International Business Machines (IBM)

References:   MACo 1929-003

The obverse bears the well-known reverse of the Athenian tetradrachm with owl, olive branch and ΑΘΕ. Around patinated background, - THOMAS J. WATSON - MEMORIAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

The reverse bears year in center field, 19 / 63; around, - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO.N.Y.

The medal was commissioned by IBM as a physical token accompanying the more significant scholarship grant. As of 2014, the Thomas J. Watson Memorial Merit Scholarship awarded $2,000 per year to high achieving children of IBM employees. The grant is renewable for 4 years. Summer internship opportunities are also available to recipients.

The medal was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1961-013

The medal's obverse bears square with inscribed IBM / HUNDRED / PERCENT / CLUB 1963; around, · IBM ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER DIVISION · IBM ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER DIVISION

The reverse bears view of IBM's pavilion at the New York World's Fair of 1964/65, family of three in front. Around, · NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-1965 · NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1964-1965

The New York World's Fair of 1964/65 was a fair with huge corporate participation.  Many large companies had pavilions there and IBM was one of them. 

The younger generation that has grown up with word processors might not understand how big a deal electric typewriters were. Instead of mechanical typewriters' direct translation of a key stroke into a typed letter, the IBM electric typewriter recorded a typed letter into a small buffer that it showd in a small display strip.  This allowed the typist to review up to one line of typing and correct changes before they ended up on paper. Later models also had a delete key that automated the process of overtyping a letter in white. Such machines were exremely exciting and certainly worthy of being admired at a World's Fair!

The circular medal measures 50mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1964-090

The medal's obverse bears view of One IBM Plaza in Chicago, Illinois.

The reverse bears legend, One / IBM Plaza / Dedication / September 20 / 1972 / Chicago / Illinois

This very bare medal is actually quite interesting in its minimalist design. The building is of course an ugly 1970's sky-scraper, but the artist chose to forgo the traditional perspective rendering and instead go for an architectural view of the building.

I appreciate this medal as a fairly unique piece of architectural memorabilia.

The circular medal measures 64mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears perspective view of IBM typewriters through the decades. Across, 1933- / 1983 / (IBM logo)

The reverse bears legend, 50 Years of / Typewriter / Excellence

It is probably hard for today's generation to understand how big a business typewriters used to be.  Today, we have general purpose laptops, voice transcription is tantalizingly close for everyday life, and laser printers are an affordable item for most American families.

Before computers, typewriters were at the heart of most business operations and many families owned a private typewriter as well.  IBM was a big player in this market and became dominant when they merged electronics with typewriters.  Before electrical typewriters, each keystroke mechanically translated into a stamp hitting an inkstrip onto the paper.  How hard you hit the key defined how solid the letter's imprint was.  You could also jam a typewriter by hitting two keys simultaneously.  Electric typewriters revolutionized typing by using the keystrokes only as signals for the machine to do do the rest.

Hard to believe how much the world has changed since then...

The circular medal measures 76.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of Danbury, Connecticut. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears planet Earth with two oversized people on surface before spectacular sun and space-scape with satellite and swirling galaxy. IBM logo at top and bold 2000 across Earth. Around, THE NEW MILLENIUM / LOOKING BEYOND THE Y2K CHALLENGE

The reverse bears IBM logo over TWO THOUSAND THANKS / FOR MAKING Y2K / "THE NON-EVENT"

For the benfit of those who were too young in 2000. The Y2K crisis was probably the first global computer panic.  In the early days of the information economy computer memory and storage were really expensive and programmers had saved spaec by storing dates with two-digit years, for example "99" instead of "1999". They realized that this would cause problems in software that would misinterpret the year "00" as 1900 instead of 2000. 

For many years leading up to the year 2000, media were full of possible horror scenarios, including nuclear meltdowns, satellites and planes falling out of the sky, supply chains collapsing.  The large software companies and tens of thousands of contractors combed through old software to proactively deal with the problem. As the big date change arrived, the world held its breath... and nothing happened. 

We will probably never know how big an issue it would have been withiout all the work that was done and the money that was spent preparing.

The circular medal measures 76.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported but if it was handed to all IBM consultants working on Y2K problems it must be in the tens of thousands.