STACK'S BOWERS: SUMMER GLOBAL SHOWCASE AUCTION

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V28 2025 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 33, 2025, Article 18

Stack's Bowers will be hosting their Summer Global Showcase Auction, Session I on August 25. Select items are discussed below. -Garrett

1624 Maurice Prince of Orange, Dutch Victory in Brazil Medal. By Jan Van Bylaer. Betts-22, Van Loon II:155, Forrer I:317, Medallic Illustrations 91. Silver. MS-61 (PCGS). 67.9 mm. 68.3 grams. Obv: Bust of Maurice of Orange in rich brocaded tunic and ruff 3/4 right, script legend lists titles as Prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, Governor (Stadholder) of the United Provinces. Ornate border presents Arms of the seven provinces, clasped hands with arrows. Rev: Crowned oval Arms of Orange-Nassau within the British Order of the Garter, dynastic motto Ie Maintiendray (I shall Maintain) below. Although Betts stated that this medal commemorated Dutch victories in both Peru and Brazil, Christopher R. McDowell (2022) has corrected this to show that it was issued to commemorate the successful attack on São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil's Portuguese capital, by Admiral Willekens on May 8, 1624.

1773 Carib War Medal. Betts-529. Silver, cast, with joined rim and loop. Choice About Uncirculated. 55.0 mm, 69.5 mm from top of loop to base. 1142.5 grains. An impressive example of this historic rarity, a relic of a West Indian conflict between indigenous people and British soldiers, many of whom would later serve in the American Revolution. This medal was issued locally in the West Indies, on the island of Saint Vincent, to troops engaged in putting down an uprising of the native / creole Caribs in late 1772 and early 1773. The medal was authorized by the Legislative Assembly of the Island of Saint Vincent, making it a true West Indian medal rather than an English one. Its production method - cast, not struck - underscores this distinction. The Carib War engaged the native Caribs, a creole population of indigenous and African descent, against the English in a classic battle between colonizers and the colonized. The population of Saint Vincent exploded after the island's 1762 conquest in the Seven Years (French and Indian) War, and the new arrivals all expected to find land to establish sugar plantations. Their entitlement forced English authorities into traditionally native lands, and the natives fought back. Five months of guerrilla warfare against superior numbers of better outfitted troops ended with a treaty and a promise of "firm and lasting peace and friendship." These words, for those who know the history of North American Anglo-native relations (or the medals attendant to them), may sound familiar

Provenance: From the John D. Miner Collection. Earlier from Sotheby's sale of March 1989, lot 257; our (Bowers and Merena's) Collections of Phillip Flannagan, et. al. sale, November 2001, lot 5265.

"1781" (1783) Libertas Americana Medal. Original. Paris Mint. By Augustin Dupre. Betts-615, Adams-Bentley 15. Silver. MS-62 (PCGS). 47.5 mm. 817.7 grains. No other medal in the canon of American numismatics is invested with so much history and importance as the Libertas Americana medal. It followed the declaration of American independence, whose date is placed in the obverse legend, and the support of France in the American cause. The two greatest American victories, that of Gates at Saratoga and Washington at Yorktown, are referenced with dates in the reverse exergue. The British armies defeated on those dates, Burgoyne's force at Saratoga and that of Cornwallis at Yorktown, are incorporated into the reverse allegory as the snakes strangled by Hercules in his crib. In that allegory, France is depicted as Minerva, defending the infant from the lioness, Great Britain, whose tail curls between her hind legs. The obverse design influenced many of the depictions of Liberty that would come from the first United States Mint, directly inspiring the Liberty Cap design found on copper half cents and cents in the 1790s. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of later American medals and tokens used the design, from privately issued business cards to the United States Mint's 1945 Assay Commission medal. Its image was featured on contemporary engravings and textiles, and examples could be found in the 18th century in the collections of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, and more. No founding father is as closely associated with the medal, of course, as Benjamin Franklin. The medal was his brainchild and pet project, and every specimen that survives traces its provenance to him.

Undated (1847) State of Louisiana Medal to Major General Zachary Taylor. Julian MI-25. Silver. MS-62 (PCGS). 76.4 m. 3031.6 grains. A really nice specimen of this classic American medal, one struck to mark the efforts of Louisiana's favorite son, Major General Zachary Taylor, in the Mexican-American War. Produced in antebellum New Orleans through contract with the firm of H[orace] E. Baldwin & Co., silversmiths, the dies were created by America's most famed medallist of the period - Charles Cushing Wright - with the design assistance of New Yorker Peter Paul Duggan, an historian and professor of drawing at New York's Free Academy. The same design team accomplished the Washington Allston medal struck by the Mint in this era. The military scene on the reverse is reminiscent of the finest work of Dupre or Furst and is glorious in its fine detail. It is unclear if H.E. Baldwin & Co. had the means to strike such a substantial medal themselves or subcontracted its actual coining.

