Whitehead & Hoag

The plaquette bears seal of New Amsterdam and New Amsterdam with New Amsterdam harbor scene as background. Under seal, SEAL OF AMSTERDAM IN NEW NETHERLAND 1654; under harbor scene at right, THE WATER GATE / FOOT OF WALL STREET 1679; across bottom, HOLLAND SOCIETY / JANVARY · · · · · MCMXIII

The rectangular plaquette measures 82.8mm x 51mm and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

References:   HSoNY 1913

The medal's obverse bears imaginary scene aboard American ship with two men witnessing the British bomardment of Fort McHenry with large American flag rising above clouds of powder smoke. Around top, "'TIS THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER"

The medal's reverse bears medallic portrait of Francis Scott Key with draped American flag and laurel branches.  Around, · NATIONAL STAR-SPANGLED BANNER CENTENNIAL · / BALTIMORE, MD. U.S.A. SEPT. 6-13.1914

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory.

The circular medal measures 50.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The uniface plaquette bears harbor scene with windmill in background and seal of New Netherlands colony at left. Above, HOLLANDA SOCIETY;  under seal, SEAL - 1623 / PROVINCE OF NEW NETHERLAND; across bottom, JANUARY MCMXIV

The rectangular plaquette measures 81.8mm x 51mm and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

References:   HSoNY 1914

The medal's obverse bears conjoined busts of composers Handel and Haydn facing right. Around, · HANDEL AND HAYDN SOCIETY · 1815 - 1915 ·

The reverse bears Society's seal over CENTENARY FESTIVAL / HANDEL AND HAYDN / SOCIETY / 1915

The Handel and Haydn Society s an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1815, it is the third oldest musical organization in the United States after the Stoughton Musical Society (founded in 1786) and the U.S. Marine Band (founded 1798), and the oldest continually performing arts organization in the United States.

While the medal is unsigned, Dick Johnson attributes it the Swanson based on its style. I am perfectly happy to follow the great numismatist's lead.

The circular medal measures 63.3mm in idiameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Hill facing three-quarters left. Around, MEMORIAL / JAMES JEROME HILL

The reverse bears oak wreath around inscription, SEPTEMBER 16TH / 1838 / MAY 29TH / 1916 / "ONE OF THE / WORLD'S GREATEST / BUILDERS"

James Jerome Hill (1838-1916) was born in Ontario. Blind in one eye due to a childhood bow and arrow accident, forced to leave school due to the death of his father, he  amoved to Kentucky where he learned bookkeeping while working as a clerk.  He started working for himself in the 1860's and gathered a lot of experience in the area of shipping and fuel supply. In 1870 he started a steam boat company and by 1879 he had navigated it into a highly profitable local monopoly. In the same year, a big bet Hill and his business partners had made three years earlier came to fruition when the St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company formed from the assets of the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, with Hill as the general manager.

From here on Hill relentlessy expanded his railroad empire, through construction and acquisition. He personally surveyed the track for his own transcontinental railway, which was the only private transcontinental company to turn a profit. At the time of his death, his networth was an estimated $53 million, $2.5 billion in today's dollars.

The circular medal measures 76.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. Neither mintage nor artist are reported.

References:   HSoNY 1918

The paperweight bears view of Statue of Liberty with cloudy sky. In exergue, GENERAL / SILK IMPORTING / CO. INC. / NEW YORK

The General Silk Importing Company was founded in 1916 when the Klots Throwing Company, a large processor of raw silk, bough the silk importing house Villa Stearns. That company's executive, J. H. Britton, became vide president at Klots and Villa Stearns was renamed to General Silk Importing Company.  After further growth, declining profits and the Great Depression forced the company into bankrupcy in 1932.

The paperweight has two round feet at the upper end and measures 71.2mm x 127.4mm. It was struck in bronze by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears view of corporate headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut, with company's stag ("hart") at center top. To left and right of stag, 1810 - 1921; at bottom, HARTFORD / FIRE INSURANCE / COMPANY / HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT; signed at right, (JMS monogram)

The medal's reverse bears aerial view of company's home office grounds and athletic field. At top, AIRPLANE VIEW; at bottom, HOME OFFICE / GROUNDS AND ATHLETIC FIELD

The Hartford was founded in 1810 in Hartford, Connecticut. A group of local merchants gathered in a Hartford inn and, with working capital of $15,000, founded the Hartford Fire Insurance Company. The company survived some of the greatest peacetime tragedies in American history. After a huge fire destroyed New York's financial district in 1835, the Hartford's president, Eliphalet Terry, used his personal wealth to cover all of the company's damage claims.

The circular medal measures 101.1mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.