All Medals

The medal's obverse bears loin cloth-wearing Judah, facing, holding a lion by its mane; sun to lower left. At upper left, JUDAH; signed in exergue.

The reverse bears Star of David, symbols and names from all twelve medals. In center, THE / TWELVE / TRIBES OF / ISRAEL

Judah, Jacob's fourth-born son, saved his brother Joseph from death and became a symbol of bravery and a leader of men. While he had plotted with his other brothers against Joseph, he secretly devised the plan to release him from the bottom of a well in which he wanted Joseph placed, rather than having him killed. Quoted from the collectors box:

"You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise."

Jacob compared Judah's bravery to that of a lion and said:

"The scepter shall not depart from Judah... tribute shall come to him and the homage of people be his."

This is the fourth medal in Elizabeth Weistrop's Twelve Tribes of Israel series. The circular medal measures 43mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintages are reported.

References:   MACo 1969-100-003, TToI 4

The medal's obverse bears Queen Astrid, facing left. Signed at bottom right, G. DEVREESE

The reverse bears cross in center field. Around, · LA CROIX ROUGE · / RECONNAISANCE

An identical portrait to the one on the obverse appears on a larger medal commemorating Queen Astrid's death, dated 1935.  I would date this medal to about the same time period but would appreciate a Belgian medal or Devreese specialist's opinion on this.

The circular medal measures 45mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by Jules Fonson and Company. No mintage is reported.

References:   BG 18

This medal's obverse bears Mercury at right, cornucopia at his feet, gazing scene with sailing ship, and group of people at left; large house and sun in background.  Around, FIRST CENTENARY S.E.L. MADURO & SONS / 1837 - CURACAO - N - W - I - 1937

The reverse bears front facing bust of founder before seascape with anchor to his left and dolphin to his right. Around, S · E · L · MADURO FOUNDER - · 24TH JANUARY 1837 ·

The company was established by Salomon Elias Levy Maduro in 1837. He started his own ship's agency and bunkering services company in the port of Curacao. During the years that followed his sons joined him in the business. Under the name of S.E.L. Maduro & Sons it evolved into a holding company with interests in real estate, travel and leisure activities, and a variety of services related to the shipping and transportation industry.

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

References:   MACo 1936-031

The medal bears kneeling mother holding infant up into the air for a kiss. Around, · AMERICAN COLLEGE of OBSTETRICIANS & GYNECOLOGISTS; at left, 1951

The style and subject matter tend to make me want to attribute the medal to Abram Belskie, who designed a lot of medals for medical colleges and practitioners and did a lot of his best work in this late art deco style.

The circular uniface medal measures 64mm in diameter and was struck in a greyish metal, probably lead. It is likely a trial strike of a medal I have not yet identified.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Herman Page, Bishop of Michigan. Around, · HERMAN PAGE BISHOP OF MICHIGAN · / 1924 - 1940; signed at right, KILENYI

The reverse bears bishopric seal. Around, AN EXAMPLE OF THE BELIEVERS + IN WORD + IN CONVERSATION + IN CHARITY + IN SPIRIT + IN FAITH + IN PURITY / I TIMOTHY / - IV - 12

The circular medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts. The reported mintage is 500 pieces in bronze.

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 reverse depicts Poland Exhibit bilding at World's Fair surrounded by two trees. In exergue, REPUBLIC OF POLAND / EXHIBITION / NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1940

Ignace Jan Paderewski was one of the most famous pianists of his age and an inspiration to Polish nationals. In addition to being a world-renown pianist, he was also famous for his wit. One anecdote recounts how he was introduced to a polo player with the words:

"You are both leaders in your spheres though the spheres are very different."

He replied:

"Not so very different. You are a dear soul who plays polo, and I am a poor Pole who plays solo."

Kilenyi admired Paderewski and, when he was retained to design a medal symbolizing the friendship between the United States and Poland, he picked his likeness for the obverse. Because Paderewski was unable to sit for him and photos and drawings were not sufficient Kilenyi watched Moonlight Sonata, a movie featuring the famous pianist, to capture Paderewski's essence.

The medal's obverse bears an American soldier giving water to a wounded comrade. In exergue, (circled BN) / ©. The reverse bears a mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion over avast plane of corpses. To left and right, WORLD UNITY - OR OBLIVION.

In his "Message from the Artist" Nebel wrote:

"Modern warfare has developed to such a degree that civilization may vanish from the earth unless there is to be an understanding among nations, and this medal was designed to help impress that thought which, I believe, is uppermost in our minds."

It is fascinating to see this medal in the context of its predecessor (For Conquer We Must). The prior medal is soul-stirring and up-lifting in its depiction of courageous soldiers at one of the iconic moments of war. Only half a year later, the war has been won, and soldiers are depicted wounded or dead. The price of victory and the question of "What now?" has arrived very prominently.

This medal was chosen as the 32nd issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter. The Medallic Art Company of New York reportedly struck 839 medals in bronze and 60 (out of 700 authorized) in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-032, Marqusee 294, SoM 32