All Medals

The medal's obverse bears view of temple with people on plaza in front and landscape behind. Signed at lower left, DAB

The reverse bears calendar panels inscribed into two columns next to image of multi-breasted mother-goddess Artemis. Beside goddess, ARTEMIS; at right, 2002

The Temple of Artemis calendar medal was the fifth issue in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World series. It was designed by Mark Frost and sculpted by Douglas A. Birdwell. The medal is drilled at the bottom to allow it to be pin-mounted on a display stand. 

The circular medal measures 77mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of Dayton, Nevada. No mintages are reported.  The bronze pieces originally sold for $34.95, the silver pieces for $169.

References:   Cal MA-2002

References:   Baxter 241

The obverse bears man and woman holding baby; daisy at l., ear of wheat at r. Above, PEACE / IS / LIFE; below, © HOWARD

The reverse bears skull with gaping jaw; landscape with burning buildings, steeple, dead tree. Above, WAR / IS / DEATH

In the brochure accompanying the medal Howard wrote:

"The theme of this medal is so obvious as to demand very little explanation. I should like to say, however, the 'Life' and 'Death' as here used, are intended to mean not only physical life and death, but the preservation or destruction of civilization and moral values as well."

This medal was chosen as the 42nd issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1950.  It measures 72mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its reported mintage is 842 pieces in silver-plated bronze.

References:   MACo 1930-001-042, SoM 42

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

This medal's obverse bears the Allied arms on shield over American Eagle. Around, DO · RIGHT / AND · FEAR - NO · MAN; on shield, AD - 1916; on wings, COPYRIGHT / SPICER · SIMSON

The reverse bears American shield with stars and sripes framed by two laurel branches; under stars, APRIL · VI · MDCCCCXVII ·. Around, : THAT · GOVERNMENT · BY ·THE · PEOPLE · SHALL · NOT · PERISH; above and below shield, © / T · S · S; under right branch GORHAM CO.

The motto on the obverse is taken from the inscription of George Washington's dress sword. A limited but unknown number of these large medals were offered at a cost of $20 in bronze and $30 in silver. The medal was conceived by the American Fund for French Wounded with the profits supporting relief work for French soldiers and civilians.

The circular medal measures 63.4mm in diameter (74.8mm with loop) and was struck in bronze and silver by the Gorham Company. No mintage is reported.

References:   Baxter 315, Marqusee 362

The medal's obverse bears rider galloping to right, facing back with pistol held straight out. To left, PONY EXPRESS; to right, TEN DAYS TO / SAN FRANCISCO

The reverse bears settlers with Conestoga wagon drawn by oxen, mountain and sun in background. Below, NEW FRONTIERS / 18 (cattle skull) 49 / © JAMES EARLE FRASER SC

The medal's reverse is very familiar to coin collectors who know the motif from the Oregon Trail half dollar. Fraser was a traditionalist who wrote in the brochure that accompanied the medal:

"... wherever possible we should use the lore of our people. With this thought in mind I selected two of the most romantic, hazardous and important subjects of our pioneer days, the Prairie Schooner and the Pony Express."

This medal was chosen as the 45th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1952.

The circular medals measure 73mm in diameter and were struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company. The reported mintage is 964 pieces in bronze.  There are two versions of the silver medal.  The first is the from the 1970's edition that was limited to 700 pieces with no mintage reported. The second is a telemarketing reissue from 1993 with an estimated mintage of 300 pieces.

References:   MACo 1930-001-45, SoM 45

References:   Marqusee 230

The medal's obverse bears a mother figure reminiscent of Mary at left holding a baby while priest at right performs the christening, open Bible held in one hand. In exergue, incuse HENRY ERNST LINCOLN LUHRS / 7 JUNE 1931; (PM monogram) at left.

The reverse bears dove before sun over christening basin; stars around circumference.

This is a very elegant medal and it caught my attention for two reasons. First, I could not make sense of what I assumed to be the artist's signature at left and second, the dedication is for the son of prominent numismatist and collector Henry Ernst Luhrs. I have since identified the medal's designer as Pietro Montana; not a terribly big surprise given the Christian subject matter and the date.

Dick Johnson dates this medal to 1934, but the Luhrs family either used it for a baptism in 1931 or post-dated the medal once it became available. Either way, it is a beautiful religious medal that goes with several others to form a loose spiritual series. Beyond baptism, there was also a set of medals for boys' and girls' confirmation, a medal for engagement, and finally a medal for marriage.

References:   MACo 1934-027

The medal's obverse bears Zebulun on sea shore, dolphins and trading ship behind him. At top left, ZEBULUN; 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

Zebulun was Jacob's tenth son, the sxith Jacob had with Leah. He decided to devote himself to business and support his brother Issachar with the profits of his trade. His blessing was that he would conquer the sea coast as far as Sidon. The quote states:

"Zubulun shall dwell by the seashore; He shall be a haven for ships..."

This is the tenth 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 1969-100-008, TToI 10