Medallic Art Company

References:   MACo 1966-019

The medal's obverse bears bust of Marcellus M. Murdock, quarter right. Around top, MARCELLUS M. MURDOCK; below, 68 YEAS OF SERVICE ··· 1898 - 1966

The reverse bears eagle holding two papers labeled BEACON and EAGLE in talons; symbols representing Kansas' industriousness and Murdock's interests around: oil wells, planes, trains, cow, family, church. Below, Wichita Eagle & Beacon / FOUNDED 1872

As a boy Marcellus M. Murdock (1883-1970) worked in the plant of the Wichita Eagle, the newspaper founded by his father, Col. Marshall Murdock, in 1872. After his 1902 graduation from Wichita High School Marcellus began his professional career in his father's newspaper business. He worked as a reporter and editor before becoming publisher in 1906. His award winning career in the newspaper business lasted more than sixty years. Murdock was a successful businessman in other ventures as well as an accomplished pilot. He first learned to fly at the age of forty-six in 1929 and continued his hobby well into his seventies.

The circular medal measures 89.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1966-038

The medal's obverse bears conjoined busts of Walter H. Beech and Olive Ann Beech.  Around top, BEECHCRAFT LEGION OF HONOR; to left and right of busts, WALTER H. / BEECH - O. A. / BEECH; around bottom, 1932 CO-FOUNDERS / Beech Aircraft Corporation

The reverse bears (B Beech Aircraft logo). Around top, FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE; below logo, AWARDED TO

This medal is a reworking of an earlier Beechcraft medal celebrating the company's 25th anniversary.

The medal was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1966-070

The medal's obverse has two halves, one silver and one bronze. On left, silver half, an industrial worker wearing heavy protective gear pours liquid into container. In right, bronze half, several scenes from inside a metal working factory.

The reverse bears HH logo at top. Below, 100 / YEARS OF SERVICE / TO INDUSTRY AND / ARTS ··· 1867 - 1967

Hand & Harman was founded  in New York City in 1867 by Peter Hayden. Hayden was a harness maker specializing in producing custom-made decorative silver fittings for the horses of well-to-do New Yorkers. He quickly discovered that there was more money to be made from trading in silver than from fashioning harnesses. From these beginnings, the company grew into a diversified conglomerate specializing in precious metal dealing, recycling, and non-precious metal manufacturing.

The medal posed significant technical challenges for the Medallic Art Company. The manufacture of this medal requires that a thin silver strip be placed over a bronze planchet, forming a bimetallic obverse.  The medal had to be kept in register between the multiple strikings that were required.

The circular medal measures 56.9mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1966-006

The medal's obverse bears image of a sculpture of six birds flying up towards the sky.

The reverse bears view of office building with two palm trees and five smaller trees; clouds behind. Around top, PIERCE NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY; under building, HOME OFFICE / LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

Dick Johnson's reference work of American medallic art has this medal listed under Svenson and its obverse under Joseph di Lorenzo without further explanation. Maybe that means that the two cooperated on the medal or maybe it's a filing mistake (usually he mentions the form of cooperation as well as the fact that there was a cooperation).  For now, I have attributed this medal only to Svenson.

References:   MACo 1967-033

The medal's obverse bears view of the Memorial building. Around, · DEDICATED AUGUST 1967 · / CATHOLIC WAR VETERANS OF THE U.S.A.; under building, WASHINGTON,D.C.

The reverse bears legend within beaded border. Around, GOD · · · COUNTRY · · · HOME / · · · (cross with laurels) · · ·; across center, OUR DEAD / · ARE NOT · / UNKNOWN / SOLDIERS

The Monsignor Edward J. Higgins Memorial Building is located at 2 Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., and was dedicated in August 1967, a time when America was heavily involved in the ever more unpopular Vietnam war.

I can't be sure, but the legend on the reverse can be read as a gesture of defiance by the Catholic War Veterans against both the government's handling of the war and the public's increasing lack of support for veterans.

The circular medal measures 63.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1967-034

This uniface medal's obverse bears bust of R. Tait McKenzie bearing left. Around top, 1867 · R. TAIT McKENZIE · 1938; at bottom, CENTENNIAL OF HIS BIRTH - 1967 / PHYSICIAN · EDUCATOR · SCULPTOR; signed on truncation, J.R.SINNOCK

The portrait goes back to an earlier design that J.R. Sinnock had created in 1936. He and McKenzie had created uniface medals bearing each other's likenesses and the Medallic Art Company had produced them. For this medal, Ramon Gordils created new lettering around the original portrait.

The circular medal measures 63.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1967-049

The oval medal's obverse bears doctor standing behind boy, hands on his neck and abdomen; behind, USC medical center building. Around, FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE; signed at lower left, ABRAM / BELSKIE / Sc.

The reverse bears seal of the county of Los Angeles. Above, FOUNDED 1878; below, LOS ANGELES / COUNTY / USC / MEDICAL / CENTER

The LA County Medical Center dates back to 1878, when the County of Los Angeles opened a 100-bed hospital on Mission Road to care for Los Angeles’ indigent population. The County affiliated with the University of Southern California (USC) Medical School in 1885 for the provision of care.

On December 7, 1930, Hollywood actress Mary Pickford dedicated the 8-ton cornerstone for a modern Los Angeles County General Hospital on State Street. The building opened in 1933 but was damaged by an earthquake in 1994.  It was finally replaced in 2008.

The distinguished service medal has been awarded since 1967.

The oval medal measures 62.6mm x 82.4mm and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1967-106

The uniface medal bears mountain goat facing right within bold geometric border.  Around top, CAPRICORNUS; in small exergue at bottom, © MACO 1967

Chambellan's Zodiac medals were issued more than a decade after his death and are probably based on designs he made in the early 1930s when he was working on the RKO Roxy Theater.  The 1960s saw renewed interest in astrology and the signs of the zodiac arising in part from the counter-cultural hippie movement and its subsequent adoption into mainstream culture.

Capricorn is the tenth astrological sign in the zodiac, originating from the constellation of Capricornus. It spans the 270–300th degree of the zodiac, corresponding to celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this area from December 22 to January 19 each year, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun transits the constellation of Capricorn from approximately January 16 to February 16.

In astrology, Capricorn is considered an earth sign, negative sign, and one of the four cardinal signs. Capricorn is said to be ruled by the planet Saturn. Its symbol is based on the Sumerians' primordial god of wisdom and waters, Enki, with the head and upper body of a goat and the lower body and tail of a fish. Later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology, Enki was the god of intelligence (gestú, literally "ear"), creation, crafts; magic; water, seawater and lakewater.

The circular medal measures 69.7mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1967-151-001

References:   MACo 1967-151-002