All Medals

The medal's obverse bears kneeling female representing Friendliness, with arms outstretched at aerial view of fair grounds. Around, incuse, PACIFIC SOUTHWEST EXPOSITION / LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA 1928; in exergue, FRIENDLINESS;

The reverse bears art-deco styled winged female wearing Victory crown and holding blank cartouche for inscription. Signed at lower left, R. N. Burnham

The circular medal measures 50.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1928-031

The plaquette bears two female figures standing on pedestal; cloaked figure in back and holding mask of tragedy in outstretched arm to left, nude figure in front holding mask of comedy in outstretched arm to right. Along bottom, PASADENA PLAYHOIUSE; signed in tiny letters under pedestal, N.TOOR

The Pasadena Playhouse was started in 1916 when actor-director Gilmor Brown began producing a series of plays at a renovated burlesque theatre with his troupe "The Gilmore Brown Players." Brown established the Community Playhouse Association of Pasadena in 1917 that would later become the Pasadena Playhouse Association, which necessitated a new venue for productions.

References:   MACo 1939-036

The medal's obverse bears the university's coat of arms. Above and below, UNIVERSITY / OF / PENNSYLVANIA; to left and right, 1740 - 1940; in streamer across, LEGES - SINE MORIBUS - VANAE

The reverse bears a herm crowned by wo heads, oil lamp to left, light bulb on right. On both sides, TEMP- / ORIS LUX - ILLUSTRET / ACTI - POSTERITATIS / VIAM; in exergue, © / (RTM monogram) / 1938

R. Tait McKenzie designed this medal before his death in 1938.  The dies were created in 1939 and used to commemorate a 1940 event celebrating the 200th anniversary of the university.

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

References:   MACo 1939-004

The medal's obverse bears a muscular nude goddess of art holding a small Nike with Pegasus and guiding star behind. The reverse bears a hand holding a modeling tool in front of a caliper and L-square. Around, THIS ABOVE ALL TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE.

The purpose of Abram Belskie's medal is not known, but the title, a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, suggests that this medal was commissioned to honor artistic achievement and to encourage artists to follow their own creative impulses. In the artist's own words:

"The drama of Sculpture does not always appear on the surface but its story is indeed the story of civilization. Art is a goddess who smiles upon all, though mostly on her votaries and whose charms are very young. The sculptors of every age are the true mute though not inglorious laureates of their time and as long as men remain men, the principals [sic] of eternal beauty will woo their imagination."

This medal was chosen as the 49th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. The Society's members seemed torn on this medal. While some found it beautiful and even without peer, others objected to lack of detail, anatomical weaknesses, and being "too modernistic for plain men."

The circular medal measures 73mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company.  The mintage was reported as 748 pieces in bronze. The number of silver pieces is not known but the edition was limited to 700.

References:   MACo 1930-001-049, SoM 49

The medal's obverse bears bust of Oskar Barnack facing three quarters right. Around bottom, OSKAR BARNACK - LEICA INVENTOR; at top right, 1879 / 1936; signed under truncation, (J / J. monogram)

The medal's reverse bears laurels and palm frond flanking LEICA / EXHIBIT / AWARD / OF / MERIT; inscribed, 19 / GAIL GORDON / PITTSBURGH / 38

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

This medal celebrates the life of Oskar Barnack (1879-1936), the inventor of 35mm photography. Barnack was an avid hobby photographer who suffered from asthma. Due to his poor health he had trouble carrying the heavy and bulky camera equipment around with him, so he invented a more portable camera. The Leica brand was born in 1925 when his employer (Ernst Leitz) took a gamble and produced 1,000 cameras for sale to the public. They chose "Leica" as the brand name. The name was derived from Leitz camera.

On the hundredth anniversary of Barnack's birth, World Press Photo instituted the Oskar Barnack Award; this award is now administered by Leica Camera.

The medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1936-010

The medal's obverse bears Washington portrait, facing quarter-left, under eye in the sky with radiant beams of light; underneath, streamer with inscription (acorn) SUO (acorn) SE (acorn) ROE - ORE (acorn) FIRMAT (acorn); right angle and compass at center bottom. Around bottom half, HE WAS A BROTHER - OF THE MYSTIC TIE

The reverse seal of Fredericksburg lodge with masonic symbols and Washington's progress throught the masonic hierarchy. From left throught bottom, to right, NOV. 4 / 5752 / ENTERED / APPRENTICE; MAR. 3 - 5753 / FELLOW - CRAFT; AUG. 4 / 5753 / MASTER / MASON; signed at bottom, I. F. WOOD, DES. G. H. LOVETT, FEC.

The dates on the medal are numbered in the masonic calendar, which can be a bit confusing to non-masons, but we can simply subtract 4,000 from the numbers to get the "common" calendar years. Washington advanced quickly through the apprenticeship stage to emerge a master mason at the young age of 21.

The medal was designed by Isaac F. Wood and the dies were cut by George H. Lovett. It measures 51mm in diameter and was struck in bronze.  It appears to be a pretty rare medal though I am not aware of its exact mintage.

The medal's obverse bears farmer and industrial worker flanking Columbia and shield with legend ACTIVELY / ASSISTING / AGRICULTURE / AND / INDUSTRY. Around, WESTERN WASHINGTON FAIR ASSOCIATION / · PUYALLUP ·

The reverse bears horse and cow around rectangular award panel. Above panel, AWARDED TO;

The Washington State Fair started as a small local enterprise in the town of Puyallup in 1900.  From these very humble beginnings it grew into a large state fair that is still operating today.

The medal measures 50.9mm in diameter and appears to be gold-plated. Neither mintage, bor mint or artist are reported and the date is a guess based on the fair's history.  Any information would be appreciated.

The medal's obverse bears female kneeling in field with her hands in the earth, spatula stuckin ground next to her; column of soldiers marching from left to right in background. Across, UNITES / STATES - OF / AMERICA

The medal's reverse bears full basket of vegetables with carrot and pumpkins lying next to it. Around top, NATIONAL · WAR · GARDEN · COMMISSION; in extergue, crossed rifle and hoe; across, THE SEEDS OF VICTORY / INSURE THE FRUITS OF PEACE / 1914 - 1919; signed at lower right, TIFFANY Co

War Gardens were the brain child of Charles Lathrop Pack. He came up with the idea in March 1917 (before the US entered the war) to increase the food supply without increasing the “use of land already cultivated, of labor already engaged in agricultural work, of time devoted to other necessary occupations, and of transportation facilities which were already inadequate to the demands made upon them.”

He organized the National War Garden Commission which included among its members Luther Burbank, representatives of several major universities, and the president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. The commission publicized the gardens with pamphlets, printed material for newspaper distribution, and colorful, propagandist posters.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by Tiffany & Co. of New York.

Many thanks to Ben Burnham for granting me permission to use the images from his eBay store.

This medal was chosen as the 2nd issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. The obverse bears a grape-crowned, bearded god of wine over shallow, two-handled kylix. Around, in two lines, HAIL - TO - DIONYSUS - WHO - FIRST - DISCOVERED / THE - MAGIC - OF - THE - GRAPE. The reverse bears youthful satyrs trampling grapes. Below, signed © / .P.MANSHIP 1930.

Manship's medal proved to be highly controversial and thus provided much needed publicity for the still young Society of Medalists. America was still nominally observing Prohibition and at least one member is reported to have resigned over this "glorification of wine."

The medal measures 73mm in diameter. The Medallic Art Company of New York struck a reported 1,950 medals in bronze and 50 in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-002, Marqusee 256, Murtha 265, SoM 2

The medal's obverse bears a beautifully modeled barefoot female figure, seated in rough chair, facing left, holding flowers or leaves in her hands as she seems lost in thought while looking at the surrounding gardens. Around top, THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF CHICAGO

The reverse bears a wreath of chrysanthemums surrounding engraved dedication.

The circular medal measures 69.5mm in diameter. Early medals had a clear edge and it is uncertain where they were struck. Later, the contract was awarded to the Medallic Art Company and they edge-marked the medals accordingly.  They also struck the medal in at least one other metal (nickel silver).

References:   Marqusee 344-345