NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: MARCH 23, 2025

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V28 2025 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 12, , Article 14

Jeremy Bostwick with Numismagram forwarded these four items from his upload of new medallic art to his site. For all of the new items, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory. Another great group! -Editor

102737 | ITALY. Vatican City. St. Peter's Basilica bronze Medal. Issued 1857. Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe series (59mm, 90.45 g, 12h). By Jacques Wiener in Brussels and struck at the Geerts mint in Ixelles. BASILICA DI S. PIETRO A ROMA, perspective view of the eastern façade of the exterior of the Basilica, from a viewpoint just to the left of center // Perspective view of the interior looking down the nave toward the baldacchino; in four lines in exergue, DA GIULIO II INCOMINCIATA / NEL MDVI / DA PAOLO V COMPIUTA / NEL MDCXII. Edge: Plain. Ross M201 (R1); von Hoydonck 152; Reinecke 50. Choice Mint State. Rich red-brown surfaces, with great brilliance. A few minor stains are noted around the dome on the obverse, though these can be somewhat obfuscated given different lighting. Please refer to the video for the most complete in-hand appearance. Compare to an inferior example from the Q. David Bowers Collection in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (16 August 2021), lot 45187 (which sold for a total of $480). $465.

Located in what is now the Vatican City—the Papal enclave situated entirely within Rome—St. Peter's Basilica was planned by then-Popes Nicholaus V and Julius II to replace the old St. Peter's Basilica. Begun in 1506 and completed in 1626, it is the largest church in the world, with respect to its interior, and is the most renowned structure of Renaissance architecture. An iconic site for pilgrimages, its famous dome still features rather prominently in any skyline of Rome.

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.

102513 | GERMANY & RUSSIA. Generalfeldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg silver Medal. Issued 1914. The Liberation of East Prussia (33mm, 17.74 g, 12h). By August Hummel & Ludwig Christian Lauer in Nürnberg. GENERALFELDM v BENECKENDORFF u HINDENBURG, uniformed bust facing slightly left // ZUR BEFREIUNG OSTPREUSSENS, nude soldier left, with the facial features of Hindenburg, wielding sword over Russian bear below. Edge: SILBER 990. Zetzmann 4030; Klose 8.17. Choice Mint State. Deep gray toning, with tremendous iridescence and great brilliance in the fields. $225. Before serving as the president of the German Reich and his unintended role in giving rise to Nazism and Adolf Hitler in 1933, Paul von Hindenburg was a celebrated general within the German Empire, first retiring in 1911. Upon the outbreak of WWI, however, he was called upon to serve once again, where he oversaw a major and much celebrated German victory at Tannenberg in 1914. Following this campaign, Hindenburg's star rose to a national level, paving the way for his ensuing political career during the Weimar period.

103021 | GERMANY. Field Hospital uniface cast bronze Medal. Issued 1914. "Feldlazarett" (66mm, 69.24 g). By Ludwig Gies for Carl Poellath in Schrobenhausen. Tents bearing the Red Cross on knoll, with injured soldiers on gurneys placed in foreground and being carried to a tent // Blank. Edge: C. POELLATH SCHROBENHAUSEN. Klose 14.1; The Art of Devastation –; Frankenhuis 1375; Jones, The Dance of Death 21; Ernsting 57; The Medal 13 (Autumn 1988) p. 65 (fig. 22). Essentially as Cast. Tan-brown surfaces, with a few spots. Very rare and impressive. Ex David B. Simpson Collection. $595.

Contrasting to some of his other medals, in which the soldier is shown in a monolithic, meaningless nature, Gies here takes more of a solemn view of the struggles, with Ernsting in The Medal writing that "...his imagery becomes contemporary again when it involves the misery caused by the war and the tragic fate of those affected by it. No neat nurses look after the wounded when their shattered bodies are carried to the tents of the field hospital."

102981 | GREAT BRITAIN & UNITED STATES. "Saint Gaudens/Eakins" bronze Medal. Issued 1988 (59mm, 114.49 g, 12h). By Leonard Baskin for the British Art Medal Society, and struck by Fattorini. •SAINT–GAUDENS•, bust of Augustus Saint-Gaudens left, wearing frock coat // •EAKINS•, bust of Thomas Eakins left, wearing frock coat. Edge: Plain. Attwood 54; The Medal 13, p. 128. Gem Mint State. Brassy-bronze surfaces, with a charming matte nature. A fairly scarce offering celebrating two of America's more celebrated artists, and with a total output of just 50 pieces. $295.

Leonard Baskin (1922-2000) was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, studying sculpture in New York and then living for a spell in both Paris and Pisa. Upon returning to America, he began teaching at Smith College. About him and this medal, the workup in The Medal 13 (Autumn 1988) mentions that "...his rejection of abstraction and commitment to traditional modelling techniques was unusual amongst sculptors of the time, and has been retained throughout his career. He is now one of America's most acclaimed sculptors, and is also widely known as a printmaker and book illustrator. For ten years he lived in Devon, attracted there by his friendship with Ted Hughes whose poems he has illustrated. Thomas Eakins and Augustus Saint-Gaudens are amongst Baskin's personal heroes. The former was portrayed by the artist in the early 1960s in a maple-wood statuette and a copper relief, and he has produced two bronze reliefs entitled 'Homage to Augustus Saint-Gaudens'. These, and other, works by Baskin are reproduced in Irma B Jaffé's 'The Sculpture of Leonard Baskin' (New York, 1980)." This item was featured in our E-Sylum ad.