All Medals

The medal's obverse bears seated female personification of Liberty at right; the other female figure with her head covered with veil is standing at left, holding a sword; at lower left is kneeling nude male figure. Around, COMMEMORATING · THE. 250 · ANNIVERSARY · OF · JEWISH · SETTLEMENT · IN · THE · UNITED · STATES ·; signed at left edge, ISIDORE KONTI SC ·

The medal's reverse bears standing draped female figure, crowned with laurel wreath, holding tablet inscribed: "1655/1905"; tree and eagle perched upon rock are at upper left; legend in Hebrew above. Signed in exergue, I K 1905

Two medals in gold were presented to the two U.S. Presidents Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt as part of a ceremony at New York's Carnegie Hall that banker and philanthropist Jacob Schiff had organized in honor of the 250th anniversary of the settlement of Jews in America.

President Cleveland's gold medal sold at auction in 2010 for $69,000.  President Roosevelt's gold medal changed hands in a private sale for an undisclosed amount.

The circular medal measures 76.1mm in diameter. Its mintage is reported as 2 pieces in gold, 36 in silver and 284 in bronze. 

Most of the information about this medal came from here.

References:   Baxter 305

The medallion's obverse bears portrait of Welles Bosworth facing left. Around, · WELLES · BOSWORTH · ARCHITECT · MCMXX · ; signed on truncation, · PAUL MANSHIP ·

The reverse bears kneeling, nude, winged female figure holding a column. To her right, running vertically, ΕΥΦΡΟΣΥΗ

William Welles Bosworth (1869-1966) was an American architect whose most famous designs include MIT's Cambridge campus, the AT&T Building in New York City, and the Theodore N. Vail mansion in Morristown, New Jersey.  Bosworth gave Manship his first big breaks after the artist had returned from the American Academy in Rome in 1912, chief among them a contract for much of the high profile decorative work for the AT&T building in New York City. 

The Greek letters on the reverse spell the name of one of the "Three Graces," namely "Euphrosyne."  In Greek mythology the Graces were thought to have been brought into the world to fill it with pleasant moments and good will. Euphrosyne is most closely associated with grace and beauty.

With this medallion Manship paid hommage to one of his big benefactors, something he did quite frequently early in his career.

The circular medallion measures 92.4mm in diameter and was cast in bronze. The number of pieces that were made is not known.

References:   Baxter 367, Murtha 125

The medal's obverse bears a line of five runners, flying geese overhead, slim whippet racing below.

The reverse bears a nude athlete putting the shot. Flanking the athlete, 19 (RTM monogram) 36 - REJOICE / OH / YOUNG - MAN IN / THY - YOUTH; in exergue, ©

Robert Tait McKenzie is rightly famous for his athletic subjects and this medal is a good example. As he wrote in the brochure accompanying the medal:

"The last fifty years has shown a revival and spread of interest in competitive athletic sports and outdoor life that has no parallel in the history of the world...
As one who has followed this great movement from its inceptionto maturity I have chosen two phases of it for the thirteenth medal issued by the Society."

This medal was chosen as the 13th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1936. It measures 73mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. The reported production quantity of this medal is 1,001 in bronze and 100 in silver.

References:   109, MACo 1930-001-013, Marqusee 269, SoM 13

The medallion's obverse bears portrait of Barry Faulkner in beaded center field; small bird ti his left. Around, · (rosetta) · BARRY · FAULKNER ·  (rosetta) · / · PAINTER ·  (rosetta) · MCMXV ·

The reverse bears nude Orpheus with lyre pursuing nude, winged Eurydice. Around, · TO · THE · ULTIMATE · DO · WE · PURSUE · THE · IDEAL · ; signed under lyre, · PAUL · MANSHIP ·

Barry Faulkner (1881-1966) was an American artist primarily known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage specialists (called camoufleurs), an effort that contributed to the founding of the American Camouflage Corps in 1917.

Faulkner and Manship had both been students at the American Academy in Rome from 1909 to 1912. They also both had studios in the Cape Anne area of Massachusetts. This medallion was apparently used as an award medal by the Rockport Art Association.

The circular medallion measures 89.4mm in diameter and was cast in bronze. No production quantity is reported.

References:   Murtha 63

The obverse bears vital male bust right, cartwheel border with incuse FAITH IN MAN AND HIS WORKS; signed on right, Avard / Fairbanks / Sc / 1929

The reverse bears sculptor-craftsman gazing at bank. Around, THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL BANK - PORTLAND OREGON; under bank, A POWER / LIKE THAT OF A / MIGHTY GENIE WHO / STANDS READY TO / BUILD INDUSTRIES / AND TEMPLES / AT THE CALL OF / MAN'S WILL.

This medal is a beautiful if misplaced expression of optimism in the nation's banks. It was issued in 1929, the year of Black Tuesday, the gigantic stock market crash that signaled the beginning the Great Depression. American faith in a better future took a severe beating and it was a long time before such unbridled optimism would reappear in medallic art.

This medal measures 70.2mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1929-055

The medal's obverse bears jungle scene populated by many animals, all of which represent species on the brink of extinction. Animals include the "Sumatran Rhino", the "Mountain Gorilla", the "Black Caiman", the "Birdwing Butterfly", and the elephant. Signed at left bottom, EVERHART

The reverse bears calendar panel with pair of monkeys on top, family of jaguars at bottom. to left and right, 19 - 94

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  No mintages are reported. Medals were originally available at a cost of $34.95 per bronze and $150 per silver piece.

References:   Cal MA-1994

The uniface medal bears a winged female figure, facing, standing on a disk or globe, holding a sword and a sheaf of wheat, symbolizing the harvest of souls and the separation of the righteous from the the wicked; wreath extending from disk to both sides. Around bottom, VIXIT · VICIT · VIVET

The medal was commissioned by the city of Detroit to honor the fallen veterans of World War I. Manship created several designs, this being the first. The design that was finally chosen can be seen here.

The Latin motto translates roughly to "[They] lived, [they] conquered, [they] shall live."

The circular medal measures 67.5mm in diameter and was cast in bronze.

The medal's obverse bears female figure and Hermes with caduceus gazing at building; laurels and open scroll at their feet. In exergue, NEW CENTRE MARKET / NEWARK, N.J. / 1923; signed at left edge, KILENYI

The medal's reverse bears city view with cranes and steam shovel in foreground. In exergue, CLIFFORD F. MACEVOY CO. / BUILDERS / NEWARK, N.J.; signed just indside raised rim at 8 o'clock, J. Hansen

The revere was sculpted by V. Joan Hansen, an in-house designer for Newman, and was later reused for the 1925 Chicago Union Station Construction Insurance Medal.

The circular medal measures 63.4mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the J. F. Newman Company of New York. While no mintage is reported, Harry Waterson estimates it to be around 500 because the medal was a present at a dinner with 500 invited guests.  A bronze uniface variant with a diameter of 62.9mm exists in unknown mintage.

References:   BG 16

References:   MACo 1951-050