The Newsletter of Medal Collectors of America

Volume 9 Number 7 August 2006

From the Editor 3

First American Peace Medal(by John W. Adams) 3

John R. Gaines: Horses and Medals(by Chris Eimer) 4

Laconia (by Bob Fritsch) 7

The Political Satire Medals of R.W.Julian (by Steve Pelligrini) 10

Letters to the Editor 18

Coming Events

October 17, 2006 - Indian Peace MedalsI of John J. Ford, Jr.

Stack’s auction schedule is published ontheir website www.stacks.com since last minutechanges to the Ford schedule have been known tooccur unexpectedly.

Board MembersJohn W. Adams, PresidentJohn Kraljevich, Vice PresidentBarry D. Tayman, Secretary & TreasurerDavid T. AlexanderRobert F. FritschDavid MenchellScott MillerJohn SallayDonald Scarinci

John W. Adams, Editor99 High Street, 11th floorBoston, MA 02110jadams@adamsharkness.com

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Website: medalcollectors.org

Editor of Collectors’ Guide, Dick Johnson (dick.johnson@snet.net)

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From the EditorWe had an excellent meeting at the

Denver ANA. Some 21 members showed up tohear the Secretary-Treasurers report (we have$11,500 in the bank plus 140 paid up members)and to address other items on the agenda.

The Carl Carlson award was given toMichael Hodder. His superb cataloguing of theFord material made the choice an automaticone. These catalogues will each serve asreferences for the hobby going forward.

The Gloria Stamm Chamberlain awardwas presented to Max Spiegel. It is refreshingto see talented young newcomers attracted tomedals. He has promised to give us a sampleof his interests in the form of an article forMCA.

The group assembled ratified theBoard’s decision to make a donation to thelibraries at the ANA and the ANS. It isappropriate that we share our sound fiscalposition with those two entities, each of whichsupports the hobby in a major way.

Bob Fritsch, our nominating committeefor next year’s elections, asked for volunteersand suggestions. He got some of both. Howabout you? Regular turnover in our leadershipis both wholesome and necessary.

A great deal of useful dialog wasexchanged on a variety of topics: lifemembership, MCA articles and promoting theclub. The latter is my particular hot button:yes, we do have a growing membership but it istiny compared to our opportunity. In myopinion, the best way to increase it is by baitingthe MCA Advisory with an irresistible menu ofinteresting articles.

The First American Peace Medal(by John W. Adams)

About a year ago, we came across aninteresting numismatic reference in the journalsof the Continental Congress. In May 1788,

Thomas Goadsby petitioned the body asfollows.”

. . . That a contract in behalf of yourmemorialist was made with the Board ofTreasury for the furnishing of two dye’s (at astipulated price) for the purpose of strikingmedals for the Savages.

That your memorialist at a veryconsiderable expence had the dye’s executed(he conceives agreeable to contract, and theorders of the Board of Treasury) which hepresented together with the proof of the medalhere-with enclosed, but that for reasons yourmemorialist is uninformed of, the Board ofTreasury refused payment . . .”1

It occurred to us immediately thatGoadsby’s medal must be one and the same asan unattributed piece belonging to theAmerican Numismatic Society. We sent theabove excerpt to Robert Hoge at the ANS andasked him to do an article for the Advisory ifhe could establish a connection. Bob did betterthan that. He discovered that “my” idea hadbeen published twice before.

Credit for first publication goes to agreat expert on colonial coinage, Damon G.Douglas. Writing in the July 1945Numismatist, he announced “The First UnitedStates Indian Chief Peace Medal.” His articlenot only included Goadsby’s memorial but alsoa congressional order, dated 1786, thatAmerican medals be given to Indians for anyBritish or French medals turned in. He nextquotes from a passage by Bauman Beldenwherein, in 1792, the Cherokee chief BloodyFellow exchanges two silver medals that hadbeen given him four or five years earlier.

Finally, Douglas analyzes the designand fabric of the piece in the A.N.S.,concluding that it was typical of the technologyof the time. Moreover, its obverse was inkeeping with earlier colonial peace medals,whereas its reverse was an excellent means bywhich to render the authority of Congress. 1 Papers of the Continental Congress, microfilm 247, reel49, Vol. 3, p. 559.

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The matter rested there until 1976,when Bob Julian wrote a brief piece for theA.N.S. Museum Notes #21. Julian foundsubsequent congressional recordsdemonstrating that, in 1790, the payment forthe dies was finally made. Thus, it could beshown that Congress ordered the dies, paid forthem and thus had all the necessaries forissuing peace medals. So far so good.

Julian goes on to provide an ostensiblemissing link: “The reason for the preparation ofthese first medals was the mission of ColonelJoseph Martin, in the latter part of 1785, to theCherokee nation. The result of this journeywas the Treaty of Hopewell, November 28,1785. The known records are silent as towhether or not Martin passed out medals at thesigning of the treaty.” He then links this newpiece of information to Douglas’ 1792 citationwherein the Cherokee Chief Bloody Fellowreturns two silver medals that had been given tohim earlier by Colonel Martin.

