NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: APRIL 19, 2026

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 16, 2026, Article 22

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

103487 | GERMANY. Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. Reformation silver Medal. Issued for the 300th anniversary of the Reformation (39mm, 12h). By Daniel Friedrich Loos in Berlin.

Hand emerging from the left, pulling back curtain to reveal starry field and radiant Bible inscribed BI= / BLIA - SA= / CRA // SEGENREICHE / WIRKUNG / INS VIERTE / JAHRHUNDERT / WEIMAR / 31. OCT. 1817. in six lines.

Whiting 591; Opitz 3188; Brozatus 1245; Schnell 280; Sommer A-201. PCGS MS-64. Attractively toned with a delightful golden nature, and with great brilliance radiating among the fields. The only example of the type in the PCGS census.

Celebrated each century on the anniversaries of the Protestant Reformation which Martin Luther helped to bring about, this event was also celebrated in 1817 on account of the 300th anniversary of the Reformation in Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach.

103551 | UNITED STATES. "Old World, New World" bronze Medal. Issued 1939 (73mm, 163.23 g, 12h). By Edward McCartan for the Society of Medalists.

Draped female, wearing head cloth, kneeling left, cradling nude child and raising arm in horror; above, Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse flying right; in background, castle to left, ruins to right; gas mask in foreground to left; in exergue in two lines, THE OLD WORLD / 1939 // Female in dress, crouching left, reading book, and instructing child; in background, cityscape to left, forest to right; radiant sunrise in sky; in two lines in exergue, THE NEW WORLD / 1939. Edge: THE SOCIETY OF MEDALISTS NINETEENTH ISSUE 1939 EDWARD MCCARTAN SCULPTOR MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y. BRONZE.

This medal was issued just after the outbreak of conflict in Europe, with the horror of the still-recent World War I fresh on everyone's mind. In the "From the Artist" pamphlet about the medal's design, McCarten stated "...the broad Atlantic Ocean thankfully isolates us from forces which destroy life and liberty and which impede the normal pursuit of happiness. I have attempted to portray the fortunate position of the American home maker contrasted with her European sister who lives from day to day in a paralysis of fear and hate and regimentation. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—Pestilence, Death, Famine, War—are riding high across the Eastern Hemisphere. I hope that in design and execution the medal has merit not only because it symbolizes the social forces which influence the lives of the Old World peoples and the New World peoples but also because it is a permanent, artistic record of rapid fire events in 1939." As we now know well, the ocean did not protect us, and war did find us. In a connected, global world, it is difficult for any nation, directly involved or not, to avoid the consequences and actions chosen by any particular country or régime. Case in point, the folly in which we now find ourselves, and the effect that it has had, and continues to have, upon countless other countries.

103393 | SWEDEN & FRANCE. Society of Biochemistry bronze award Medal. Issued 1964 for the society's 50th anniversary and awarded to Hugo Theorell (63mm, 123.59 g, 12h). By Albert David at the Paris mint.

BIOCHIMIE, draped female figure right, representing biochemistry, holding up double helix; atoms representing various elements (potassium, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen) around // CINQUANTENAIRE DE LA SOCIETE DE CHIMIE BIOLOGIQUE / FONDEE EN 1914, "ENZYMES, LIPIDES, GLUCIDES, ELEMENTS, MINERAUX, PROTIDES, HORMONES, VITAMINES" arranged multiple times in various fonts and directions; "HUGO THEORELL" engraved below. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE.

MdP –. Mint State. Brown surfaces, with a good deal of brilliance in the fields. A great allegorical type pertaining to the field of biochemistry and awarded to a Nobel laureate.

As this medal would indicate, Hugo Theorell was an accomplished Swedish scientist in the field of biochemistry, winning the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1955 for his discovery of oxidoreductase enzymes and their effects. Previously, he was appointed as the head of the Nobel Medical Institute's Biochemical Department in 1936, becoming the first researcher related to the Institute to garner the prize.

103316 | SWEDEN & FINLAND. "Only One Earth" multi-piece bronze Medal. Issued 1972 for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm (49mm, 226.24 g, 12h). By Kauko Räsänen for Sporrong.

Top piece, obverse: Facing female head, slightly left of center, with hair billowing in the wind (indicative of environmental influences) // Top piece, reverse: ONLY ONE EARTH EN ENDA VÄRLD, nude female (Mother Earth) curled left in fetal position within oval-like shape in relief and with lines of longitude and latitude /// Bottom piece, obverse: Nude female crouching slightly right, protecting her face with her left hand // Bottom piece, reverse: UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT 5. – 16. 6. 1972, the same nude female from the reverse of the other piece, this time curled right in fetal position within oval-like shape, all in incuse and without the gridlines. Edge: 1356•3500 / SPORRONG.

Hackl & Klose 37. Essentially as made. Brassy-dark brown surfaces, with great brilliance and a two-toned nature. Includes original box of issue, as well as certificate of authenticity. A very moving and thought-provoking multi-piece medal that was very much the calling-card of Räsänen.

Räsänen's interesting take on the environmental movement came at a time of greater appreciation for the frailty of the Earth and the irreparable damage which man can create, has created, and continues to create. This multi-piece medal was made in conjunction with the conference held by the United Nations in 1972, even featuring their logo upon it.

103521 | SWEDEN. Alfred Nobel silver Award Medal. Issued 1978 for participation on the nominating committee for the prize in medicine (26mm, 12h). By Erik Lindberg (in 1901).

Bust left in frock coat; ALFR• / NOBEL – NAT• / MDCCC / XXXIII / OB• / MDCCC / XCVI across field // INVENTAS • VITAM • IUVAT • EXCOLUISSE • PER • ARTES (and they who bettered life on earth by their newly found mastery), basin and serpent-entwined staff of Aesculapius; wreath behind.

Ehrensvärd 22; Lagerqvist 3A. PCGS SP-58. Gunmetal gray in hue, with some hints of burnished olive around the devices. A charmingly attractive example of the type.

In the world of medallic art, France may come to mind for its association with some of the most skilled and elegant craftsmen and their work, especially during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Any survey of medals and coins from this period will show the beauty that the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements provided to the numismatic scene. However, production of artistic medals was not limited to just France. Although Sweden is not as often represented in collections and literature devoted to numismatic art, it is not due to a lack of exceptional material produced by incredible sculptor-engravers.

One such artist was Johan Lindberg, most commonly known by his middle name, Erik. Born in Stockholm on the final day of 1873, Erik grew up with an artistic presence, as his father, Johan Adolph, was a famous sculptor and engraver of medals, even serving as a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts. Focused intently upon his craft, Erik split most of the 1890s training at his father's studio and studying at the Academy. Following his graduation from the Academy, he earned a scholarship for study in Paris where he was greatly influenced by the styles of such luminaries as Louis-Oscar Roty and Jules-Clément Chaplain. It was during this period that he was tasked with the creation of the medals to be awarded for the newly established Nobel Prizes, one of the first of his numismatic contributions. While the reverse designs of these majestic medals vary based upon the subject matter celebrated, the obverses all display the same classical rendition of Alfred Nobel, the creator of the trust used to finance the prizes. Outside of the Peace Prize, presented instead in Oslo, and the Economics Prize, created much later by the Sveriges Riksbank, Lindberg's renditions continue to be used for the prize medals as well as the medals presented to the nominating committees.

Though the actual prize medals are almost never encountered in the market, the nominating medals do appear and have become quite popular, as they are generally as close as one can realistically get to an actual prize medal.