All Medals

The medal's obverse bears bust of Washington Allston, facing right.  Around left and right, WASHINGTON - ALLSTON; signed at bottom, P. P. DUGGAN DEL.  C. C. WRIGHT SC.

The reverse bears standing Columbia with American shield, crowning two artists, one holding sculptor's mallet, the other painter's pallet and brushes, on step below. Around top, AMERICAN - ART-UNION; signed and dated on steps, P.P. DUGGAN DEL. / 1847 - C.C. WRIGHT SC.

Washington Allston (1779-1843) was a famous American painter and poet who was born in Waccamaw River, South Carolina. After traveling a lot, he spent most of his later life in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He is buried in Harvard Square. A western suburb of Boston, Allston, is named after him.

This was the first medal in the American Art-Union medal series.

The circular medal measures 64.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze at the U.S. Mint. No mintage is reported.

Many thanks to eBayer Pat who granted me permission to use the images of the silver variant and to Tom Rogahn who pointed them out to me.

References:   AAU 1, Storer 1860, Marqusee 409

The plaquette's obverse bears laurel-crowned young woman, facing right, holding wreath of laurels and stars.

The reverse bears legend, COMITÉ DE BRUXELLES / DE LA / CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE / TÉMOINAGE / DE RECONNAISSANCE / 1934

This little plquette was issued by the Red Cross Committee of the city of Brussels.

The plaquette measures 35.1mm x 55.7mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Thodore Low De Vinne, half right; de Vinne's signature around edge.  Around, THE VNITED TYPTHETAE OF AMERICA / ORGANIZED - 1887; signed at left (JBB monogram)

The reverse bears organization's coat of arms over crossed palm and laurel branches. On streamer across, PRESENTED BY - THE UNITED TYPOTHETAE OF AMERICA / TO; in cartouche, HARRY P. PEARS / SIXTEENTH PRESIDENT / 1902; signed at lower right, DAVISON, PHILA.

The United Typothetae of America was the predecessor organization to Printing Industries of America, Established in 1887, it had no permanent headquarters until 1902 when an office opened in New York City. This medal might well have been awarded to Harry Pears on the occasion of the group's building inauguration.

The medal's sculptor and date are somewhat uncertain.  Dick Johnson lists Henry Kirke Bush-Brown as the medal's sculptor and dates the medal to around 1910. Yet the medal is signed with his son James' initials and has an engraved date of 1902. Unfortunately, if James really was the sculptor and the medal really was awarded in 1902 as the engraving suggests, we have another problem: James was only nine years old and could not have designed the medal. Maybe the father designed the medal and the son sculpted it and got to sign it and it was awarded retroactively.

Unless we choose to disregard all information, we are left with a medal dating to between 1900 and 1920 and at least one member of the Bush-Brown family as the medal's sculptor. Maybe a descendent of the artists can shed some light on the mystery.  For now, I have given the meal to the son because it bears his signature.

The circular medal measures 63.8mm in diameter and was struck by Davison of Philadelphia. No mintage is reported.

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:   MACo 1965-058

This medal's obverse bears bust of Curley facing three quarters left. Around, GOVERNOR JAMES MICHAEL CURLEY; signed above shoulder at right, Parafino / Sc.

This medal's reverse bears a summary of Curley's public service career surrounded by laurel wreath, seal of the Commonwealth at bottom. Inscription reads MEMBER / OF / BOSTON / COMMON COUNCIL / 1900 - 1901 / MASS. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES / 1902 - 1903 / BOARD OF ALDERMEN / 1904 - 1905 · 1906 - 1907 · 1908 - 1909 / CITY COUNCIL 1910 - 1911 / 62nd AND 63rd CONGRESS 1911- 1915 / MAYOR OF BOSTON / 1914 - 1917 · 1922 - 1925 · 1930 - 1933 / GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS / 1935 - 1936

James Michael Curley (1874-1958) was one of the most colorful Massachusetts politicians ever and a perfect example of the old-style machine politics of the first half of the 20th century. He rose from poverty to become councillor, member of the House, Mayor of Boston, and even Governor of Massachusetts.

His legendary popularity includes getting elected into public office while serving jail terms for fraud, corruption, and bribery. While the legal troubles gave him a bad reputation among the old upper class Wasps of Boston, the increasingly numerous and vocal Irish immigrant class unfailingly supported him during his career.

In one popular stunt, while Governor of Massachusetts, he appeared at the Harvard University commencement ceremony wearing silk stockings, knee britches, a powdered wig, and a three-cornered hat with flowing plume. When University marshals objected to his costume, the story goes, Curley whipped out a copy of the Statutes of the Massachusetts Bay Colony which prescribed proper dress for the occasion and claimed that he was the only person at the ceremony properly dressed, thereby endearing him to many working and middle class Yankees.

Unlike many other local politicians, James Michael Curley has not been forgotten. Curley is widely believed to have been the model for protagonist Frank Skeffington in the Edwin O'Connor novel "The Last Hurrah". Spencer Tracey portrayed Skeffington in a John Ford film based on the novel. Since Curley, every Boston mayor has been driven in a car with the license registration 576, representing the number of letters in his first, middle, and last name: James (5) Michael (7) Curley (6). The Curley family still holds Massachusetts auto registration number 5. It is owned by his step-son Richard.

The round medal measures 76.1mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its mintage is not reported.

References:   MACo 1936-037

The medal's obverse bears kneeling archer with drawn bow, facing right; sun at his feet, stars above, cape flowing over his left shoulder. Signed at lower left, (GSC monogram)

The reverse bears a view of of the Municipal Building of Springfield, Massachusetts over two branches of laurel and oak. Around top, · 1636 · SPRINGFIELD · 1852; across, TO / COMMEMORATE / THE DEDICATION OF / THE MVNICIPAL BVILDINGS / OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD / · MASSACHVSETTS ON THE / EIGHTH AND NINTH DAYS OF DECEMBER / IN THE YEAR OF OVR LORD · NINE- /TEEN HVNDRED AND THIRTEEN; under buildings, 1913

This medal represents an interesting collaboration: Gail Corbett designed the medal's obverse and Felix Weil, one of the founders of the Medallic Art Company, the reverse.

This circular medal measures 63.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

Many thanks to the Numismatic department of the Yale University Art Gallery for their generosity and support in granting me access to this medal for research.

References:   MACo 1913-009

This medal's obverse bears group of three figures, standing, toga-wearing female with spear held in one hand and shield raised protectively over seated mother with naked toddler. Around, THE · EQUITABLE · LIFE · ASSURANCE · SOCIETY · OF · THE · UNITED · STATES

The reverse bears text in center, 100th / Anniversary; around, ★ 1859 ★ 1959 ★ / A CENTURY OF SECURITY

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y.; two holes indicate that the medals was once mounted in a desktop holder.

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded by Henry Baldwin Hyde in 1859. Its first headquarters were in the Equitable Life Building, near Wall Street, which opened its doors in 1875. In 1905, James Hazen Hyde, the founder's son and successor as President of the company, found himself at the center of the so called Hyde Costume Ball Scandal, a smear campaign manufactured by other Board members and designed to wrest control of the company from him. The scandal resulted in a Wall Street panic and an investigation of the entire insurance industry. Today, the company is known as AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.

The medal represents a collaboration by two artists: its artistic obverse was designed and modeled by Sinnock while the text-oriented reverse was done by Roberts.

The circular medal measures 69.9mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1958-043-001