Provenance: From the John D. Miner Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) 1991 Fixed Price List, lot 31.

"1776" (ca. 1851) Declaration of Independence Medal. By Charles Cushing Wright. Musante GW-181, Baker-53. Struck Bronze. MS-65 (PCGS). 90.8 mm. 5678.3 grains. The details of this medal make it clear why many consider it Charles Cushing Wright's greatest achievement. The obverse bust, taken from Houdon, is expressive and beautifully rendered in high relief. The reverse depiction of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence, after Trumbull's monumental canvas accomplished ca. 1817 for the U.S. Capitol, is remarkably detailed down to the individual faces and other attributes. A thin die crack on that side, from near the center through John Adams' head and Benjamin Franklin's wrist, undoubtedly contributed to the rarity of the medal today, yet the dies survived and were kept by Wright through his lifetime. They were sold in Thomas Elder's December 1913 sale. The lot included the obverse and reverse dies, the secondary reverse featuring the harbor scene and 18 lines of text, an obverse portrait hub and collar. All five items were in Wright's own custom fitted box. Most collectors will have to make do with one of the occasionally seen electrotype copies, which are desirable enough ("Admirable" and "quite deceptive" in Baker's words) to make them fairly valuable, but few will ever be able to own one of these extraordinary medals. As noted previously, we are aware of nine solid bronze specimens, as offered here. They tend to only appear when truly landmark collections are sold.

Provenance: From the John D. Miner Collection. Earlier from F.C.C. Boyd; our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part II, May 2004, lot 56.

1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural Medal. Dusterberg-OIM 11G45, MacNeil-FDR 1945-1, Levine-FDR 1945-1. Gold. MS-65 (NGC). 45 mm. 100.88 grams. In the presidential election of November 7, 1944, Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented fourth term in a strong victory over Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey. Out of 531 votes in the Electoral College, the president secured 432 votes against Dewey's 99. Roosevelt carried 36 out of the 48 states in the Union, and received 25,612,916 popular votes as opposed to 22,017,929 for Dewey. With World War II going well for the Allies at the time, Roosevelt remained popular despite rumors of ill health and Dewey's campaigning against the New Deal.

Ultimately President Roosevelt requested that the Mint strike five gold examples of the 1945 inaugural medal to take with him to these historic meetings. These special medals were paid for by the State Department. The Yalta Conference was held in the Crimea from February 4 to 11, 1945, and was the second of the so-called "Big Three" meetings of the Allied leaders during World War II. With the defeat of Hitler's Third Reich assured, even though delayed into 1945, the Yalta Conference addressed the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. On February 10, at the hosting Livadia Palace, President Roosevelt presented four of these gold medals to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union Vyacheslav Molotov.

The whereabouts of the five gold medals that President Roosevelt distributed at Yalta and Great Bitter Lake are unknown. According to Jimmy Hayes, several years ago Joe Levine was offered a gold example allegedly connected to one of the Yalta Conference recipients, but he was never able to obtain photographs or otherwise prove the medal's existence or authenticity; perhaps needless to write, the proposed transaction never occurred. It is unknown whether all the five gold medals handed out by President Roosevelt at Yalta and Great Bitter Lake still exist. The whereabouts and continued existence of the gold medal obtained by Ambassador Davies in 1945 are also unknown.

This leaves the gold example acquired by Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross in her capacity as a member of the Inaugural Medal Committee. It is the medal offered here, which represents the first ever public appearance or offering for a gold 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt fourth inaugural medal. Joe Levine longingly hoped for its arrival to market when he wrote in his 1981 reference Collectors Guide to Presidential Inaugural Medals and Memorabilia:

Provenance: From the Collection of Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the U.S. Mint, 1933-1953.

1863 State Department Life Saving Medal. By Salathiel Ellis, after Emmanuel Leutze. Julian LS-1. Silver. Very Choice Mint State. 66.8 mm, 5.2 mm at the rims. 1787.5 grains. At the height of the Civil War, a shipload of cotton from Union-held New Orleans left for England, captained by a Swedish immigrant who had brought the first shipload of food to New Orleans at the end of a crushing blockade. When Captain John Anderson's barque Pamelia Flood capsized and broke up in a gale in the Irish Sea, William Griffith saved his life.

Captain Anderson, back in the United States and grateful for his rescue, suggested to the American government that Griffith was due recognition for his heroism. Beginning with the arrival of a new set of dies at the Philadelphia Mint in May 1860, the United States Department of State had a new way to recognize foreign nationals who showed heroism in saving the lives of American seamen: a substantial and beautiful medal, designed by Emmanuel Leutze, the artist who painted the famous depiction of Washington Crossing the Delaware.

