Mercury

The plaque's obverse bears nude Mercury, head turned towards left. He is soaring above sea, moon and star to his left, sun to his right. Signed around bottom right, ARTHUR LEE

I do not know much about this plaque. It appears to be an "unbranded" design of the Lehman Anniversary medallion's obverse. I would guess that this is a design that was created prior to Lehman Brothers' medallic commission and was then modified in accordance with customer requirements.

The subtly oval plaque measures 111.2mm x 115.7mm and was cast in bronze.

The medal's obverse bears female figure and Hermes with caduceus gazing at building; laurels and open scroll at their feet. In exergue, NEW CENTRE MARKET / NEWARK, N.J. / 1923; signed at left edge, KILENYI

The medal's reverse bears city view with cranes and steam shovel in foreground. In exergue, CLIFFORD F. MACEVOY CO. / BUILDERS / NEWARK, N.J.; signed just indside raised rim at 8 o'clock, J. Hansen

The revere was sculpted by V. Joan Hansen, an in-house designer for Newman, and was later reused for the 1925 Chicago Union Station Construction Insurance Medal.

The circular medal measures 63.4mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the J. F. Newman Company of New York. While no mintage is reported, Harry Waterson estimates it to be around 500 because the medal was a present at a dinner with 500 invited guests.  A bronze uniface variant with a diameter of 62.9mm exists in unknown mintage.

The medallion's obverse bears nude Mercury, head turned towards left. He is soaring above harbor, city skyline to left and large freighter approaching from right. At left and right, 1850 - 1925; signed around bottom right, ARTHUR LEE

The reverse bears anvil with scroll above surface. Around, THE WELL-BEING OF MEN IS FORGED ON THE ANVIL OF INDUSTRY / & MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CHANNELS OF TRADE; above anvil, MARCH 28 · 1925; scroll inscribed with WALTER E. FREW

The edge is marked GORHAM CO FOUNDERS OFCI

The medallion celebrates the 75th anniversary of Lehman Brothers, a finance firm whose storied career came to an infamous end in 2008 when its bancruptcy declaration triggered a global financial crisis. In 1925, the year of this medallion's issue, Lehman Brothers had just added its first non-family partner and was rapidly becoming one of the premier investment banks of the world. Often working in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, they brought such giants as Sears, Roebuck & Co., Woolworth, Gimbel Bros., R. H. Macy, Studebaker and Goodrich Co. to market.

This particular medallion is inscribed to Walter E. Frew (1864-1941), who was Chairman of the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company from 1929 to his death in 1941. Lehman Brothers handled a large stock issuance for the company and this medallion was probably given to him as a deal memento.

Arthur Lee was called upon again twenty-five years later to create a medallion for Lehman's 100th anniversary. That later version was smaller but shared this medallion's general design, with the exception of different dates and a slightly different legend on the reverse. It was manufactured by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

The circular medallion measures 122mm in diameter and was cast in bronze and gold-plated by the Gorham Company of Providence, RI.

The obverse bears running locomotive with figure of Mercury flying overhead and carrying tray with fruit and bottle; sun rays with date "1930" in background; bolts of lightning emerging from train wheels; all within beaded border; surrounding legend SOUTHERN RAILWAY SYSTEM CENTENNIAL / South Carolina 1830 Virginia 1831 Alabama 1832.

The reverse bears cornucopia at center with legend COTTON CORN TOBACCO; all within beaded border; surrounding legend A CENTURY OF SERVICE CARRYING TO MARKET THE FRUITS OF THE EARTH.

This is one of the iconic American medals and is a part of many museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The medal is struck in bronze and measures 89mm (3 1/2in) in diameter.

References:   MACo 1930-017

This medal's obverse bears Mercury at right, cornucopia at his feet, gazing scene with sailing ship, and group of people at left; large house and sun in background.  Around, FIRST CENTENARY S.E.L. MADURO & SONS / 1837 - CURACAO - N - W - I - 1937

The reverse bears front facing bust of founder before seascape with anchor to his left and dolphin to his right. Around, S · E · L · MADURO FOUNDER - · 24TH JANUARY 1837 ·

The company was established by Salomon Elias Levy Maduro in 1837. He started his own ship's agency and bunkering services company in the port of Curacao. During the years that followed his sons joined him in the business. Under the name of S.E.L. Maduro & Sons it evolved into a holding company with interests in real estate, travel and leisure activities, and a variety of services related to the shipping and transportation industry.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1936-031

This medal's obverse bears Mercury at left, cornucopia at his feet, gazing upon industrious scene with modern jet, ship, and bales and barrels. Around, 125TH ANNIVERSARY S.E.L. MADURO & SONS, INC. - 1837 - CURACAO · N · A · ~ 1962

The reverse bears front facing bust of founder before seascape with anchor to his left and dolphin to his right. Around, S · E · L · MADURO FOUNDER - · 24TH JANUARY 1837 ·

The company was established by Salomon Elias Levy Maduro in 1837. He started his own ship's agency and bunkering services company in the port of Curacao. During the years that followed his sons joined him in the business. Under the name of S.E.L. Maduro & Sons it evolved into a holding company with interests in real estate, travel and leisure activities, and a variety of services related to the shipping and transportation industry.

This medal is a reprise of a 1937 medal, also designed by Ruotolo, which celebrated the 100th anniversary of S.E.L. Maduro.

The circular medal measures 76.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1961-079