This page is intended to provide you with quick links to pages that organize medals by certain criteria, for example by the people that are shown on them or the organizations that issued them. Bold entries lead to sub-indices that help organize the index into a more useful hierarchy; Italicized entries represent aliases for other index entries.
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The plaquette bears seated angel, r., playing the lyre. Signed at right top, (TSS monogram).
This handsome plaquette is a companion piece to the better known "L'ange au violon" plaquette, which shows a seated angel playing the violin and facing the other direction.
The plaquette measures 48.8mm x 53mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Bronze |
|---|---|
| edge6 | META .I |
| dimensions | 48.8mm x 53mm |
| weight | 87g |
| mintage | unknown |
This plaque bears angel kneeling left, playing a violin. Signed at lower left with (TSS monogram).
Spicer-Simson's Angel with Violin is an early work that he created while staying in Paris. It is very much an Art Nouveau motif and demonstrates how strongly he was influenced by the French masters that he worked with.
The plaque is a little gem and supposedly very rare. It is very different from most of his other medallic works that were predominantly portraits. There is a companion piece depicting an angel playing the lyre called "L'ange au Lyre" that might be even rarer, at least it has not come up often in auctions.
The rectangular plaque measures 48mm x 52mm and was struck in Paris.
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Bronze |
|---|---|
| edge6 | |
| dimensions | 48mm x 52mm |
| mintage | unknown |
The obverse bears bearded portrait of Griswold as Hagen, l., holding a spear. Signed and dated at lower right, © W. D. Paddock 1912
The reverse bears a phrase of music over a wreath. Around, DEBUT · HAGEN - 1912 · / · PUTNAM GRISWOLD ·
Putnam Griswold (1875-1914) was an American opera singer. Born in Minneapolis, he pursued a business career before discovering his voice at the age of 22. He studied in London, Paris, and Germany and became a regular member of the Berlin Opera. In 1911 he returned to America to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where his Wagner interpretations won over public and critics alike. He died suddenly of appendicitis in 1914, cutting short a stellar operatic career.
The medal was cast by the Gorham Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island. No mintage is reported.
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Bronze |
|---|---|
| edge6 | |
| mintage | unknown |
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.
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Bronze |
|---|---|
| edge6 | WHITEHEAD-HOAG |
| diameter | 63.3mm |
| weight | 102.5g |
| mintage | unknown |
References: Murtha 209
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Bronze |
|---|---|
| edge | plain |
| diameter | 114mm |
| weight | 206.8g |
| mintage | unknown |
The relief plaque bears portrait of Arturo Toscanini facing left. Signed and dated over right shoulder, 19 (GH triangle monogram) 34 / © / G. K. HAMLIN
Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and of the 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory. He became an American household name through his engagements at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and, last but not least, the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
Karr succeeded in capturing Toscanini's focus and intensity in this portrait.
The roughly circular plaque measures 258mm (~10"). It is not reported how many relief plaques were produced.
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Bronze |
|---|---|
| edge6 | |
| diameter | 258mm |
| mintage | unknown |
The obverse bears bust of Sonny Rollins, three quarters left on textured background. Around edge at left, SONNY ROLLINS; signed on truncation, DAUB
The reverse bears 1972 / (corporate logo M) / 1997 in center. Around, · TWENTY FIVE YEARS · / ON MILESTONE
Sonny Rollins was born in 1930 in New York City and started pursuing music at a young age. During his high school years at Benjamin Franklin High in East Harlem he played in a band with future jazz legends Jackie McLean, Kenny Drew, and Art Taylor. During a life-long career in jazz and blues, he has been awarded many honors, including a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2004 and the National Medal of Arts in 2010. Sonny Rollins has not performed in public since 2012.
The medal celebrates not just Sonny Rollins but also Milestone Records. Milestone Records was originally founded in 1966 by Orrin Keepnews and Dick Katz. The New York company specialized on Jazz and Blues. It was acquired by Fantasy Records in 1972. The medal seems to celebrate either the acquisition anniversary or the cooperation between Sonny Rollins and Milestone Records. Orrin Keepnews produced Sonny Rollins' records for much of this period.
The medal measures 57.5mm in diameter and was struck in silver-plated bronze. The mintage is not known.
This section contains a table of detailed medal information. Currently, I am not aware of any variants of this medal. Please notify me if you come across any or if you find incorrect or missing information.
| material | Silver-plated bronze |
|---|---|
| edge6 | |
| diameter | 57.5mm |
| mintage | unknown |