Medallic Art Collector's Selection

This collection contains a selection of my favorite medals. It is probably relatively static but sometimes a medal might get added and sometimes one might get removed. Currently, it contains 162 medals.

You could create your own Favorites collection if you create a user account. As a registered user you can add medals to your collection simply by clicking the heart icon in their header. I am simply taking advantage of the privilege of being the site's owner to share my favorite medals with you. If you browse through the medals you will quickly see that my passion lies mostly in 20th century medals. I focus on American medals for some quirky reasons that I describe on the site's homepage, so there's no need to delve into that again.

You will probably also see some medals that either are not on an artistic par with the others or are from a different period, or just seem weirdly out of place. I admit it: I love good renditions of technology and I am a sucker for a good story.

Sometimes the medal's design is almost irrelevant to me after I've done some research on its subject. Take the Edwin Forrest Medal for example. I am normally not a big fan of brown 19th century portrait medals and I got interested in this medal only because of the curious motto on the medal's reverse. At first I thought it was a politician's memorial medal but then I discovered the real story. Who had ever heard of the Astor Place Riot?

There is so much more to American history than what we learned in school! Whether you are a conservative or a progressive, there are historic tidbits that are fascinating and educational. Both sides of the spectrum have had their fair share of great politicians and scoundrels. And sometimes, while researching a medal, you read an old newspaper report about a scoundrel and you realize that there was another dimension to him. Or you read an old source and it causes you to reevaluate your opinion on one of the greats. Or you learn that there were some capitalist robber barons who had some really progressive ideas that were supposed to benefit both them and their workers (it might not always have ended up that way).

There are of course many ways of exploring art and history, separately or together. Medallic Art is simply a particularly attractive way of combining both interests. I hope you will enjoy my favorite medals at least half as much as I do!