All in all, it adds up to a pretty goodcase. However, both Douglas and Julian madethe same error. Colonel Martin did not workfor Congress. Rather, he was the Indian agentfor the Commonwealth of Virginia. WhenThomas Jefferson was governor of Virginia in1780, he designed the so-called “VirginiaHappy While United” peace medal. He and hissuccessors issued these medals on variousoccasions up until the federal government cameinto being. Indeed, had Julian used a morecomplete quote available from the State Papers,he would have noted that Blood Fellow wasextremely reluctant to give up the medalsawarded him by “his friends the Virginians.”

Thus, to set the record straight, theContinental Congress had the means and theintent to award its own Indian peace medals.However, there is still no evidence that theyever did. Like Douglas and Julian, we acceptthe A.N.S. “proof” as the design ordered byCongress. However, where is the record of itshaving been produced and/or awarded? Whereis another example?

Note: An image of this medal will appear in theSeptember issue.

John R. Gaines: Horses and Medals(by Chris Eimer)

In one of many obituaries for John R.Gaines (1928-2005), the New York Times*referred to his life’s work with thoroughbredhorses, as one of the profession’s most activepromoters and innovators, and as founder of theBreeders’ Cup. Indeed, the estate which he ranat Gainesway Farm in Kentucky had becomeone of the world’s most prominent stallionfarms.

Less well known was the interest whichhe had in fine art, the legacy of which survivesin the form of illustrated auction catalogues. Aninterest that happened to be inspired by achance visit to the Gulbenkian Foundation inLisbon, where amongst the choice items ondisplay were select groups of early drawingsand medals.

John Gaines managed to put together acollection of old master drawings, forty-six ofwhich formed a one-owner auction catalogue. Itincluded such illustrious names as Carpaccio,Tiepolo and da Vinci and was sold in NewYork by Sotheby’s in 1986 for a little over $21million. His acquisition of medals began in thelate 1980s, with much of the buying done atauction houses in the U.K. and on mainlandEurope. Although barely twenty years ago, theavailability of material in the art market at thattime was quite different than it is today, andcoincided with some very good Renaissancemedals coming to auction, much of it throughSotheby’s in London. John Gaines was an avidlearner and unafraid to seek advice. He retainedthe consultancy services of a New York-baseddealer in sculpture and did much of his auctionbuying through a European dealer in works ofart, from whom he also bought privately, whilealso occasionally bidding on the telephonehimself.

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The summation of some fifteen years ofmedal buying was a collection largely ofRenaissance interest, but with the addition ofsome plaques and plaquettes, and a cut-off dateof c.1650. With an acutely conscious eye forquality, material deemed inferior or unwantedwould be unceremoniously culled. Although Idid not act for him, we did speak from time totime, and in the last conversation that we wereto have, on the telephone in early 2005, herelated to me his decision to sell the collectionat Morton & Eden in London, a smallproportion of which was held back and notauctioned. In urging me to go and look at whathe had assembled, the degree of pride withwhich he spoke about his medals was clearlypalpable, and was something that obviously hadgiven him much satisfaction.

Unfortunately, and most regrettably,between consigning the collection and theappearance of the first catalogue, John Gainespassed away, on 11 February. He was thusunable to see the material in its fully cataloguedand illustrated state, for which Tom Eden andhis colleagues at Morton & Eden had done itproud. There were 118 lots in total, which wereto be sold in two tranches, with a balancedrepresentation of the Italian, French, Germanand Low Countries medal making schools ineach.

The first sale took place on 21 April2005, and buyers consisted of dealers in medalsand works of art, as well as some privatecollectors, together with a number of bidderson the telephone, their anonymity preserved.For the most part estimates were exceeded, andin some cases by a goodly margin, but therewere some things which did not get intopositive territory. This is not altogethersurprising with material attracting a relativelysmall and specialist circle of interest; not tomention the ardour and single-mindedness withwhich John Gaines would usually pursue amedal to his liking, until victory was assured.With such a strategy, it is inevitable that a veryhigh price was occasionally paid. But given this

background to the collection and its relativelyshort period of formation, it is surprising howwell certain medals performed and howrelatively few the failures were. This says muchabout the level of quality that had beenachieved and the direction which the market istaking.

The opening medal in this first sale, of53 lots, and the front cover piece, was a portraitof Vittorino da Feltre by that most celebrated ofRenaissance masters of the medal, Antonio diPuccio, known to us all as Pisanello. Thiscarried an estimate of £40,000-60,000 and soldfor £54,000 to Larry Stack, who, together withvarious telephone bidders, was a prolific buyerat both this and the second auction, and presentin the room on both occasions. When last sold,this medal had fetched £42,000 in a Sotheby’sworks of art auction in London in 1995. Lot 2,a large gilt-bronze medal of Borso d’Este, byPetrecino da Firenze left its estimate of£40,000-60,000 way behind, selling for£112,000. Having a particularly freshprovenance was the double-portrait medal ofNiccolo Michiel and his wife Dea Contarini byFra Antonio da Brescia (Lot 6). Estimated at£4000-6000, and having brought £6000 inLondon in 2002, it sold for £15,000. On thewhole, Morton & Eden’s estimates tended toreflect a modest discount to what had been paidfor the item. In many cases, this provedtempting enough to bring several bidders intothe arena.

