NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: JUNE 23, 2024

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V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 25, June 23, 2024, Article 12

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

102765 | SWEDEN. Alfred Nobel silver Medal. Issued 1926. Commemorating the 30th anniversary of his death (45mm, 12h). By E. Lindberg for the Swedish Academy of Sciences. ALFRED NOBEL, bust left in frock coat // Pallas-Athena standing left, spearing tri-headed serpentine Hydra to left; in three lines in exergue, MALA • CORPORIS • ANIMIQVE / SCIENTIA / VINCET (may knowledge conquer the maladies of both mind and body). Edge: SILVER 1926. Ehrensvärd 268. PCGS SP-63. Light graphite gray in hue, with an alluring matte nature. A very rare and desirable issue paralleling the Nobel nominating committee medals, which were also done by Erik Lindberg. From a mintage of just 150 examples. $1,395.

Known for inventing dynamite and bequeathing his fortune in order to fund what would become the Nobel Prizes, Alfred Nobel was a prolific inventor who held over 350 patents. In 1864, he founded the Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget (Nitroglycerin Corporation), the world's first manufacturer of nitroglycerin (which was vital in his patenting of dynamite a few years later).

As for the artist of this medal, Erik Lindberg was tasked early on with the creation of the Nobel Prize medals in 1901—the Nobel institution for the awarding of these prizes having been newly established. Outside of the Peace Prize (presented instead in Oslo) and the Economics Prize (created much later by the Sveriges Riksbank and not considered part of the Nobel canon), Lindberg's renditions continue to be used for the prize medals to this day, as well as the medals presented to the respective nominating committees. This medal, with its very small mintage of just 150 examples, comes in a larger format of 45mm (rather than 26mm for the nominating committee medals, which continue to be made and awarded). The bust style is also slightly modified from that of the nominating committee medals, and it features a reverse with the same Neoclassical flair as the Nobel Prize medals themselves.

102754 | ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XI silver Medal. Issued Year XIV (1935). The canonization of the martyrs Thomas More & John Fisher (44mm, 37.41 g, 12h). By A. Mistruzzi at the Rome mint. PIVS • XI • PONTIFEX • MAXIMVS • ANNO • XIV, bust of Pius left, wearing ornate pallium, stole, and zucchetto // Nimbate, capped, and draped busts of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher facing slightly right and left, respectively; in four lines in exergue, THOMAS • MORE • IOAN • FISHER / 4 • A • MARTYRIO • SAECVLO / SANCTI • RENVNCIATI / XIV • KAL • IVN. Edge: Plain. Bartolotti E 935; Rinaldi 129. Gem Mint State. Steely gray toning, with some deeper hues providing some highlights and a subtle matte nature throughout. $235.

Serving as the Bishop of Rochester and later as the Chancellor of Cambridge University, John Fisher was executed in 1535 at the order of King Henry VIII for Fisher's refusal to recognize the former as the supreme head of the Church of England. Sir Thomas More served as Lord High Chancellor of England under Henry VIII from 1529 to 1532, though his outspoken views against the reformation and Henry's break from the Catholic Church caused his downfall, with he too being similarly executed just a few weeks after Fisher. On account of their dedication to Rome, both individuals were canonized by Pius XI in 1935, with them sharing a feast day.

102662 | FINLAND. International Women's Year multipiece silver Medal. Issued 1975 (50mm, 248.60 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: 0124•1500. Hackl & Klose 70. Essentially as made. Argent-gray surfaces, with great brilliance and a two-toned nature. A stunningly tactile multi-piece medal that is a hallmark of Räsänen's work for the period. Includes original box of issue. $595.

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.

102757 | ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Ioannes Paulus I silver Medal. Issued 1978 to commemorate the death of the pope (43mm, 40.45 g, 12h). By C. Giampaoli at the Rome mint. IOANNES PAVLVS I P M, bust left, wearing zucchetto // HVMILITAS / 26-VIII 28-IX / MCMLXXVIII, personal coat-of-arms, surmounted by tiara and over keys crossed in saltire. Edge: Plain. Choice Gem Mint State. Richly toned and brilliant, with just a subtle print upon the zucchetto preventing an otherwise flawless designation. Includes original box of issue. $165.

This medal was issued after the death of John Paul I, as his reign was incredibly brief. Elected pope on 26 August 1978, he died a mere 33 days later on 28 September, garnering him the nickname of the "September Pope." Based upon the brevity of his reign and the time at which his death occurred in the calendar year, it also created the most recent "year of three popes," with the previous such year happening in 1605. His predecessor was Paulus (Paul) VI, and his successor was Ioannes Paulus (John Paul) II.