All Medals

The obverse bears bust l. of Charles Edward Anthon. Around, CHARLES EDWARD ANTHON, LL.D.; signed below truncation, LEA AHLBORN.

The reverse bears five-line inscription within wreath of oak (left) and laurel (right); ANS seal at center bottom. Around, PRESIDENT AMERICAN NUMISMATIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1869 - 1883; in center, BORN IN / NEW YORK CITY / DEC. 6. 1822. / DIED AT BREMEN / JUNE 7. 1883.

This is the 7th medal issued by the American Numismatic Society. Anthon served, with interruptions, as the ANS' President for many between 1867 and his death in 1883. The Society commemorated him with this medal in 1884. While the original subscription was soon filled, subsequent medal sales lingered for many years as both bronze and silver medals were still available for sale thirty years later in 1915. Members appreciated the medal's artistry and quality but they were not impressed by the likeness.

The medal measures 68mm in diameter and was struck by the Royal Swedish Mint in bronze and silver. A total of 15 silver and 85 bronze pieces were produced in 1884.

The obverse bears view of iconic Trylon and Perisphere; at upper right, a full length figure of George Washington emerges from cloud banks. At bottom, NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1940; at right, ©

The reverse bears three panels; top panel shows Trylon and Perisphere over radiant sun; above, THE WORLD OF TOMORROW; the middle panel shows view of Manhattan skyline as seen from the World's Fair grounds with legend TODAY; bottom panel shows view of New Amsterdam with legend YESTERDAY; signed at top right corner of bottom panel, KILENYI

The edge bears the marks ROBBINS CO. / ATTLEBORO - BRONZE.

This was the official medal of the New York World's Fair of 1939-40. The 190m-tall spire-shaped Trylon contained the (at the time) longest escalator and the 54m-diameter Perisphere housed a diorama called "Democracity" which depicted an topian city-of-the-future. A moving sidewalk transported spectators past the exhibits.

This is the much rarer version of the medal that shows the year as 1940 rather than 1939.

The medal measures 63.5mm in diameter and was struck by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The obverse bears kneeling Jewish mother with her two girls, all wearing the Yellow Star, about to be loaded onto cattle car for shipment to a death camp; armed guard next to group of people queued up in front of car in background. Signed at bottom right, 19 © 60 / E. WEISTROP

The reverse bears shattered oak stump with green shoots, 11-line tribute to the thorough-going research and preservation of the history of two World Wars in the collection of Dutch-born American numismatist Maurice Frankenhuis. The inscription reads THE / FRANKENHUIS / COLLECTION / 1914 - 1918 / 1939 - 1945 / DESPITE THE / FORCES OF DESTRUCTION / MAURICE FRANKENHUIS / PAINSTAKINGLY RECORDED / THE HISTORY OF TWO / WORLD WARS IN HIS / COLLECTION

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

Maurice Frankenhuis (1893-1969) was an avid collector of medals and documents relating to the great world wars that tore Europe apart in the first half of the 20th century. He had inherited a substantial collection of documents, coins, and medals from his grandfather and built on this collection during the first world war, when Holland, his home country, remained neutral. World War II was a very different story. Nazi Germany occupied the Netherlands and required Jewish males to report for deportation to labor camps. He and his family managed to avoid this fate for 21 months by hiding with a trusted Dutch family. After being discovered they ended up in the KZ Theresienstadt where they were eventually liberated in 1945.

He commissioned this medal to be the abstract expression of the human sorrow experienced by both Holocaust victims and survivers. As he said at one point:

[I] can see in the artist's rendition the actual figures of [my] wife and [our] own two little daughters; [I] can feel the pathos of their exile as they were trapped by man's inexorable inhumanity.

The medal measures 77mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.