All Medals

The obverse bears city skyline to left and family of three to right; in exergue, eagle with thirteen stars. Around top, PHILANTHROPOS · CARITAS; signed under family, C P JENNEWEN

The reverse bears wreath surrounded by AMICUS - HUMANIS / GENERIS; in center field, PRESENTED / TO / BY / MARTS & LUNDY / IN ADMIRATION FOR THE OUTSTANDING / VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP IN / WHICH WILL BENEFIT / OTHERS FOR MANY / GENERATIONS

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

Marts & Lundy was founded in 1926 and operates as a fundraising consulting firm. Per its website, "its services center around maximizing a client's philanthropic potential and building a sustainable culture of philanthropy around its stakeholder base."

This is an elegant commercial medal by one of the American masters of medallic art.

The circular medal measures 76.5mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1965-087

This uniface medal bears a standing female nude turned right towards pedestal bearing hourglass; decorative border extending around medal. At left, inscription in bands, ART IS / MIGHTY / LIFE IS / FLEETING / (CLH monogram)

This little gem picks up a famous line attributed to Hippocrates and reused by (among many others) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"Ars longa, vita brevis."

While the quote originally refers specifically to the art of healing, Hinton probably interprets "art" much more literally and expresses his belief that art survives the artist.

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 1932-028

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 medal's obverse bears portrait of Sybil Ludington, half-right, next to equestrian statue by Anna Hyatt Huntington. Around, SYBIL LUDINGTON; in exergue, DANBURY STATUE / BY ANNA HYATT / HUNTINGTON; signed at bottom, TR

The reverse bears two laurel branches. Across, COMMEMORATING / DANBURY / COIN CLUB / 20th / ANNIVERSARY / OCTOBER 1957

The Danbury Coin Club was founded at 8:00 pm on Thursday October 24, 1957. Sixteen people responded to an advertisement in the Danbury News Times calling an open meeting for anyone interested in forming a local coin club in Danbury, Connecticut.

Sybil Ludington (1761-1839) was a heroine of the American Revolution. On the night of April 26, 1777, at the age of 16, she rode to alert militia forces in villages of Putnam County, New York and Danbury, Connecticut, to the approach of the British regular forces. The ride was similar to those performed by William Dawes and Paul Revere, and Jack Jouett. Ludington rode more than twice the distance of Revere and was much younger than the men.

The circular medal measures 38.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The uniface plaquette bears portrait bust in greek or roman style. At left top, ANTINOUS; at right bottom, illegible possible signature.

Antinous (also Antinoüs or Antinoös, 27 November, c. 111 – before 30 October 130) was a Bithynian Greek youth and a favourite, or lover, of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He was deified after his death, being worshiped in both the Greek East and Latin West, sometimes as a god and sometimes merely as a hero.

Antinous accompanied Hadrian during his attendance of the annual Eleusinian Mysteries in Athens, and was with him when he killed the Marousian lion in Libya. In October 130, as they were part of a flotilla going along the Nile, Antinous died amid mysterious circumstances. Various suggestions have been put forward for how he died, ranging from an accidental drowning to an intentional human sacrifice.

Following his death, Hadrian deified Antinous and founded an organised cult devoted to his worship that spread throughout the Empire. Hadrian founded the city of Antinopolis close to Antinous's place of death, which became a cultic centre for the worship of Osiris-Antinous. Hadrian also founded games in commemoration of Antinous to take place in both Antinopolis and Athens, with Antinous becoming a symbol of Hadrian's dreams of pan-Hellenism.

Antinous became associated with homosexuality in Western culture.

The rectangular plaquette measures 60mm x 69.5mm and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

This medal's obverse bears Harvard's coat of arms with VE - RI -TAS on open books surrounded by wreath. Around, ANNO · ACADEMIAE · HARVARDIANA · TRECENTESIMO · - · MDCCCCXXXVI ·

The reverse bears multiline inscription, 1636 · 1936 / OUT OF SMALL / BEGINNINGS GREAT / ER THINGS HAVE / BEEN PRODUSED BY HIS / HAND THAT MADE ALL / THINGS OF NOTHING / AND GIVES BEING / TO ALL THINGS / THAT ARE

Harvard University itself needs little introduction. Founded in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature and named after its first prominent benefactor, John Harvard, Harvard is the oldest and probably most prestigious U.S. university (though Yale University is in eternal contention for the latter.)

Harvard University celebrated the three-hundredth anniversary of the College's founding in 1936 with an elaborate Tercentenary Celebration. The festivities included exhibits, special lectures, summer school courses, and culminated with the Tercentenary Days on September 16-18, 1936. Delegates from other academic institutions and learned societies were invited for the celebration and to participate in symposia discussing their fields. This medal was given as a present to all of the delegates who attended the celebration. The inscription on the reverse is a quotation from William Bradford's History of Plimmoth Plantation.

The circular medal measures 81.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported. The medal was also struck in silver, attached to ribbons, and used as a badge by attendees of the Tercentenary Conference of Arts and Sciences. Smaller diameter coins were distributed as well during the conference.

References:   MACo 1936-012, Marqusee 103

The obverse bears head of Dionysus above kylix with hands flanking it on left and right; sculptor's tools, lyre, books, and brushes around edge. Around Dionysus' head, SALMAGVNDI · CLVB

The reverse shows a female figure holding a scroll in one hand and a laurel in the other; sun over stylized waves to left, owl to right. Flanking figure, HONOR · ET / MERITVS; signed at bottom left, U·A·RICCI / SC

Every medal is edge inscribed to its recipient.

The Salmagundi is the oldest existing art club in America. Founded in late 1871 by a group composed of sculptors, painters, illustrators, an actor and a writer who gathered weekly to discuss art and sketch. Owing to their diverse backgrounds they adopted the name "Salmagundi Sketch Club" in 1877 after Washington Irving's Salmagundi Papers. The club moved about for many years, dropping the "Sketch" from their title in 1905, and finally settled for good at 47 Fifth Avenue in 1918. Their roster has included some of America's greatest artists including Edwin A. Abbey, William Merritt Chase, F. Childe Hassam, John LaFarge, Edward Potthast, Howard Pyle, Louis C. Tiffany and N.C. Wyeth.

The medal of honor and merit was designed in 1930 to be awarded to a member chosen by the Executive Committee for outstanding service to the club. This medal was designed around the same time that Paul Manship was designing his famous Dionysus medal for the Society of Medalists and the parallels in imagery are striking. The camaraderie of the club always focused around good food and especially drink. The first beer ever served on Fifth Avenue was at Salmagundi. The symbols of a book, lyre and tools for painting and sculpting allude to the diversity of the club's membership. The medal has been awarded 52 times since its inception.

The circular medallion measures 79.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1938-006