NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: AUGUST 18, 2024

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 33, August 18, 2024, Article 20

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick passed 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

102856 | GERMANY. Silesia. Noah's Ark silver Medal. Issued circa 1736. On the desire for an end to famine (22mm, 3.08 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. Lightly toned, with a great deal of brilliance radiating among the fields. A charming and fairly small medal that packs a great deal into its size. $435.

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.

102805 | GERMANY. New Year's silver Medal. Issued 1801. Commemorating the new year (36mm, 13.90 g, 12h). By F. Loos at the Loos Workshop in Berlin. ALLES VERGEHT (everything passes), Chronos flying left, holding scythe and with hourglass on head; below, view of the tomb of Caecilia Metella in Rome // ABER / DIE LIEBE, / DIE LIEBE DES / EWIGEN, / LIEBE ZU GUTEN / MENSCHEN / VERGEHT NIE / DEM SCHEIDENDEN / UND / KOMMENDEN / JAHRHUNDERT / 1801 in 12 lines; all within border of stars. Edge: Plain. Strothotte 1801-10a; Marienburg 10030; GPH 5079; Sommer B-25/1. Mint State. Deeply toned around the devices, with intense prooflike brilliance in the fields; some scattered marks and hairlines are noted for completeness. $245.

This time-oriented medal rather appropriately features a depiction of Chronos, the ancient Greek representation of what we now refer to as "Father Time," with his characteristic long beard and scythe. Driving home this passage of time even further is the hourglass on his head and the Roman ruins over which he is flying.

102534 | GERMANY. Köln (Cologne) Glockengasse Synagogue bronze Medal. Issued 1861. Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe series (59mm, 84.85 g, 12h). By J. Wiener in Brussels and struck at the Geerts mint in Ixelles. SYNAGOGUE ZU COELN EINGEWEIHT AM 29 AUGUST 1861, exterior perspective view of the synagogue building; E. F. ZWIRNER, ARCHIT in exergue // Interior perspective view of the synagogue; legend in two lines in Hebrew in outer left and right margins. Edge: Plain. Ross M239 (R3); van Hoydonck 182; Reinecke 28. PCGS SP-63. Rich red-brown surfaces, with great lustrous brilliance in the fields. One of the rarest and most elusive types in the series, and one with immense interest due to its crossover Judaica appeal. $1,195.

From what is today eastern Netherlands and western Germany, the Wieners were a Jewish family of exceptional medalists, especially known for numerous numismatic works throughout the Kingdom of Belgium. Eldest brother Jacob (Jacques), along with younger brothers Leopold and Charles, created some of the finest works of medallic art of the 19th century, and all are particularly noted for their work in the highly detailed and intricate work of architectural renderings.

102901 | ITALY. Umberto I/Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce bronze Award Medal. Issued 1890 (48mm, 12h). By F. Speranza at the Rome mint. UMBERTO I RE D'ITALIA, bare head left // MINISTERO D'AGRICOLTURA INDUSTRIA E COMMERCIO / AL MERITO INDUSTRIALE, seminude allegorical female figure seated left on anvil, holding hammer and wreath; gear in background to left; barrels, packs, and telegraph wires in background to right. Edge: Plain. lamoneta.it W-MZ51M6/12-1. PCGS SP-63. Rich brown surfaces and an incredibly prooflike appearance to the surfaces. Seemingly rather conservatively graded—by at least a few points—in the opinion of this cataloger. A fairly rare and highly enticing award medal. $295.

Issued just one year after the Ministry of Post and Telegraphs was established in Italy in 1889, this medal features wires in the background on the reverse—an interesting foreshadowing to the vast advancements in technology and the connected world in the ensuing century.