All Medals

The medal's obverse has two halves, one silver and one bronze. On left, silver half, an industrial worker wearing heavy protective gear pours liquid into container. In right, bronze half, several scenes from inside a metal working factory.

The reverse bears HH logo at top. Below, 100 / YEARS OF SERVICE / TO INDUSTRY AND / ARTS ··· 1867 - 1967

Hand & Harman was founded  in New York City in 1867 by Peter Hayden. Hayden was a harness maker specializing in producing custom-made decorative silver fittings for the horses of well-to-do New Yorkers. He quickly discovered that there was more money to be made from trading in silver than from fashioning harnesses. From these beginnings, the company grew into a diversified conglomerate specializing in precious metal dealing, recycling, and non-precious metal manufacturing.

The medal posed significant technical challenges for the Medallic Art Company. The manufacture of this medal requires that a thin silver strip be placed over a bronze planchet, forming a bimetallic obverse.  The medal had to be kept in register between the multiple strikings that were required.

The circular medal measures 56.9mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1966-006

References:   Marqusee 331

References:   Cal MC-2000-2

The medal's obverse bears caucasian male facing away, head turned to his left; blockhouse in background. Around, AMERICAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION; on male figure's back, 120TH / ANNIVERSARY / CONVENTION / CHICAGO / AUGUST 16-20, 2011; signed at lower left, JNF

The reverse bears Native American warrior with tomahawk, facing right; flag with four stars in background.  Around, BATTLE OF FORT DEARBORN - MDCCCXII

The Battle of Fort Dearborn was an engagement between United States troops and Potawatomi Native Americans that occurred on August 15, 1812, near Fort Dearborn in what is now Chicago, Illinois, but was then part of the Illinois Territory.  The battle, which occurred during the War of 1812, immediately followed the evacuation of the fort as ordered by the commander of the United States Army of the Northwest, William Hull. The battle lasted about 15 minutes and resulted in a complete victory for the Native Americans. After the battle, Fort Dearborn was burned down. Some of the soldiers and settlers who had survived and were taken captive were later ransomed.

Following the battle, the federal government became convinced that all Indians had to be removed from the territory and the vicinity of any settlements, as settlers continued to migrate to the area. The fort was rebuilt in 1816.

The medal measures 69.6mm in diameter and was struck by the Medalcraft Mint of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The mintage was limited to 125 pieces.

The uniface medal bears bust of Captain Arthur Rostron facing right. Around, S·S·TITANIC (laurel branch) APRIL·15·1912 (laurel branch) S·S·CARPATHIA / CAPTAIN · ROSTRON; signed to left and right of bust, © - SPICER·/SIMSON

The edge is marked with a faint "41"

On April 15, 1912, Arthur Henry Rostron (1869-1940) was a captain for the Cunard Line when his ship, the ocean liner RMS Carpathia, received a distress signal from the White Star liner RMS Titanic. The Titanic had struck an iceberg and was sinking rapidly.  Rostron immediately ordered his ship to race for the sinking Titanic.  His engineering crew coaxed the Carpathia's engines up to 17.5 knots, 3.5 knots over its rated speed. He took a huge risk racing through dense ice at night but he knew what was at stake when a major liner was sinking in freezing water in the middle of the Atlantic.  In the 3.5 hours which it took to arrive at the Titanic's radioed position he gave 23 orders that would later prove to have saved lives. His crew prepared blankets, food and drinks and ended up rescuing 710 survivors from the freezing waters of the Atlantic.

Rostron was honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, the Thanks of Congress, the American Cross of Honor, and medals by the Liverpool and New York Shipwreck Societies.  Rostron would eventually rise to the position of Commodore of the Cunard Line and served as a British Naval Officer during World War I.

The medal was privately commissioned by Titanic survivors Margaret Brown and Dennis Telluride.

The circular medal measures 51mm. Only 500 pieces were struck in bronze.

The obverse bears hand with flame bracelet holding infant and moon before swirling clouds and lighning. Divided by hand, FIAT - VITA; signed at bottom with large circled © and FRANCISCI ··· around.

The reverse bears streams of plasma, stars, and lightning around cloudy center, suggesting the creation of the cosmos.

De Francisci picked Creation as the theme for this medal and succeeded in creating a beautiful medal that combines both the religious and the scientific approaches in one model. The obverse shows the hand of the creator, on which rests a bold infant, secure in its place in the center of the universe. On the reverse we have a more scientific image of swirling gas clouds, hinting at cosmological processes of creation.

As de Francisci put it in his "Sculptor's Message," which focused on the scientific explanation:

"The advent of life, either in its rudimentary or complex organism, is based on the hypothesis that life could evolve and endure on all planets receiving heat and light from a central orb."

The scalloped edge incorporated the medal as a whole into the design and made it even more special.

This medal was chosen as the twelfth issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1935. Struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York, the medal measures 72mm in diameter and has a reported production quantity of 1,165 in silver-plated bronze and 100 in silver. This medal was re-issued in silver in 1993 as part of a promotion. The mintage of that re-issue is not known.

References:   MACo 1930-001-012, Marqusee 160, SoM 12

The medal's obverse bears seated Franklin, facing half right. Around, NATIONAL EXPORT EXPOSITION

The reverse bears wreath and legend, AWARDED / BY THE / NATIONAL / EXPORT EXPOSITION / TO / (engraved Partrick Carter & Wilkins) / ON RECOMMENDATION OF THE / FRANKLIN INSTITUTE / PHILADELPHIA / 1899

The National Export Exposition ran from September 14, 1899 to November 30, 1899 and was intended to provide

It was supported by Congress, various Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Trade, and other corporate interests, as well as the city of Philadelphia and private citizens. In essence, it was an international industrial fair to demonstrate American goods to an international audience, but also to give American manufacturers easier access to international manufacturing technology.

The circular medal measures 50.7mm in diameter and was struck in silver by the August C. Frank Company of Philadelphia.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of John Paul Jones, facing left; ship under full sail to his right. Around, · THE · HALL · OF · FAME · FOR · GREAT · AMERICANS AT NEW · YORK · UNIVERSITY · ; thirteen stars underneath; across left, JOHN / PAUL / JONES / 1747 / 1792; signed and dated at bottom, (ML monogram) 1968 ©

The reverse bears Jones holding cutlass on deck of sinking ship, three boarders swinging from rigging to his right.

This medal is the 53rd issue of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University medal series.

The medal was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  The bronze variants exist in large 76.7mm and small 44mm diameters, the silver variant only in the small diameter. No mintages are reported.

References:   MACo 1963-001-053, GANYU 53

The medal's obverse bears male and female nudes symbolizing the union of the Western hemisphere by the Panama Canal; in background, sun and clouds above horizon with American isthmus. At bottom, DIVINE DISIVNCTA IVNXIT HOMO

The medal's reverse shows the Panama Pacific International Exposition's Tower of Jewels. On panel below building, MEDAL / OF AWARD; around, PANAMA PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION SAN FRANCISCO - MCMXV

The medal measures 70.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the United States Mint. Plain bronze, silver-plated, and gold-plated versions are known to exist.

References:   Baxter 114, MACo 1915-020, Marqusee 150,151,152

References:   BG 36