emanated from his part in the Hussar Brigade (Leib-Husaren-Brigade), an elite Prussian regiment originally founded by (Friedrich II der Große) Frederick the Great as the Death's Head Hussars (Totenkopfhusaren). This regiment was known for their black uniforms and rather imposing 'skull and crossbones'-adorned busby. Throughout his life, even long after the dissolution of the German Empire, von Mackensen would continue wearing his uniform, standing in stark contrast to the Nazi uniforms of the Third Reich.

102787 | GERMANY. World War cast bronze Medal. Issued 1919. A lamentation on the recently concluded world war (66mm, 105.83 g, 1h). By R. Förster in München. Female personification of War-Fury (Kriegsfürie) striding left, nude save for billowing cloak, with right hand and hair terminating in numerous serpents, and holding torch in left hand; at a distance in background, cityscape set ablaze and in ruin // View of the Earth, focused upon Africa, with numerous areas of smoke arising from Europe; around and below, banner reading WELTKRIEG 1914–1919; stars and crescent moon in background. Edge: Plain. Klose 22.10; The Art of Devastation, pp. 87 & fig. 12; Kluge & Weisser A27. Choice Mint State. Light brown surfaces, with a subtle matte nature. Ex David Nicholas Silich Collection (acquired from Howard & Frances Simmons, September 2003). $895.

While many medals from the German side offer more optimistic and jubilant messages and iconography at the outset of the war, this imagery began to change as the war ravaged on. By the time that the war concluded, the full scale of its effects caused the tune of many medals, such as this one, to change dramatically. In this piece, Förster depicts War-Fury as a hideous and cruel mistress, leaving a trail of carnage behind her. On the reverse, the lonely nature of the Earth is conveyed, with chaos raging all across Europe—all while the rest of the surrounding cosmos is seemingly at peace and in normal order.

102788 | GREAT BRITAIN. Ivory Exploitation silvered bronze Medal. Issued 2013 (102mm, 642.2 g, 12h). By Kyosun Jung. Forepart of sad, tuskless elephant standing right // Pattern evoking an elephant's curled tusk, with this legend spiralling outward: "THOUSANDS OF ELEPHANTS DIE EACH YEAR SO THAT THEIR TUSKS CAN BE CARVED INTO RELIGIOUS OBJECTS. CAN THE SLAUGHTER BE STOPPED?". Edge: Plain. The Medal 63, p. 61. As made. Highly argent surfaces, with incredible texture. Unique in this format, with just one made in silver (with the Goldsmiths' Company), one silvered (the present specimen) and three in bronze (sold to private clients by the artist). As such, a tremendous opportunity for the representative in silvered bronze. Ex David Nicholas Silich Collection (acquired from Howard & Frances Simmons, December 2015 [who acquired it directly from the artist herself]). $795.

Born in South Korea and immigrating to England, Kyosun Jung established a breakthrough with her 2013 design, "Ivory Exploitation," which, according to the medalist, Kyosun "...entered into the British Art Medal Society (BAMS) Student Medal Project. Eleven UK colleges and universities took part in this scheme, which resulted in 125 design submissions. From a short list, I won the Pangolin Editions Prize for my modeling, the use of both sides of the medal and the lettering." The output for this poignant and powerful piece, as mentioned above, is incredibly paltry. The lone silver example resides with The Goldsmiths' Company, the manufacturer, and the three bronze examples were sold by the artist herself to private clients, leaving this sole silvered bronze specimen. The metrological breakdown of this unique piece is as follows: 75.8% silver, 13.1% copper, 9.1% tin.