All Medals

References:   Cal FM-1976

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 obverse bears the old NBC logo crisscrossed in the center; double lightning bolts extending from all corners of the cross. On left and right of lightning bolts above, 19 / 26; on left and right of lighning bolts below, 19 / 36.

The reverse bears text only. Around, NATIONAL BROADCASTING COMPANY * A RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA SERVICE * ; in center field, TENTH ANNIVERSARY / TO THOSE WHO HAVE SHARED WITH US / IN THE ADVANCEMENT OF BROADCASTING.

The medal commemorates the tenth anniversary of the National Broadcasting Company which was founded in 1926. It was distributed to its employees in 1936.

From Chris Bach, whom I owe big thanks for information about art medals, I learned the following:

This scarce Art Deco medal has long been "unsigned" in various auctions with no artist or sculptor identified or credited with the design. However, the Cleveland Museum of Art credits the medal as being a collaboration of three people: "modeled by Julio Kilenyi (American, b. 1885); obverse designed by Richard A Loederer (American, b. 1894) and the reverse designed by E.P.H. James (American)" - a gift to the museum's collection by the National Broadcasting Company in 1937 (No. 1937.9.A/B). A specimen at the New York Historical Society in NYC also credits Julio Kilenyi; and the Library of Congress collection identifies a similar item designed by Loederer in their NBC History Files: 1922-1986, Folder 173, Logos, "Photo of tenth anniversary (1936) plaque designed by Richard Loederer of Vienna."

I have only ever seen a bronze variant once.  It is usually the silver-plated variant that comes up for sale.

This medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver plated bronze by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The oval medal's obverse bears doctor standing behind boy, hands on his neck and abdomen; behind, USC medical center building. Around, FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE; signed at lower left, ABRAM / BELSKIE / Sc.

The reverse bears seal of the county of Los Angeles. Above, FOUNDED 1878; below, LOS ANGELES / COUNTY / USC / MEDICAL / CENTER

The LA County Medical Center dates back to 1878, when the County of Los Angeles opened a 100-bed hospital on Mission Road to care for Los Angeles’ indigent population. The County affiliated with the University of Southern California (USC) Medical School in 1885 for the provision of care.

On December 7, 1930, Hollywood actress Mary Pickford dedicated the 8-ton cornerstone for a modern Los Angeles County General Hospital on State Street. The building opened in 1933 but was damaged by an earthquake in 1994.  It was finally replaced in 2008.

The distinguished service medal has been awarded since 1967.

The oval medal measures 62.6mm x 82.4mm and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1967-106

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Simon J. Murphy, Sr., facing. Around, SIMON J. MURPHY / 1815 - 1905; signed under truncation at right, Eue

The reverse bears a view of the Penobscot Building. Above, PENOBSCOT; over smaller building in background, 1915; below, 1927 1905

Simon J. Murphy Sr. (1815-1905) was a Maine businessman who started out as a logger and ended up in control of vast lumber lands in Michigan and all over America.  He started the take-over of the Pacific Lumber Company, which succeeded two months after his death. The buildings on the reverse are located in Detroit's financial district.

The circular medal measures 76.1mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Harvey S. Firestone, facing. To left and right, HARVEY S. / FIRESTONE - FOUNDER

The reverse bears ten scenes relating to Firestone's business arrayed around center field, from rubber tapping at top, to various vehicles, chemical reaction vessels, to airplane.  In centerfield, 50 YEARS / OF / FIRESTONE / SERVICE / 1900 - 1950

Harvey S. Firestone (1868-1938) was an American businessman, and the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, one of the first global makers of automobile tires.

After graduating from Columbiana High School, Firestone worked for the Columbus Buggy Company in Columbus, Ohio before starting his own company in 1890, making rubber tires for carriages. In 1900 he soon saw the huge potential for marketing tires for automobiles and then founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, a pioneer in the mass production of tires.

Dick Johnson reports that the medal's obverse was designed by Jeno Juszko but the reverse was designed by Don de Lue! Based on the reverse's subject matter and the style I would have guessed Rene Chambellan, but never Don de Lue.

The medal's edge is drilled at top and bottom so that it can be installed in a spinner, which was a popular display style for industrial commemoratives in the middle of the 20th century.

The circular medal measures 69.4mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1950-016

References:   Baxter 240, MACo 1958-007

References:   MACo 1963-001-025, GANYU 25

The medal's obverse bears stylized compass rose and Greek cross dividing the heads of European (NW), Asian (NE), American Indian (SW), and African (SE). Around, PROCLAIMING LIBERTY EVERY ONE TO HIS BROTHER

The reverse bears a northern polar projection of the world map, resembling the UN emblem. Around, NO MAN IS AN ISLAND ENTIRE OF ITSELF - EVERY MAN IS A PIECE OF THE CONTINENT; at left, JOHN DONNE 1575-1631; at right, © M.H.

Malvina Hoffman traveled the globe for several years to create a display for the Chicago Century of Progress Exhibition in 1933-34. The plan was to make precise sculptures of all "The Races of Mankind." Malvina Hoffman ended up casting 97 bronze sculptures for the exhibit, which remained a major attraction for the Field Museum for many decades.

This design by Hoffman was chosen as the 51st issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series and picked up on her earlier work. She wrote in her "From the Artist"

"The thought prompting the design and quotations on this medal is the ever timely problem: how the races of the world can learn to understand one another."

The circular medal measures 73mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its reported mintage is 722 pieces in bronze. The number of pieces in silver is not reported but the edition was limited to 700.

References:   MACo 1930-001-051, SoM 51

References:   ANS 36, Baxter 319, MACo 1918-010, Marqusee 296