NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: NOVEMBER 23, 2025

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V28 2025 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 28, Number 47, 2025, Article 14

Numismagram's Jeremy Bostwick sent along these five medals from his most recent upload of new material to his site. For all of the new items, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory. -Garrett

103327 | FRANCE. "Le Bain" bronze Plaque. Issued 1903 by the Société des Amis de la Médaille Française (40mm x 71mm, 74.59 g, 12h). By Abel Lafleur at the Paris mint.

Nude female standing right and bent slightly at the waste, washing herself in a creek // Another female, this time seminude, seated left within a bedroom, with her back facing and combing her hair. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE «lizard» 194.

Maier 24; Jones, Art of the Medal, 331; Forrer III, p. 267. Gem Mint State. Tan-brown surfaces, with an alluring matte aspect. A very rare and exceptionally appealing Art Nouveau/Beaux Arts issue from a small mintage of just 132 examples.

The write-up about this medal in Nicolas Maier's L'art de le médaille en France, 1870–1940 mentions that "...Lafleur preferred depictions of women in his work. The SAMF plaquette is one of the finest versions of his favourite motif."

103325 | FRANCE. "Puberté" bronze Medal. Issued 1907 by the Société des Amis de la Médaille Française (57mm, 89.76 g, 12h). By Louis Dejean at the Paris mint.

Three nude females, one standing facing, one crouching right, and one reclining left, within woodland setting // Nude male standing facing before indeterminate backdrop, with arms raised and hands crossed behind his head . Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE «lizard» 166.

Maier 44; Silich III, 989. Gem Mint State. Deep tan-brown surfaces, with some darker hues accentuating the varied relief. A very rare and exceptionally appealing Art Nouveau/Beaux Arts issue from a small mintage of just 109 examples.

The write-up about this medal in Nicolas Maier's L'art de le médaille en France, 1870–1940 mentions that "...In his second work for the SAMF, Dejean again turned to his preferred subject of the nude figure. The working title for the medal was Puberté ('Puberty')."

103289 | FRANCE. Akragas in Sicily copper Medal. Issued 1969 (62mm, 184.97 g, 10h). Imitating a tetradrachm from 420-415 BCE.

AKPAG ANTIN O N, eagle, with spread wings, perched left on dead hare lying on rock bearing scallop shell and murex // Crab; scallop shell to left; below, large fish with open jaws left. Edge: «cornucopia» CUIVRE 1969 No. 162/500.

Cf. Westermark 530 (for prototype); cf. HGC 2, 81 (same). Gem Mint State. Glossy red-bronze surfaces.

Part of a series of ancient coins struck in much larger, medallic form by the Paris mint in the mid 1960s to early 1970s, these examples serve as direct analogs to renaissance issues like Paduans and Cavinos, which themselves were fairly faithful imitations of ancient coinage. Here, the coin celebrated is an extremely rare tetradrachm dating to the late 5th century BCE which features a mero or grouper on the reverse.

103283 | GREAT BRITAIN. Shunamite's Son Restored to Health silvered bronze Medal. Issued circa 1830. Medallic Illustrations of the Holy Scriptures series: the Shunamite's son restored to life on the prayer of Elisha (73mm, 159.23 g, 12h). By Sir Edward Thomasen in Birmingham.

THE SHUNAMITE'S SON RESTORED TO LIFE ON THE PRAYER OF ELISHA, bedchamber in which Elisha crouches down over the son of the woman from Shunam, restoring him to life // "895 B.C. / ELISHA RETURND TO SAMARIA / AND PERFORMD THE EXTRAORDINARY / MIRACLES OF ENCREASING THE WIDOWS / OIL, THE RESTORING THE DEAD CHILD OF / THE SHUNAMITE TO LIFE–THE RECOVERING / OF THE AXE HEAD WHICH WAS DROPPED INTO / THE RIVER. THE KING OF SYRIA IS AT WAR WITH / JEHORAM KING OF ISRAEL BUT FINDS THAT ELIJAH / HAD BETRAYED HIS COUNSELS. HE SURROUNDS THE / CITY OF DOTHAN TO TAKE ELISHA–THE PROPHET PRAYD / THAT GOD WOULD STRIKE THEM WITH TEMPORARY / BLINDNESS AND THUS HE ESCAPED UNKNOWN THROU / GH THE ARMY OF THE SYRIANS. GOD SENT ELISHA / TO ANOINT JEHU TO BE KING OF ISRAEL THAT HE / MIGHT EXTERMINATE AHABS FAMILY, WHEN JEHO– / RAM AND AHAZIAH ARE SHOT WITH ARROWS – / JEHU DRIVES FURIOUSLY TO JEZREEL TO JAZA– / BEL THE QUEEN MOTHER. HE COMMANDS THE / SERVANTS TO THROW HER OUT OF THE WINDOW / THE HORSES TRAMPLE UPON HER UPON THE / PAVEMENT AND THE DOGS DEVOUR HER / BODY ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE / LORD WHICH HE SPAKE TO ELIJAH / SAYING, IN THE PORTION OF JEZ / REEL SHALL DOGS EAT THE / FLESH OF JEZEBEL" in 27 lines; winged head of cherub above and below. Edge: Plain.

BHM 1468.45; Eimer 1238. Choice Mint State. Attractively and deeply toned, especially upon the obverse. Extremely rare in a format other than white metal, which itself is normally encountered very pestered and full of issues.

Part of a series of 60 medals that attempted to tell various important tales from the Bible in medallic form, this medal is usually encountered in white metal, with the white metal itself generally faring rather poorly. Here, however, it would appear to be one of the more elusive issues in a better metal and finish, clearly not employing the lighter and less durable white metal. Solid silver issues were produced in very small quantities for foreign VIPs such as monarchs, and Thomasen is believed to have had a gilt bronze set produced for himself. No sales records could be found for any of these lesser-encountered metal types, meaning that they must all be incredibly rare, especially when seen so dazzling as the present specimen.

103216 | ITALY & BRITISH EAST INDIES. Pope Leo XIII silver Medal. Issued Year XVII (1894/5). On the founding of the Papal Seminary in British India at Kandy (44mm, 36.23 g, 12h). By Francesco Bianchi at the Rome mint.

LEO XIII PONT MAX AN XVII, bust left, wearing zucchetto, mantum, and pallium // FILII TVI INDIA ADMINISTRI TIBI SALVTIS (your own sons, India, will be the heralds of your salvation), female personification of the Catholic Church seated right, holding cross and observing St. Francis Xavier (Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta), who instructs two natives; façade of the seminary in background; in two lines in exergue, XAVERIO • AVSPICE / ET • PATRONO. Edge: Plain.

Bartolotti E894; Rinaldi 88. PCGS SP-64. Highly lustrous and prooflike, with some alluring frosting on the devices. An interesting papal issue with a strong East Asian connection.

With the papal encyclical Ad extremis Orientis oras, Pope Leo XIII wished to build upon the work of the 16th century missionary in early colonial India, St. Francis Xavier (Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta). In 1893, a papal seminary was announced for the region of the British East Indies (India, Burma, and Ceylon), with it being established in Kandy on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The seminary would continue in this location until 1955, when it moved to Pune, India.