NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: AUGUST 23, 2026

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V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 34, 2026, Article 12

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

103714 | TURKEY. Ottoman Empire. Constantinople. Santa Sophia (Hagia Sophia) bronze Medal. Issued 1858. Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe series (59mm, 86.92 g, 12h). By Jaques Wiener in Brussels and struck at the Geerts mint in Ixelles.

Interior view of the mosque's north nave; in six lines in exergue, STE SOPHIE À CONSTANTINOPLE / BATIE PAR L'EMPEREUR JUSTINIEN 532-537 / CONVERTIE IN MOSQUÉE 1453 / RESTAURÉE SOUS LE RÈGNE DU SULTAN / ABDUL MEDJID 1847-1849 / PAR G. FOSSATI // View of the mosque's central nave. Edge: Plain.

Ross M208 (R3); van Hoydonck 206; Reinecke 60. PCGS SP-64. Rich, glossy brown surfaces, with a good deal of brilliance; inconsequential rim bruise on the obverse noted merely for completeness. A very rare type that is the key to a series that has continued to grow in popularity, and one that can reach rather dizzying heights, such as an NGC MS-63 Brown, which realized a total of $4,560 [!] in the Stack's Bowers September 2024 World CCO, lot 75603.

From what is today eastern Netherlands and western Germany, the Wieners were a Jewish family of exceptional medalists, especially known for numerous numismatic works throughout the Kingdom of Belgium. Eldest brother Jacob (Jacques), along with younger brothers Leopold and Charles, created some of the finest works of medallic art of the 19th century, and all are particularly noted for their work in the highly detailed and intricate work of architectural renderings.

103356 | UNITED STATES. Louisiana Purchase/St. Louis International Exposition bronze award Medal. Issued 1904. Presented at the expo for the "grand" award (65mm x 74mm, 151.10 g, 12h). Spade shape. By Adolph Alexander Weinman at the Philadelphia mint.

VNIVERSAL EXPOSITION SAINT LOVIS VNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Columbia standing slightly right, wearing Phrygian cap and outstretching American flag over Native American maiden standing to right, removing flag with intricate bee design (representing industriousness); rising sun in background; all within central medallion; downward facing flag in background // Eagle, with head left and wings spread, standing facing on oak and laurel branches; below, rectangular cartouche decorated with scallop shell and inscribed • GRAND • PRIZE • / • LOVISIANA • PVRCHASE • / • EXPOSITION • in three lines; two inward-facing dolphins below; all within central medallion; downward facing flag in background. Edge: Plain.

Hendershott 30-90. Choice Mint State. Tan-brown surfaces, with a great matte nature. Includes original box of issue, which is in far superior condition compared to most others encountered. Quite rare when found this attractive and with the original box of issue.

Designed by famed German-born U.S. coinage engraver Adolph Alexander Weinman, this series of award medals displays the elegant artistry that would make appearances the following decade on the 'Mercury' dime and the 'Walking Liberty' half dollar. Issued in various shapes, the entire series (bronze, silver, gold, commemorative, and grand) were nominally named, as all of the award medals were struck in a new bronze alloy (initially referred to as 'government bronze'), and meant to convey the level of recognition for the recipient. The expo itself was held in St. Louis, Missouri, and had, as its backdrop, the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase to commemorate—a factor which prominently influenced many design aspects of the award medals.

103678 | BELGIUM & THE NETHERLANDS. Johannes Diderik van der Waals bronze Medal. Issued 1911. The Belgo-Dutch Society of the Friends of Medallic Art: van der Waals–the Nobel Prize in physics, issue 26 (65mm, 114.20 g, 12h). By Frederik (Fré) Engel Jeltsema.

PROF DR J D VAN DER WAALS ÆTATIS LXXIII, bust left // NED–BELG-VEREENIGING-DER-PENNING-VRIENDEN / NOBELPRIJS-1910, a three-dimensional representation of van der Waals isotherms, with respect to pressure, volume, and temperature, along with his equation: (p + a/v²) = RT/(v-b); all set upon laurel branch. Edge: Plain.

Choice Mint State. Olive-brown surfaces, with a charming matte nature. An excellent representation of mathematics in medallic art.

Johannes Diderik van der Waals was an important Dutch physicist, most notably for his groundbreaking work in molecular theory involving gases and liquids. One of his most famous works, his eponymous "van der Waals equation," is equation of state that generalizes the ideal gas law. In 1910, he was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics—the occasion for the topic of this medal.

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.

The designer of this medal, Frederik Engel Jeltsema, whose first name was often abbreviated as Fré, was born in 1879 in the Dutch town of Uithuizen. Upon birth however, Fré's sex was ambiguous, with the doctor registering him as female, and with Fré being named Frederika Engelina. He was raised as a girl despite feeling more masculine than feminine from a young age. Fré first pursued his passion of art locally in Groningen, but then studied internationally in Paris and Rome. In 1906, upon a return the Netherlands from his studies abroad, he underwent a physical examination in which the doctor confirmed what Fré had long been feeling—that he possessed much more masculine than feminine characteristics. From this point, Fré set in motion the changes needed to live more authentically, changing his name from Frederika Engelina to Frederik Engel, changing his wardrobe from women's clothes to men's, and informing his friends and family. For more information on Fré Jeltsema, please follow this link.

103286 | GREAT BRITAIN. Winston Churchill silver Medal. Issued 1965. Commemorating the death of the former Prime Minister (57mm, 82.14 g [ASW: 2.4 oz], 12h). By Frank Kovacs for Spink & Son in London.

Bust facing slightly left, wearing frock coat and bow tie; in background, books and paint brushes sitting upon a shelf // Soldier standing right in defiance, while a wave roils in background to right; above, airplane flying left; "VERY WELL, ALONE" in exergue. Edge: SILVER.

Eimer 2104a; Engstrom 30C. Choice Gem Mint State. Richly toned near the peripheries on each side, with immense brilliance in the fields. Includes original red leather case of issue, along with informational card.

103587 | UNITED STATES. Albert Einstein bronze Medal. Issued 1970. Jewish-American Hall of Fame series: commemorating the famed theoretical physicist (46mm x 45mm, 75.40 g, 12h). By Robert Russin for the Medallic Art Co.

Head facing slightly right // THE HIGHEST RELIGION IS THE SERVICE OF HUMANITY, radiant peace symbol within the umbra of a solar eclipse; facsimile signature to lower left, with birth and death years. Edge: MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y. / 589.

JAHF 2. Gem Mint State. Light brown-bronze, with a charming matte aspect. Serially numbered 589 of 810.

A German-born physicist widely considered to be one of history's greatest minds, Albert Einstein was famous, among other things, for his theory of relativity and the equation E=mc². Of Jewish ancestry, he remained in the United States during a visit in 1933, around the time at which Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party came to power. Throughout the ensuring second World War, he was a supporter of the allied cause, and recommended to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the U.S. begin seriously looking into research of nuclear weaponry, as he believed that the German government was already doing so. Though the results of this nuclear program did not involve the war effort in Germany, as the European portion had come to an end, they were immensely consequential in the ending of the war in the Pacific theater. This medal, issued a decade-and-a-half after Einstein's death, served as the second issue in the still-extant Jewish American Hall of Fame series.