All Medals

The uniface medal bears kneeling nude female figure with dove resting on her left hand within geometric pattern border.  Downwards at left side, VIRGO; along border at right bottom, MACO © 1967

Chambellan's Zodiac medals were issued more than a decade after his death and are probably based on designs he made in the early 1930s when he was working on the RKO Roxy Theater.  The 1960s saw renewed interest in astrology and the signs of the zodiac arising in part from the counter-cultural hippie movement and its subsequent adoption into mainstream culture.

Virgo is the sixth astrological sign in the Zodiac. It is the second-largest constellation spanning between 150 and 180 degrees of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the Sun transits this area on average between August 23 and September 22, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun transits the constellation of Virgo from September 17 to October 17.

Individuals born during these dates, depending on which system of astrology they subscribe to, may be called Virgos or Virgoans. The symbol of the maiden is based on Astraea. In Greek mythology, she was the last immortal to abandon Earth at the end of the Silver Age, when the gods fled to Olympus – hence the sign's association with Earth.

The circular medal measures 69.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company. No mintage is reported. 

Like the other zodiac medals in this series it is struck in very high relief. At least one of Chambellan's zodiac medals has a silver variant but at the time of this writing I have not encountered any variants for this medal.

References:   MACo 1967-151-009

References:   Cal MA-1997

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Hill facing three-quarters left. Around, MEMORIAL / JAMES JEROME HILL

The reverse bears oak wreath around inscription, SEPTEMBER 16TH / 1838 / MAY 29TH / 1916 / "ONE OF THE / WORLD'S GREATEST / BUILDERS"

James Jerome Hill (1838-1916) was born in Ontario. Blind in one eye due to a childhood bow and arrow accident, forced to leave school due to the death of his father, he  amoved to Kentucky where he learned bookkeeping while working as a clerk.  He started working for himself in the 1860's and gathered a lot of experience in the area of shipping and fuel supply. In 1870 he started a steam boat company and by 1879 he had navigated it into a highly profitable local monopoly. In the same year, a big bet Hill and his business partners had made three years earlier came to fruition when the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company formed from the assets of the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, with Hill as the general manager.

From here on Hill relentlessy expanded his railroad empire, through construction and acquisition. He personally surveyed the track for his own transcontinental railway, which was the only private transcontinental company to turn a profit. At the time of his death, his networth was an estimated $53 million, $2.5 billion in today's dollars.

The circular medal measures 76.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. Neither mintage nor artist are reported.

The medal's obverse bears female figure guiding a child holding architectural model onward. Across, SCHOOL - ART / LEAGUE - OF / NEW · YORK - CITY; in exergue, FOR · MERIT

The reverse bears a tree or shoot with three branches at top and some new growth at bottom. Across, ART · IN · TRADES / CLUB - MEDAL / AWARD-ED · TO / (inscribed) FRANCES McKENNA; at top, incribed 1926; signed at bottom, G. CECERE

This medal is also called the "Art in Trades Club Medal," after the inscription on the reverse. The circular medal measures 66.5mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island.

References:   Marqusee 106

The medal's obverse bears a crowned hawk perched on a dead pigeon. Around, THE DOVES ELECT - A HAWK THEIR KING

The reverse bears a dog seated on rocky outcropping, l., facing its reflection in rippling water. Around, LOSE NOT THE SUBSTANCE FOR THE SHADOW; signed at bottom, E. AMATEIS ©

Amateis selected the fables for "their enduring timeliness and left the interpretation up to the beholder, as best suits his sociological, political, or economic inclinations."

The two fables depicted are:

The Kite, Hawk, and Pigeons

The Pigeons find themselves persecuted by the Kite, made choice of the Hawk for their Guardian. The Hawk set up for their protector; but under the countenance of that Authority, makes more havoc in the Dovehouse in two Days than the Kite could have done in twice as many months.

The story's moral: Tis a dangerous thing for People to call in a powerful and ambitious Man for their Protector; and upon the Clamour of here and there a private Person, to hazard the whole Community.

A Dog and a Shadow

As a Dog was crossing a River with a morsel of Food in his Mouth, he saw (as he thought) another Dog under the Water, upon the very same adventure. He never consider'd that the one was only the Image of the other, but out of Greediness to get both, he chops at the Shadow, and loses the Substance.

The story's moral: All covet, all lose; which may serve for a Reproof to those that govern their Lives by Fancy and Appetite, without consulting the Honour and Justice of the Case.

This medal was chosen as the 21st issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter and has a reported mintage of 921 pieces in silver-plated bronze. Of the 700 authorized silver medals a reported 100 were struck in the 1970's.

References:   MACo 1930-001-021, Marqusee 7, SoM 21

The medal's obverse bears bust of Washington, facing right. Around, (star) GEORGE WASHINGTON. (star) / BORN FEB. 22 1732. (star) DIED DEC. 14 1799.; signed under truncation, Paquet. F.

The reverse bears sculpture bust of Washington on top of medal cabinet, surrounded by banister. Around, (star) WASHINGTON CABINET OF MEDALS, U.S. MINT. (star) / INAUGURATED FEB. 22 1860.

On February 22, 1860, the Washington Cabinet of Medals was formally inaugurated at the United States Mint in Philadelphia. This culminated over a decade of collecting medallic remembrances of our first president by mint officials and others. Julian reports that James Ross Snowdon might have had this and an earlier medal struck solely to add his own contribution to the Mint's growing collection of Washingtonia.

The medal measures 59.7mm in diameter and was struck by the U.S. Mint. No mintage is reported.

References:   Marqusee 312

The medal's obverse bears upper body of a Native American morphing into a corn cob, with figure's clothes turning into the cob's husk.  Around, ··· THE NATIONAL CORN EXPOSITION ··· / OMAHA 1908

The reverse bears grain stalks arranges in wreath shape around center field with legend: Honor Award / to

The National Corn Exposition of 1908 was the brain child of Omaha businessman and civic leader Gurdon W. Wattles. He had already been the force behind the Trans Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898.  The exposition ran from December 9 to December 19, 1908, and attracted over 7,731 exhibition entries.

The circular medal was struck in gold-plated bronze. I know neither artist nor mint or mintage. Any additional information would be deeply appreciated.

References:   MACo 1919-006

The uniface medallion's obverse bears a frontal bust of Walt Whitman wearing hat and large, unruly beard. Around top, WALT WHITMAN; over shoulder at left MCM XVI / (JF monogram) / MCM XIX

The edge is hallmarked with MEDALLIC ART CO NY BRONZE

Walter "Walt" Whitman (1819-1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. The medallion commemorates the centenary of his birth.

The medallion measures 82.2mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its mintage is not reported.

References:   Baxter 156, MACo 1938-033, Marqusee 157

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