NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: JANUARY 25, 2026

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 4, 2026, Article 16

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

103404 | GREAT BRITAIN. Farnborough Balloon School Royal Engineers silvered copper Medal. Issued circa 1907 (32mm, 11h). By Arthur Fenwick in Birmingham.

• H • M • EDWARD • VII • KING • H • M • ALEXANDRA • QUEEN / PROCLAIMED 1901, crowned and mantled jugate busts of Edward and Alexandra left // BALLOON SCHOOL ROYAL ENGINEERS, dirigible Nulli Secundus (British Army Dirigible No 1) flying left above townscape.

BHM 3697; Eimer –; Joos 1.260; Button –; Fearon 358.4. PCGS MS-62. Lustrous and highly brilliant, with some alluring iridescence spread throughout.

Though the obverse is clearly meant for the proclaiming of Edward VII and Alexandra as the reigning monarchs following the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the reverse commemorates the Balloon School Royal Engineers, who were not formed until 1907. As such, it would appear that Fenwick paired this reverse with an earlier type with no real connection. Nevertheless, an early and very interesting British aviation-related type that has a tie-in to the coronation of the sovereign.

103333 | BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS. Télégraphie sans fil bronze Plaque. Issued 1912 (52mm x 66mm, 85.62 g, 12h). By Eugène Jean de Bremaecker for the Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille (Belgo-Dutch Society of the Friends of Medallic Art), and struck by Fisch.

Female figure, wearing sheer drapery, seated right atop telegraph lines and raising both hands to head—one to hear and one to shout; rising sun and smokestacks on the horizon at a distance // Torch garlanded to palm frond and laurel branches; above and around, "A LA GLOIRE / DE LA TELEGRAPHIE SANS FIL / A SES GENIES / CLERK MAXWELL / HERTZ / BRANLY / POPOFF / SIR OLIVER LODGE / MARCONI / BRAUN - A SES HEROS / JACK BINNS / SS. REPUBLIC - 1908 / ECCLES / +SS. OHIO - 1908 / PHILIPS / +SS. TITANIC - 1912 / HAROLD BRIDE / SS. TITANIC - 1912". Edge: Plain.

Médailles Historiques de Belgiques III, p. 226. Mintage: 302. Gem Mint State. Extremely glossy and lustrous.

Following the proof of the existence of electromagnetic waves by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887, a flurry of other scientific minds turned to a new medium for study—the "airwaves." Guglielmo Marconi's invention of the radio, for which he won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics, furthered what would become a rapidly growing industry during the first three decades of the 20th century, as communication now need not be reliant upon the connection of wires. Here, de Bremaecker captures this novel technology and pairs it with wondrous Beaux-Arts flair.

That said, reviews of his design were rather mixed locally in Belgium upon its release, with Médailles Historiques de Belgiques III mentioning that "...'La télégraphie sans fil', exécutée par M. DeBremaecker pour la Société hollandaise-belge des Amis de la Médaille d'art, est intéressante; ce qui le plouve, c'est qu'elle a suscité des opinions contradictoires. Chacun a pu se former à son sujet une manière de voir" ('La télégraphie sans fil,' executed by Mr. DeBremaecker for the Dutch-Belgian Society of Friends of the Art Medal, is interesting; proof of this is that it has aroused contradictory opinions. Everyone has been able to form their own opinion about it).

It is difficult to find fault with the obverse iconography, as it is quite sublime and full of action. Traditional attributions describe the obverse figure upon a telegraph line, which would make sense. However, the lines don't exactly have that appearance. Instead, given the presence of water below and the fact that wireless telegraphy had a very important early role in the shipping world, one must ask if, in fact, the figure is seated at the top of a ship's rigging. In that case, the female figure would be a personification of wireless telegraphy itself, shouting information and signals to others, all while also receiving said information and signals. Furthermore, the reverse mentions numerous individuals involved in naval distresses and their subsequent use of wireless telegraphy. However, one fault would be that Bremaecker did get numerous dates and titles incorrect (such as the SS Republic and Titanic, which should have been RMS, the sinking of the SS Ohio as 1908, which should have been 1909, and the naming of [Jack] Philips, which should have been Phillips.

The Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille d'art, similar to American series such as the Circle of Friends of the Medallion, the Society of Medalists, and even the still-active Brookgreen Gardens issues, was an annual series of medallic art, each featuring different designs and themes by some of the most acclaimed sculptors and engravers in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series produced numerous medals from 1901-1920, eventually becoming Les amis de la médaille d'art, active from 1920-1959.

103345 | UNITED STATES & FRANCE. Sinking of the Lusitania Bronze Medal. Issued circa 1920. The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania (54mm, 12h). By René Baudichon at the Paris mint.

VLTRIX AMERICA JVRIS (America, the defender of the just) / 1917 USA 1918, upper part of the Statue of Liberty rising from the Atlantic Ocean, holding sword in place of torch // LVSITANIA MAY 7 1915, stern of the Lusitania above the ocean, in the process of sinking; capsized lifeboat in foreground; above, vignette containing a drowning child.

Jones, The Dance of Death, 27; The Art of Devastation, p. 310, 99. PCGS MS-64. Even red-brown surfaces, with some alluring brilliance spread throughout. A powerful and historically interesting piece relating to America's build up to World War I.

Not long after the German warning against sea travel into her 'war zone' declared upon Great Britain, a popular liner—the RMS Lusitania—was torpedoed 11 miles off the coast of Ireland, where over 60% of her passengers, some of whom were American, were killed. Serving as a rallying cry against the German Empire, this action solidified the U.S. involvement in World War I.

103412 | GERMANY. Martin Luther cast bronze Medal. Issued Dated 1924 for the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in Jena (68mm, 131.09 g, 12h). By Karl Goetz at the München mint.

DOKTOR + MARTIN + LVTHER, robed bust facing slightly right, wearing biretta // REFORMATIONS JVBILÄVM JENA, Martin Luther standing right, holding Bible and clasping right hands with Johann Friedrich I of Sachsen (Saxony), holding sword and standing slightly left; in background, Christ crucified upon the cross. Edge: Plain.

Kienast 322; Whiting 875; Opitz 3880; Brozatus 1554; Schnell 383. Choice Mint State. Pleasing brown surfaces, with some lighter hues upon the higher points.

Celebrated each century on the anniversaries of the Protestant Reformation which he helped to bring about, Martin Luther was also celebrated in 1924 on account of the 400th anniversary of the Reformation in Jena.

103388 | UNITED STATES & MEXICO. Return of El Chamizal silver Medal. Issued 1963. Commemorating the talks to end the dispute (50mm, 12h). By Baron [Central de Numismática y Medalistica] in Mexico City.

JUSTICIA REVOLUCIONARIA DE PUEBLOS AMIGOS, facing statue of Benito Juárez, seated and with scroll; to left and right, heads of presidents Adolfo López Mateos and John F. Kennedy facing one another // RECUPERACION DEL TERRITORIO DEL CHAMIZAL, Mexican and American flags crossed in saltire; above, stylized outline of the Chamizal territory and compass.

Rice K-63-5A; Grove 828a. PCGS SP-63. Highly brilliant and lustrous, with some deeper amber and cobalt toning nearer the peripheries.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formally ended the Mexican-American War in 1848 and established the border between the two nations. For a portion of this border, the path of the Rio Grande (known as the Río Bravo del Norte in Mexico) served as the point of demarcation. Floods, however, caused the pathway to vary over the years, with a section between El Paso (Texas) and Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua) shifting south, essentially yielding additional territory to the United States. This area, becoming known as "El Chamizal" on account of the type of saltbush that grew on the plain, was subsequently disputed by both countries, with the U.S. claiming and settling it as an extension of El Paso. A talk was planned in 1909 between then-presidents William Howard Taft and Porfirio Díaz, but the foiling of a would-be assassination attempt on both leaders scuttled the summit. The matter was settled in principal in August 1963 by John F. Kennedy and his counterpart, Adolfo López Mateos, though it was not ultimately formalized until the following year between the latter and Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy having been assassinated in Dallas in November 1963.