Medals Related to the Hunt

The obverse bears a hunter with rifle at ready, dog at point. To right, STEADY; to left, LGF 1930; at lower left ©. The reverse bears a ruffed grouse in display plumage on fallen log.

This medal was chosen as the first issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. For this medal, Laura Gardin Fraser went back to some of her early medallic subjects that she was well known for: small animals. Rather than just creating an animal-themed medal, she put them in the human context of the hunt. It was a smart and popular choice, exactly what the new Society of Medalists needed. She wrote in the brochure that accompanied the medal:

"There are many persons who desire to collect medals but are unable to do so because the medal is used in most instances as a specific award. The scope of subject matter which bears no relation to a particular person or occasion embraces many forms of expression and the sculptor has a large field of choice. In this case, I felt that a sporting subject would be a departure from what one has been accustomed to seeing in medallic art. Therefore, I chose the hunter with his dog because it presented the opportunity of telling a story embodying a human and animal element."

The Medallic Art Company of New York struck a reported 3,235 pieces in bronze. A reported 125 silver medals were struck from the same dies in the 1970s.

I have also encountered a uniface obverse in golden bronze that is marked by the Medallic Art Company of Danbury. That variant appears to be very rare.