NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: MAY 3, 2026

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 18, 2026, Article 17

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

103468 | GREAT BRITAIN. Botanical & Horticultural Society silver Award Medal. Engraved and awarded in 1827 to Lieutenant Henry West, Esq. by the society based in Durham, Northumberland and Newcastle-on-Tyne (48mm, 39.47 g, 12h).

BOTANICAL AND HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, Flora, reaching toward potted plant to left and grapevine to right, seated right in front of gazebo; decorative potted plant to outer right; gardening tools in foreground; in two lines in exergue, INSTITUTED 1824 / SOCIETY // DURHAM NORTHUMBERLAND AND NEWCASTLE ON TYNE, "PRESENTED / to / LIEUt. WEST R. N. / for the best / DISH OF CHERRIES / 18 Augt 1827" engraved in six lines in various styles of scripts; all within complex floral wreath. Edge: Loop attached at the top, otherwise plain.

BHM –. Mint State. Deep gunmetal gray toning, with some delightful iridescence nearer the edges; some scattered hairlines are noted for completeness.

Lieutenant Henry West entered the Royal Navy in May 1801 as a midshipman. In the ensuing years, he would serve under Horatio Nelson in campaigns against France and Spain, eventually receiving his commission in 1808. Various campaigns in America would follow, with him being recalled to England in 1816. In 1831, he was promoted to the rank of commander. Personally, he married twice—first to his cousin (the only surviving daughter of Rev. Henry Cotes in County Durham) in 1822, and then, in 1828, to the youngest daughter of Samuel Huthwaite of County Northumberland.

103414 | MEXICO. Maximiliano I white metal Medal. Issued 1867. Memorial to Maximiliano (41mm, 21.81 g, 12h). By August Kleeberg at the Vienna mint.

MAXIMILIAN I. IMPERATOR MEHICORUM, bare head right // * NATUS 6. JULII 1832 * / + 19. JUNII 1867, winged and draped female figure seated left, holding trumpet; behind, tomb with coat-of-arms and weeping tree in background. Edge: A few light marks, otherwise plain.

Grove 139b; Hauser 321; Wurzbach 6140; Forrer III, p. 173. Choice About Uncirculated. Some scattered marks and scuffs that can often plague white metal, but still quite pleasing and brilliant, and lacking any dullness or pestering that is often the case.

Maximiliano was of Austrian descent from the mighty Habsburg ruling family (he was a younger brother of Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph), and was installed as the Emperor of Mexico under the auspices of the French—the latter hoping to extend their influence in Mexico. The empire was short lived, however, as Maximiliano was dethroned a little after three years, being captured and executed by Republican forces.

103507 | GREAT BRITAIN. Sir Moses Montefiore white metal Medal. Issued 1884 for the 100th birthday of the British entrepreneur and Sephardic Jewish philanthropist (41mm, 22.08 g, 12h). By A. D.Loewenstark & Sons in London.

Bust right wearing frock coat; around, Hebrew legend reading "fortunate is the God-fearing [man] who walks in His ways – 5645 years since creation" // HOLY LAND, EGYPT, DAMASCUS, CONSTANTINOPLE, RUSSIA, POLAND, ROME, MOROCCO, A / UNIVERSAL / TRIBUTE / OF / RESPECT & ESTEEM / TO / SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE / BART. PHILANTHROPIST / FROM HIS ADMIRERS & FRIENDS / CENTENARY / 27th OCTOBER 1884 in 13 lines. Edge: Plain.

BHM 3166; Eimer 1707; JMC 1169. Mint State. Quite vibrant and mirrored in the fields, though some scattered friction and a few marks are noted, as well as a few spots of darkening. A scarce and important piece of Judaica.

103089 | GERMANY. Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin & Dr. Hugo Eckener silver Medal. Issued 1928. The commissioning of the LZ-127 (33mm, 14.58 g, 12h). By the Ludwig Christian Lauer mint in Nürnberg.

FERDINAND GRAF ZEPPELIN 1838-1917 / DR HUGO ECKENER 1868, jugate heads of Zeppelin and Eckener left // DEUTSCHE KRAFT UND DEUTSCHER GEIST / WERK DAS "AUFSTIEG" "FREIHEIT" HEISST!, allegorical figure of Victory standing left, with wings spread, atop the airship; "GRAF ZEPPELIN" / D-LZ 127 / INDIENSTSTELLUNG / 20 SEPT. 1928. Edge: 990.

Hans Kaiser 479. PCGS SP-63. Highly brilliant in the fields, with alluring frosting on the devices and some colorful toning throughout. Surpassed in the PCGS census by just two others.

Zeppelin was a German general and aircraft manufacturer, who later founded the airship company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. Following Zeppelin's death in 1917, Dr. Hugo Eckener became the head of this company and oversaw post-war fundraising to expand upon its production, even serving as commander for the LZ 127 on numerous occasions. When this airship first entered use, it was the first commercial passenger transatlantic flight service in the world, eventually making 590 flights over nearly a decade. In 1940, she was scrapped for metal for the German efforts in World War II.

103389 | UNITED STATES & MEXICO. Return of El Chamizal silver Medal. Issued 1963. Commemorating the talks to end the dispute (42mm, 12h). By Centro Numismática mint in Mexico City.

1866 INICIACION – CULMINACION 1963 / EL CHAMIZAL, facing busts of John F. Kennedy, Benito Juárez, and Adolfo López Mateos above clasped hands // EQUIDAD JUSTICIA AMISTAD / 29 DE AGOSTO, Mexican and American flags crossed in saltire and set before balanced scale.

Rice K-63-6A; Grove 824a. PCGS MS-62. Deeply toned and highly brilliant, with some frosting and untoned aspects to portions of the devices.

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.