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How did a medal I never knew existed become something I had to have in less than two months? Several improbable events, that’s how.
It could be a fair statement that every collector has at least one commemorative coin in their collection. A further safe assumption would be the vast majority of which are the modern era dating from 1982, and a smaller base of the early from 1892 to 1954. And then there are those who collect both. The subject of this week's blog looks at commemoratives struck in between. Enjoy!
The branding of the Medallic Art Company really began with the founding of the Art Students League of New York in 1875. In the early 20th century New York City became the arts center of America. It is no wonder with instructors like Augustus Saint-Gaudens, James Earle Fraser, Daniel Chester French, and students like Laura Gardin. (This same Laura Gardin would later marry James Earle Fraser in 1913).
The Wilson so-called dollar restrike is a privately commissioned medal struck by Daniel Carr of the Moonlight Mint. It commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Manila Mint opening on July 6th, 1920. It is almost an exact copy of the original medal except for the reverse legend. The reverse legend of the original "Wilson Dollar" reads, "To Commemorate The Opening Of The Mint," and the date is 1920. The restrike replaces the word "Opening" with "Anniversary" and dates 2020. What makes this medal a restrike is that the original 1920 obverse die engraved by George T. Morgan was used to strike the 2020 medal. The question now is, how did this die get into private hands without first being canceled? The answer to this question is fascinating, and I can't tell it all, so I'll give you my sources to read for yourself after I whet your appetite.
Well true to my nature, I had decided that I would collect the whole series of 1959 Heraldic Art Medals after I received the Hawaii Statehood Medal. I had originally intended to only purchase the Alaska Statehood and the St. Lawrence Seaaway medals to complete the 1959 So-Called Half Dollars, but found this beautiful set on Ebay and HAD, I mean, HAD to have it. I juggled a few things, ignored a few household bills (bye bye Fiat) and I am now the proud owner of this set of three originally sold by Mr. McNamara himself.
One of the best things about being an ANA member is the opportunity to share knowledge with each other. There is not a day that goes by that I do not learn something new and do not find a new collecting niche that piques my interest.
Last weekend I was happy to find myself in Las Vegas attending a coin show that I has been looking forward to for quite sometime. The Las Vegas Numismatic Society's 56th Coin Show. It was a smaller venue about 100 vendors, just right for me! There was so much to see and lots of variety. Coins, currency, commemorative's, medals, gold, silver, books, supply's... they had it all! I went with a list and a budget in mind and manged to stick to it pretty good. I did find this Medal from a dealer way in the back corner and thought it would make a nice addition to my collection. It's a "So-Called Dollar" from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition (Montana). San Francisco. Made of bronze, weight of 32.02 gm. and is 32 mm. It was for the State Dollar Fund of Montana. The obverse shows Winged Victory standing on the prow of a ship holding a laurel wreath out before her. There are exposition buildings, a riverboat and hills in the background. The reverse depicts a Montana scene with mountains, a stream, mining tools and a rising sun. Happy with this great find, I was off to the next vendors table where who knows what I might find! Buffalo Nickels perhaps...??? But that's the next blog... ; ) haha Hope you enjoyed my blog. All comments are welcomed.
i would like to thankCOINSBYGARYand his well written blog "The Blessings of Liberty" on introducing me to some very well designed medals with a lot of great background on each and every one of them. there was one in particular that caught my eye, the 1876 H&K Centennial Exposition Official Medal. i loved the design and the symbolism and the medal as a whole was out of this world. so what does a collector do when they see something they like, they stalk multiple samples of them. they watch them, learn more about them, and at the right moment go for the attack and snatch it up. i ended up spending 25$ on the copper medal. with an R-6 it is just about the rarest piece i own. although the medal does have a hole in it, it is in a very particular spot, where the "sun is". there were 13 stars in the sky and the hole was punched right in the middle of it. the back was not damaged in the process (by this i mean all the words are still clear just the wreath was damaged) making the medal attractive and possibly more affordable for collectors like me. And like Mike says "collect what you like"
This is a rare HK-722a so-called dollar with the "49" still intact.
#1 It's not in great shape and they come in several varieties, I have two different large dollar sized ones. I have one that's considerably smaller but with the same US Army soldier taking aim, the reverse of that one has the "Lord's Prayer." These were intended to be given to soldiers as a 'pocket piece' by family as a reminder from home and a comfort during battle. These relate to the response by the USA to the border incursion by Pancho Villa on the community of Columbus, New Mexico. Please add a comment if you'd like to see more from the USA / Mexico Border Wars of 1916 - 1917.
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