Charles Louis Hinton

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Abraham Lincoln, facing right. To his left, torch. At left, 1809 / 1865; around right, LINCOLN. Signed under torch at left, © DOUGLAS VOLK / DEL. / CHAS. L. HINTON · / Sc.

The reverse bears oak wreath around center field. At top of center field, LINCOLN / · ESSAY · MEDAL ·  / · AWARDED · TO ·

Douglas Volk created a Lincoln portrait that shows him gaunt, almost skeletally thin, a sad resolve readiating from his expression. Hinton translated the design into a beautiful medal.

This medal is cataloged as King 892.  A variant with a date of February 12, 1924 exists and is cataloged as King 891.

The circular medal was struck in bronze by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

References:   Marqusee 203

The medal's obverse bears portrait of young Lindbergh, slight right, before sea and sky, sun setting at left. Around upper right, C * LINDBERGH *; across, NEW · YORK - · TO PARIS · IN · / · 33½ HOURS · / MAY 20 · 21 / · 1927 · ; signed above left shoulder, © H

The reverse bears airplane over sea and setting sun, flanked by wings emanating from shell at bottom center. Around top, · · NEW · YORK · TO · PARIS · ; at bottom, · · · c 1927 H · ·

This is one of the more beautiful Lindbergh commemorative medals.  Hinton shows his soft touch in a portrait that reflects both youth and boundless optimism.

The medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver. No mintages are reported though I have only encountered the small bronze and the silver medal once, so they appear to be rarer than the large bronze.

References:   MACo 1932-014, Marqusee 205

This uniface medal bears a standing female nude turned right towards pedestal bearing hourglass; decorative border extending around medal. At left, inscription in bands, ART IS / MIGHTY / LIFE IS / FLEETING / (CLH monogram)

This little gem picks up a famous line attributed to Hippocrates and reused by (among many others) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"Ars longa, vita brevis."

While the quote originally refers specifically to the art of healing, Hinton probably interprets "art" much more literally and expresses his belief that art survives the artist.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1932-028

This uniface medal bears statue of kneeling female nude in center of fountain in the midst of an elaborate garden. (CLH monogram) in fountain's wall.

This medal is usually seen as a two-sided medal (MACo 1932-034) and probably represents a trial strike or a sample piece. Alternatively, the medal was struck one-sided to leave space for different engravings on the reverse. Clubs sometimes chose to have a batch of uniface medals struck that could then be used as awards or commemorative pieces, as needs arose.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its mintage is unknown.

References:   MACo 1932-034

This uniface medal bears seated winged female figure facing right; leaning on one arm, the other raised to head, lowered in posture of meditation.

This is a gorgeous medal that, if there were any doubts, establishes Hinton as one of the American medallic greats. The design was later reused as the center field on the obverse of a commercial commemorative medal.

The circular medal measures 76.1mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1932-056