THAT MEDAL ON CAMPBELL'S SOUP CANS

 

It took more than 10 years as a numismatist and who knows how many cans of tomato or cream of mush room soup over many more years than that to notice a small medal on the Campbell's soup can label. The medal's reverse has generally adorned the red and white Campbell's soup cans since the 1900 Paris Exposition, where the company won a bronze medal for product excellence for its condensed soup. The iconic company invented the process to condense soup in 1897, making soup more economical for the public and revolutionizing the soup business.

[The] 1900 Paris Exhibition award medal was designed by J.C. Chaplain, and the reverse pictured on the Campbell's soup can depicts a winged Victory carrying a winner on her back with the exposition buildings alongside. The cartouche on the Campbell's can is blank. The obverse features Marianne, France's allegorical representation of liberty. The medal was made by the Paris Mint.

The Campbell's soup can of course was made famous by artist Andy Warhol, and the exposition award medal was certainly part of that. Interestingly, Warhol sometimes just substituted a blank yellow disc for the medal and other items illustrated the medal.

Next time you're at the grocery store, keep your eyes peeled—who knows what surprising numismatic discoveries await!

For more information on PAN and their fall show, see:
https://pancoins.org/

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
1902 PARIS IN LONDON EXHIBITION MEDAL AWARDEE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n01a14.html)
THE USE OF MEDALS IN ADVERTISING (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n02a10.html)
MORE ON MEDALS IN ADVERTISING (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n03a11.html)

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