NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: APRIL 2019

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V22 2019 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 22, Number 14, April 7, 2019, Article 19

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick passed along these highlights from his most recent upload of new material for April. This group of 20 items has a particular focus on the theme of aviation in the realm of medallic art. Zeppelins especially feature prominently on many of the pieces, as well as the men behind the company which manufactured them. This upload is rounded out by some gem British coronation medals, a few attractively toned German World War I silver medals, a bronze plaque for the 1900 Paris expo designed by famed engraver Victor David Brenner, a couple bronze award medals for the 1904 St. Louis expo designed by another famed engraver, Adolph Alexander Weinman, and a pedigreed Washington 'Star' medal. Visit numismagram.com/inventory for all of the new items. -Editor

100557 | HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE. Bohemia. Death & Resurrection cast silver Medal. Issued circa 1563. Jonah and the whale/the Resurrection (47mm, 35.32 g, 12h). Possibly by N. Milicz. SICVT IONAS IN VENTRE CETI TRIDVV LATVIT ET INDE REDIIT INCoLVIS ION Z (just as Jonas spent three days in the belly of a whale and thence returned uninjured...), Jonah and the Whale: seaside scene, with fortifications of Ninevah (now Mosul, Iraq) on the embankment; in the harbor, whale attacking a ship and consuming a fallen Jonah; in foreground, the same whale from which Jonah now flees after three days / ITA CHRISTVS TRIDVV SEPVLTVS POST DEVICTOS HOSTES RESVREXIT MA XI (...so too did Christ spend three days in the heart of the earth and was resurrected after having overcome his enemies), the Resurrection: Christ emerging from a crypt, holding cruciform banner and stomping upon serpent on the Gospels; city walls and trees in background. Edge: Plain. GPH 69. Extremely Fine. Lightly toned, some scattered marks. An attractive religious-themed type. $645.

This medal recounts the biblical stories of Jonah and the whale and of the resurrection of Christ. In the first (represented on the obverse), God commands Jonah to travel to Ninevah and warn her residents of God's impending wrath. Jonah ignores the command, and instead boards a ship bound for Tarshish. During the travels, the ship is caught in a roiling tempest, and the crew realizes that Jonah is to blame. When he is cast off the ship, a whale (or very large fish) swallows him whole, and Jonah then spends three days within the gigantic creature. When Jonah finally relents and agrees to God's commands, the whale then vomits him upon the shores of Ninevah, whereupon he fulfills his duty, thus saving the city from assured destruction through their repenting. In the second (represented on the reverse), Jesus is shown emerging from a crypt, similarly after three days, whereupon his death and subsequent resurrection in biblical tradition has a more global effect, in that not just Ninevah is redeemed, but the entire world. Ninevah herself, now corresponding to the modern city of Mosul in Iraq, suffered much destruction to her classical sites, such as the Tomb of Jonah (Yunus), at the hands of ISIS in the spring of 2014.

There's a lot going on in these scenes. Interesting medal. -Editor

100603 | FRANCE. Académie des Sciences bronze Medal. Issued 1909. The Marvel of Aviation (65mm, 115.79 g, 12h). By R. Baudichon. ACADÉMIE DES SCIENCES, Icarus flying left, holding in his arms a female / CAELVM PATET IBIMVS ILLAC (the sky is opened, and we shall go that way, -adapted from Book 8 in Ovid's Metamorphoses), various modes of early aviation: balloons, airships, and propeller planes, all flying over a harbor; castle turret to near right, branch in foreground. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE. Malpas 424. Choice Mint State. Attractive yellow-brown surfaces, with a charming matte nature. Rare. $435.

The quote on the reverse is adapted from one of Ovid's books in his Metamorphoses, chiefly from the story of Dædalusand Icarus, in which master craftsman father Dædalus constructs wings, made from feathers and wax, for his son Icarus, whom he warns against both complacency and hubris-complacency of flying too low to the sea and allowing the dampness to clog the wings, hubris of flying too high near the sun and allowing the heat to melt the wax. Icarus ignored these warnings, flying too close to the sun, and drowning in the sea when the wings failed him. This medal points to the dawn of modern aviation and the hope of continuing to perfect aviation without the perils of Icarus.

A beautiful medal - simple, elegant design. -Editor

100612 | GERMANY. Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin & Dr. Hugo Eckener silver Medal. Issued 1928. The commissioning of the LZ-127 (33mm, 13.79 g, 12h). By L. C. Lauer in Nürnberg. FERDINAND GRAF ZEPPELIN 1838-1917 / DR HUGO ECKENER 1868, jugate heads of Zeppelin and Eckener left / DEUTSCHE KRAFT UND DEUTSCHER GEIST / WERK DAS "AUFSTIEG" "FREIHEIT" HEISST!, allegorical figure of Victory standing left, with wings spread, atop the airship; "GRAF ZEPPELIN" / D-LZ 127 / INDIENSTSTELLUNG / 20 SEPT. 1928. Edge: 990.

Hans Kaiser Coll. 479. Choice Mint State. Wondrous prooflike surfaces, with a light golden-cobalt tone throughout; a few light marks in the fields are noted merely for completeness. $285.

Zeppelin was a German general and aircraft manufacturer, who later founded the airship company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. Following Zeppelin's death in 1917, Dr. Hugo Eckener became the head of this company and oversaw post-war fundraising to expand upon its production, even serving as commander for the LZ 127 on numerous occasions. When this airship first entered use, it was the first commercial passenger transatlantic flight service in the world, eventually making 590 flights over nearly a decade. In 1940, she was scrapped for metal for the German efforts in World War II.

100621 | UNITED STATES & SWITZERLAND. Carnegie Hero Fund (Switzerland) bronze award Medal. Instituted 1911. Presented by the Swiss chapter (70mm, 146.45 g, 12h). By H. Frei. ANDREAS CARNEGIE DIE XXII MART MDCCCCXII, female figure advancing right, holding overturned cornucopia / VIRTVTI / DE VITIS HVMANIS / SERVANDIS / OPTIME MERITAE, male rescuing female from drowning in the ocean. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE. Mint State Light yellow-brown surfaces. Rare. $325.

The Scottish-American steel magnate and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, created the Carnegie Hero Fund in 1904 to honor and recognize citizens who performed acts of heroism and bravery in the United States. A few years later, he created a similar fund for other countries in Europe to serve a similar purpose. This piece, designed by Hans Frei, displays the elegant and soft beauty more commonly encountered in his numerous Swiss shooting medals.

I collect Carnegie Hero medals, and I have one of these. A beautiful medal, especially the reverse. -Editor

100609 | GERMANY. Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg silver Medal. Issued 1927. Commemorating his 80th birthday (33mm, 15.01 g, 12h). By L. C. Lauer in Nürnberg. REICHSPRÄSIDENT VON HINDENBURG / 80 GEBURSTAG 2 OKT 1927, bust facing slightly left / Eagle, with head left and wings spread, standing facing on base; laurel branch below. Edge: 990. Gem Mint State. Fully prooflike surfaces, with an intensely brilliant cameo nature. A stunningly attractive specimen. $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.