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QUERY: VAIL MEDAL BROOCH Dick Johnson sent this image a while ago and I only got around to editing the photo for publication this week. It's a brooch with a version of the Theodore Vail medal by Adolph A. Weinman. Has anyone seen one of these? For reference, here are images of the medal and links to earlier E-Sylum discussions. -Editor   I reached out to my friend and fellow Nummis Nova member Jon Radel who is a collector of Vail medals. Here are his notes. Thanks! -Editor Interesting. That I don't believe I've ever seen a color photograph of before, certainly I've not seen one in person, but I've heard of them. For a significant period of the Vail medal being issued (my way of hedging, as this aspect of the award is not all that well documented) I believe you were issued a brooch or a button with a miniature, depending on your gender. See p234 of the May 1922 issue of The Numismatist, an early reference. At that time they were issuing the medals with a brooch of the reverse, the item you show, for women, and a lapel button for men. A much more recent instance of the lapel button (now referred to as a "tie tac," at least by one eBay seller) is one awarded with a gold medal in 1987 and now on sale for eBay:  In that case there was also a 2-sided miniature on a chain:   The recipient got a Carnegie medal also. (As a side note: I'm not quite sure that the eBay seller understands the value of keeping sets together. The medal itself is being held back to possibly donate to an appropriate museum, but the ancillary bits are being sold piecemeal on eBay.) Thanks! See the link below to the awardee's web site. It's an amazing story from start to finish, with excellent advice for anyone who should similarly find themselves suddenly in the fifteen-minutes-of-fame spotlight. -Editor Dick Johnson adds: "While doing inventory, I recognized it as the Vail medal. Research still hasn’t found this particular piece pictured. Medallic Art Company made a lot Vail pieces, but this may be by a jewelry maker. It is truly a beautiful / dainty piece." For more information on the event and award, see:
To read the complete eBay descriptions, see:
To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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