Medals Related to Hermes

Description

The obverse bears the seal of the city of New York in a wreath. Inscription reading CITIZENS - BANQUET / COMMEMORATING / THE SIGNING OF THE / CONTRACTS FOR THE / DUAL SUBWAY SYSTEM OF / GREATER NEW YORK / APRIL 2, 1913

The reverse bears Hermes, god of travel, conducting a female figure, representing the City, to an approaching subway train.

The banquet on April 2, 1913 capped a time of contentious negotiations, dealings and inter-burrough fighting over the layout and cost of new subway lines and the awarding of the operational contracts. At the banquet, city officials and taxpayers in favor if the chosen plans celebrated the signing of operations contracts for the subway line extensions.

As a keepsake, the guests of honor were handed this medal in gold, whereas regular diners were given a bronze version. While speakers widely praised the artistry of the medal, borough president McAneny caused a good deal of laughter when he speculated that the two figures on the medal were really Brooklynites who had lost their clothing when trying to get on one of the present subway trains during rush hour.

I have intentionally switched the obverse and the reverse images for this medal to show the beautiful, artistic side first. I don't usually do that but I agree with the banquet guests: this is a very artistic medal. I wish I knew the artist who created it. Please contact me if you have any knowledge you can share.

The circular medal measures 51mm in diameter and was struck in gold and bronze by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark. The mintage is not reported.

Medal Details

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	51mm
mintage	unknown

Last modified: Oct 26, 2017 16:13

Description

The medallion's obverse bears Hermes, the messenger god, bearing a banner inscribed with UNIVERSAL SERVICE; over him, a bell from which lightning emanates. Around centerfield, within intricately patterned border, · AMERICAN · TELEPHONE · AND · TELEGRAPH · CO · AND · ASSOCIATED · COMPANIES ·

The reverse bears, within intricate border, Bell / Advanced / Management / Program / ANTHONY J. RIZZO / Presented by / (signature) / W.S. Cashel Jr. / October 1978

This large medallion is unsigned and somewhat hard to identify. The closest I could get—corresponding nicely with the medallion's style—is to identify the original designer as Paul Manship and the sculptor as Tom Rogers. Dick Johnson lists a 1980's medal modeled by Tom Rogers, based on a 1916 7 foot diameter floor plate designed by Manship and cast by Gorham. Two such plates originally resided in the Western Union Building at 195 Broadway, New York City. He also references Murtha 75 which describes the floor plates as

"low relief of a male figure carrying a bell which emits flashes of electricity"

This sounds close and together with the corporate connection, the stylistic match, and the absence of other candidates, it sounds like a plausible match. The only mismatch is the 1978 award date, which precedes the 1980's range listed by Johnson by a few years, but small discrepancies in medal dating are not uncommon in reference works.

I have thus tentatively filed this medallion under Manship and Rogers and would love to receive confirmations or rebuttals.

The circular medallion measures 100mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

Medal Details

material	Bronze
edge6
diameter	100mm
weight	414.5g
mintage	unknown

Last modified: Oct 26, 2017 15:56