On behalf of a grateful nation, President Abraham Lincoln gave Griffith this medal. Today, it appears to be one of just three known survivors in silver, along with three awarded examples in gold.

1901 Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, N.Y. Award Medal. By Hermon A. MacNeil. L-TM103. Sterling Silver. Awarded to Bela Lyon Pratt. Specimen-64 (PCGS). With Original Case. 64 mm. Obverse (mounted as the reverse in the PCGS holder) tablet inscribed to the recipient BELA L. PRATT. Fine satin surfaces are generally light silver gray, but with warm steel and olive highlights nestled in the protected areas around and among the design elements. Said design elements are boldly rendered, and the surfaces are free of all but light, wispy handling marks that are easily overlooked at most viewing angles. A handsome example of this popular medal designed by Hermon MacNeil, who later designed the Standing Liberty quarter. The original case with considerable fading, scuffing and some chipping to the leather exterior, cream plush interior frayed at hinge. The case is complete, however, with a functional clasp. (Total: 1 medal; 1 case)

Provenance: Displayed at the Slater Memorial Museum at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Connecticut from October 15, 2017 through January 15, 2018, as part of the exhibit "Bela Lyon Pratt: Sculptor of Monument."

1867 New York State Agricultural Society Award Medal. Harkness Ny-392, Julian AM-61. Gold. Specimen. Unc Details--Tooled (PCGS). 53 mm. 66.70 grams, .999 fine, 2.147 troy ounces AGW. Central reverse inscribed to the recipient AWARDED / TO / WALCOTT & CAMPBELL. / FOR / FIRST PREMIUM / HERD AYRSHIRE CATTLE / AT BUFFALO, with date 1867 inscribed below wreath. Julian reports that the United States Mint did not receive the dies (two pairs) for this type until 1885, so the present example must be one of those specimens that the author states were struck prior to 1870 at private mints. Indeed, the dies for this type were prepared in the 1840s by William Joseph Taylor in Birmingham, England, using designs supplied by Francis Rotch, Esq., in fulfillment of an order placed by the Society. The latter received the dies, as well as the first medals struck, in 1845.

NEW YORK. New York. Undated (ca. mid-1890s) Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Medal. Silver. Very Fine. 34 mm. 27.187 grams, Sigma tested .999 fine, 419.56 grains ASW. Obv: Multi-line inscription CONGREGATION / SHAAR HASHOMAJIM / REV RAPHAEL BENJAMIN MA / MINISTER / NEW YORK / FIFTEENTH STREET TEMPLE. Rev: Wreath with CONFIRMANT in center, traces of date 189 still visible below (last digit very faint and cannot be positively identified, but what appears to be traces of a 3, 5, or 6 most likely). Previously awarded with engraving mostly effaced from above the word CONFIRMANT, though vestiges of the original name can be seen. Wear is otherwise quite even on both sides, with rich gray patina in the fields.

A likely unique piece of numismatic Judaica, this piece is seemingly unpublished, and after exhaustive searches in Daniel Freidenberg's books, and in William Rosenblum and NASCA auctions, which were known for numismatic Judaica, no listing for this type has been found. Further illustrating its importance in the field of numismatic Judaica, when the German numismatic auction firm of Fritz Rudolf Kuenker sold Dr. Walter Kemlein's collection, who had an extensive collection of synagogue medals, the earliest example from America was dated 1916. An example of this type was also missing from the Ira Rezak's display Jewry Reflected, Refracted, and Recorded on Medals, an exhibition at the Center for Jewish History in New York.

NEW YORK. New York 1825 John Rathbone & Francis B. Fitch, Castle Garden Pass. Rulau-E NY 654. White Metal. AU-55 (NGC). 49 mm x 25 mm, oval. XRF tested 1.8% silver, 4.5 % copper, 6.5% lead, 74.2% tin. The name of the Castle Garden member engraved in the field beneath the reverse ribbon is D.D. BRADFORD, which is preceded and followed by simple engraved flourishes. To the right of the ribbon are the lightly engraved initials DB. There is no membership number, as is the case with most surviving examples of the type. The engraving of the member name is faint and less skilled than that of the Rulau plate specimen. This specimen was new to the census when we first offered it in 2013, as the name is not listed in the roster of examples published by Rulau in the 4th edition of his Standard Catalog of U.S. Tokens.

Provenance: From our sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XXIII, August 2013, lot 22061.

California Gold Panner Hobo Nickel. By Steve Campbell. Quality of Work: Superior. Host coin: undated Philadelphia Mint Type II. Accompanied by The Original Hobo Nickel Society submission form and Photo Certification, dated October 20 and 23, 2006, and signed by Bill Fivaz and Stephen P. Alpert. A modern carving.

Provenance: From the Candace D. Kagin Collection of Hobo Nickels. Earlier from the Original Hobo Nickel Society's Auction 15, lot 74.