Medals Related to Medicine

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Gustav Killian, facing. Around, * BRONCHOSCOPY * MCMVII * FRONTAL · SINVS · OPERATION *; signed over right shoulder, ·J·E·ROINE· /  ·FECIT·

The medal's reverse bears oil lamp at top.  Around, AMERICAN · LARYNGOLOGICAL · RHINOLOGICAL · AND · OTOLOGICAL SOCIETY; across, · IN · RECOGNITION · OF · HIS · / · LEADERSHIP · / * · IN · * / · LARYNGOLOGY · AND / · RHINOLOGy · AND · / · IN · MEMORY · OF · THE · / · GOODFELLOWSHIP · OF · / · GVSTAV · KILLIAN · / · 1907 ·

The edge is plain.

Gustav Killian (1860-1921) was a German laryngologist and inventor of bronchoscopy.

The circular medal was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. It exists both with a Deitsch Brothers edge mark and with a plain edge. No mintage is reported.

Many thanks to an eBay'er who granted me the right to use the images and wishes to remain anonymous.

References:   Baxter 297, MACo 1907-005

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Albert Ehlebert Ebert, quarter left; laurel wreath around bottom. Around top, ALBERT ETHELBERT EBERT; across, 1840 - 1906

The reverse bears wreath partially showing through gaps in inscription field. Around, AMERICAN PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION - ORGANIZED 1857 INCORPORATED 1888; across, EBERT PRIZE / AWARDED TO / (engraved) LESTER F. HOYT / 1926

Albert Ethelbert Ebert (1840-1906) was born in Bavaria but came to the U.S. as a one year old. His family settled in Chicago. He apprenticed with the pharmacists to learn not just the selling of ready-made remedies but also the German-style compounding. He studied Pharmacology first in Chicago, then In Philadelphia and finally in Munich, where he also studied Chemistry. He represented the American Pharmaceutical Association at conferences abroad and established the Ebert Prize in 1873. The Ebert Prize, the oldest pharmacy award in the U.S., is awarded for the best essay or communication containing original investigation of a medical substance in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Lester F. Hoyt and J. A. Handy won the award in 1926 for their study of "Diethylphtalate"

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter. Neither maker nor mintage are reported.

The medal's obverse bears bust of Abraham Jacobi facing left. Around top, A · JACOBI · MD; around bottom, · M C M X · ; signed under truncation, MOWBRAY CLARKE

The reverse bears wreath and legend, · PRESENTED · / · IN · CELEBRATION · OF · HIS · / · FIFTY · YEARS · OF · SERVICE · / AT / · MT · SINAI · HOSPITAL · / · BY · THE · ASSOCIATED · / ALUMNI · / MDCCCLX / MCMX ·

Dr. Abraham Jacobi (1830-1919) was a German physician and pioneer of pediatrics, opening the first children's clinic in the United States. After studying medicine in Germany, he was involved in the 1848 revolution and served time in jail before leaving his home country for England in 1853. In exile, he lived with Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels before setting sail for the U.S. in 1854.

To date, he is the only foreign-born president of the American Medical Association. He helped found the American Journal of Obstetrics and is regarded as the Father of American Pediatrics.

The circular medal measures 50.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1910-003

The uniface plaquette bears portrait of Horatio R. Storer, facing left. Below, TO THE MASTER IN SVRGERY / MEDICAL NVMISMATIST / AND LOVER OF MAN AND NATVRE / HORATIO R · STORER · MD · LLD / FROM HIS FRIEND R · TAIT McKENZIE · MD · 1913

Horatio Robinson Storer (February 27, 1830– September 18, 1922) was a physician, numismatist and anti-abortion activist.

Storer was born in Boston, Massachusetts and attended the Boston Latin School, Harvard College, and the Boston (Harvard) Medical School. After obtaining his M.D. in 1853 he traveled to Europe and spent a year studying with James Young Simpson at Edinburgh. He began medical practice in Boston in 1855 with emphasis on obstetrics and gynecology.

In 1857 he started the "physicians' crusade against abortion" both in Massachusetts and nationally, when he persuaded the American Medical Association to form a Committee on Criminal Abortion.

After his retirement from practice in 1872, he became an authority on, and a notable collector of, medallions of medical interest.  He is also the grandfather of Malcolm Storer, the famous numismatic author.

References:   Marqusee 263

The medal's obverse bears a military doctor and a nurse standing at invalid soldier's side, hospital building, trees and another nurse with invalid on crutches in background. Signed in exergue, René Baudichon

The reverse bears cross in circle over background of laurel, empty cartouche at bottom.

