All Medals

The medal's obverse bears bare-chested Simeon, facing, sun to his left, building and palm trees to his right.At upper left, SIMEON; signed in exergue, © 1970 - E. WEISTROP

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

Simeon, Jacob's second son, along with his brother Levi, slew the prince of Shechem and destroyed the city in revenge for their sister Dinah's rape or seduction (apparently sources and interpretations differ). They sold their brother Joseph into slavery. As the notes in the collectors edition box quote:

"The descenants of Simeon will many of them be poor men who will wander from tribe to tribe and beg for bread."

This is the second 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 1969-100-010, TToI 2

The medal's obverse bears bust of Abraham Jacobi facing left. Around top, A · JACOBI · MD; around bottom, · M C M X · ; signed under truncation, MOWBRAY CLARKE

The reverse bears wreath and legend, · PRESENTED · / · IN · CELEBRATION · OF · HIS · / · FIFTY · YEARS · OF · SERVICE · / AT / · MT · SINAI · HOSPITAL · / · BY · THE · ASSOCIATED · / ALUMNI · / MDCCCLX / MCMX ·

Dr. Abraham Jacobi (1830-1919) was a German physician and pioneer of pediatrics, opening the first children's clinic in the United States. After studying medicine in Germany, he was involved in the 1848 revolution and served time in jail before leaving his home country for England in 1853. In exile, he lived with Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels before setting sail for the U.S. in 1854.

To date, he is the only foreign-born president of the American Medical Association. He helped found the American Journal of Obstetrics and is regarded as the Father of American Pediatrics.

The circular medal measures 50.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1910-003

The medal's obverse bears pelican (?) sitting on red cross shield; cross in background.

The reverse bears legend. Around, CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE; across, RECONNAISSANCE / AUX / DONNEURS DE SANG

This medal was awarded to blood donors by the Belgian Red Cross. It exists in a French and a Flemish version that differ in the language of the inscription on the reverse.

The circular medal measures 50.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. Neither artist nor mintage nor mint are known to me and I would appreciate any additional information.

The obverse bears farmer with shovel, produce on shoulder, and semi-draped wife. Recessed outer border with legend, HAPPY ARE THOSE WHOM PRIVACY MAKES INNOCENT; in exergue, SW / ©

The reverese shows farrier bent over as he shoes a draft horse. Above and below, TO BE NAMELESS / IN WORTHY DEEDS / EXCEEDS AN IN- / FAMOUS HISTORY

This medal was chosen as the 34th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company. Its reported mintage is 1,182 pieces in bronze and 60 in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-034, Marqusee 389, SoM 34

The galvano's obverse bears bust of Earl B. Barnes, a director of Medallic Art Company, facing left. Above, · EARL · B · BARNES ·; signed and dated at lower right, (JSR monogram) / 1935

In the late 1930's, John Curlee Trees, the owner of Medallic Art Company, engaged John R. Sinnock, then working as engraver at the U.S. Mint, to design five portrait medals of MACo's Board of Directors. Medallic Art Company usually created at least one large galvano for each medal they produced. This plaque comes from the family of one of the Directors. Whether all Directors received one or whether this is a unique piece is hard to establish but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has another one or can provide additional information.

The galvano plaque measures approximately 305mm (12") in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

The medal's obverse bears a seated mother, facing left, cradling a swaddled baby, bassinet partially visible at left. Around top, MOTHERHOOD; signed at lower left, V.D. Brenner

The reverse bears winged putto on cloud, facing left, blowing a trumpet.

This medal is a restrike of the earlier Circle of Friends medal.  The theme proved popular and in 1929 the Medallic Art Company issued these small diameter variants of the original design.

The circular medal measures 50mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1929-025

References:   Cal MH-1984

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 multi-line inscription, 1860 - 1945 / BOSTON / NUMISMATIC / SOCIETY / 85TH ANNIVERSARY; signed (?) at bottom, HS

The medal's reverse bears Society's seal on bottom. Above, SHEPARD POND / 1889-1945 / IN MEMORIAM

Shepard Pond (1889-1945) first became the Boston Numismatic Society's Secreatary in 1924 and quickly traversed the available leadership positions until he was elected President in 1938. He also served as ANA governor for several years.  His transformative leadership brought about the New England Numismatic Association (NENA) and the first election of a woman to a leadership position.

The medal itself is not particularly inspired. Absent a wealthy sponsor, regional numismatic societies rarely had the means to hire famous artists for commemorative medals and 1945 was not exactly an easy year in world history.

The circular medal measures 44.4mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

References:   ANS 55