The circular medal measures 45mm in diameter and was struck in bronze in an unknown mintage.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Richard Norton, facing right.

The reverse bears legend. In center field, AMERICAN / RED CROSS / AMBULANCE SECTIONS / PRESENTED TO OUR / CHIEF / RICHARD NORTON ESQ / IN TOKEN OF OUR / ESTEEM AND AFFECTION / OCTOBER 1914 / OCTOBER 1917; around, the names of battles in which the unit participated, ALBERT - HEBUTERNE - CHAMPAGNE - VERDUN - CHEMIN DES DAMES

The American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps, also known as the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, was an organization started in London, England, in the fall of 1914 by Richard Norton (1872-1918), a noted archeologist and son of Harvard professor Charles Eliot Norton.

Its mission was to assist the movement of wounded Allied troops from the battlefields to hospitals in France during World War I. The Corps began with two cars and four drivers. The service was associated with the British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance.

The "Harjes" part of the name refers to Henry Herman Harjes, a French millionaire banker who wished to help Norton by donating funds and ambulances. When the United States officially joined the war in 1917, the service had thirteen sections of six hundred American volunteer drivers and three hundred ambulances.

For his service, Richard Norton was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honour, and the Order of St. Lazarus. His award of the Cross of the Legion of Honor was the highest award given to any foreigner by France during World War I.

The bronze medal is neither signed nor does it have any mint marks. It is circular and measures 59mm in diameter. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse depicts a hospital scene with Japanese doctor taking the pulse of caucasian patient sitting up in bed, Japanese nurse standing by with a bottle of medicine. Around top, Japaense symbols ; signed at left, P LENOIR

The reverse bears crossed French and Japanese flags with Cross on lotus flower in center. Around, HOPITAUX JAPONAIS EN FRANCE, across, 1914 - 1918

The Japanese Red Cross Society had acquired an impressive reputation by providing assistance with numerous disasters world-wide, for example the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

Only a few days after Japan entered World War I on the Allied side, the Japanese Cabinet requested that the Red Cross Society send three groups of doctors and nurses to Europe: one each to Japan’s allies, Britain, France and Russia. The leaders of the Red Cross Society accepted this proposal, readily recognizing the national and international importance of this pioneering act of Asian medical aid to European countries. The three allies quickly accepted the Japanese suggestion.

The medal's obverse bears American Red Cross nurse facing right; Around top, · CROIX · ROUGE · AMERICAINE · EN · FRANCE · ; signed over right shoulder, G PRVD HOMME

The reverse bears nurse kneeling next to wounded soldier on a stretcher, holding him up so he can drink from cup she holds to his lips.  In background, forest, ambulance and field hospital, with red cross flag flying from central mast.  Across, AMERICAN / AMBULANCE.  Signed in exergue, G PRVDHOMME

The circular medal measures 68mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Paris Mint. No mintage is reported.

The obverse bears bust-length profile image of soldier wearing helmet. Signed below bust, DCF.

The reverse bears image of nurse attending injured soldier depicted within cross. Above, THE AMERICAN RED CROSS; to left and right of vertical bar of cross, TO COMMEMORATE - THE VISION AND / ACHIEVEMENT OF - THE WAR COUNCIL / 1917 - 1919; signed below cross, WHL / DCF.

The medal is numbered and contains the maker's mark MEDALLIC ART CO. NY.

This medal was the 42nd issue of the American Numismatic Society. It was co-issued with the American Red Cross in 1920. Daniel Chester French designed it and the Medallic Art Company executed it. The initials of Reverend William H. Low in the medal's reverse were included due to his suggestion that the the nurse stand in front of the bed.

The medal was awarded to twelve New York businessmen who volunteered for the War Council of the American Red Cross. As the Red Cross Bulletin Vol. IV No. 51 (December 13, 1920) states:

"The General Board also presented to the four members of the Wat Council who were present the special Daniel Chester French medal, authorized at its last meeting in recognition of their war service. These were Eli Wadsworth, Cornelius N. Bliss Jr., George E. Scott and Charles D. Norton. The eight other members of the War Council who will receive their medal are Henry P. Davison, chairman; William Howard Taft, George B. Case, Jesse H. Jones, Edward N. Hurley, John D. Ryan, Grayson M., P. Murphy, and Harvey D. Gibson."

The medal measures 70mm (2.75in) and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. The reported mintage is 12 pieces in gold, 4 in silver and 205 in bronze.

Many thanks to the Yale University Art Gallery for permission to use the images of the bronze variant.

References:   ANS 42, Baxter 327, MACo 1920-017, Marqusee 176

References:   MACo 1928-032