The most prominent and certainly themost glamorous of all the medals in this firstsale was Jacopo da Trezzo’s large gold portraitof Mary Tudor, Queen of England (1553-58),of which the one other known example is in thecabinet of the British Museum. This has aprovenance going back to an 1864 Sotheby’ssale, and a re-appearance there in 1927, when itwas purchased by the Worshipful Company ofGoldsmiths and thereafter donated to theBritish Museum. The Gaines example had beenbought at Christie’s in London in 2000, when ithad formed part of the collection of the late

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Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild (Lot 36). Ithad apparently come through a previousmember of the family, and it has a suggestedprovenance linking it to the VienneseHabsburgs. I well remember the sale, withChristie’s Great Room and overflow roomspacked to capacity, the audience expectant,cameramen falling over themselves and banksof telephones at the ready. Thus a more high-profile auction it would be difficult to imagine,and on the day the medal sold for £115,000against Christie’s overly modest estimate of£20,000-30,000.

How to pitch the estimate this timeround was clearly no easy task, but it was set at£80,000-120,000, and the possibility, if not thelikelihood, that the hammer price would on thisoccasion fall short of that obtained at Christie’sfive years earlier loomed large. However, theopening figure of £55,000 was left standingwhen it went on to sell for £210,000, again toLarry Stack. Large size mid-sixteenth centurygold medals of this quality do not exactly growon trees, and coupled with its provenance, whois to say what the ‘right price’ for such animportant item should be. ‘It is what it is’, asAlice (in Wonderland) might have remarked.

Another personal favourite wasGuillaume Dupre’s magnificent uniface silverportrait medal of Marcantonio Memmo, Dogeof Venice, signed and dated 1612. Surely assharp a cast as it is possible to find, this hadbeen acquired by or for John Gaines at aSotheby’s London medal sale in 1993, when£14,500 was paid. This time round, the biddingstarted at £6000 before settling at £37,000 (lot29). Jan de Vos’s wonderful oval silver medal(Lot 37), an allegory of Vanitas, with itswonderfully crafted bust of a skeleton, hadbeen acquired at a Sotheby’s London sale in2001 for £27,500, and here is one example of amedal falling short of its original price, sellingon this occasion for £22,000.

The second part of the Gaines medalsale was held on 8 December 2005, and itopened with the large bronze portrait medal of

Alfonso V of Aragon, dated 1449 and fullysigned by Pisanello. This had been acquired ina Swiss sale in 2000, when, in circumstancesnot fully understood, it realised the sum of315,000 Swiss Francs, or approximately£145,000. Subsequent to that auction and themedal’s acquisition by John Gaines, anexhibition on the work of Pisanello appeared atthe National Gallery in London, and theexhibition catalogue entry for the medalattributed it to the ‘workshop of Pisanello’,rather than directly to the hand of the masterhimself. A review of the catalogue found itdifficult to accept the medal as not being by themaster himself, to whom George Francis Hillhad attributed it in his Corpus in 1930. Indeed,Hill had referred to the medal as ‘splendid’ andchose it as the frontispiece illustration to hisearlier work on Medals of the Renaissance,published in 1920. Whatever the merits of thedebate, this is a very fine medal and looks inhindsight to have been something of a bargainat a hammer price of £46,000. The estimate hadbeen sensibly set at £60,00-80,000.

A little further on in the catalogue wasto be found Sperandio of Mantua’s bronzeportrait medal of Camilla of Aragon, the widowof Costanzo Sforza. The obverse is coupled to adelightful reverse, showing a female figure on aseat comprising the foreparts of a unicorn and ahound. This charming and charismatic medalhad appeared at a Sotheby’s London sale ofcoins and medal in 1989, when it sold for£8000. That figure formed the upper end of theestimate this time round, and the medal sold for£21,000 (Lot 5).

Decorating the front cover of the secondcatalogue was the wonderful and ravishingsilver portrait medal of Charles V, Holy RomanEmperor (1519-56), by Albrecht Durer andHans Krafft the Elder (Lot 41). Dated 1521, thereverse side features a double-headed eagle,while on both sides are raised heraldic borders.This medal has a provenance going back to thePrince Furstenberg collection, sold in 1931, andhad most recently been sold by Sotheby’s in

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London in 1994, when it brought the then-impressive price of £50,000. The passage oftime had, however, rendered this priceincreasingly less impressive and the catalogueestimate for this medal was understandablypitched at £70,000-100,000. The auctioneeropened bidding at £40,000, and in no time itreached £170,000, the victor being Larry Stack,underbid by a German dealer-cum-collector.There immediately followed Hans Reinhart theElder’s large Trinity medal, signed and datedJanuary 1544 (Lot 42). Estimated at £40,000-60,000, this went for £130,000. It is understoodthat John Gaines had purchased this medal forapproximately £65,000 in a private sale.

The latter part of the catalogue includeda selection of plaques and plaquettes. A bronzeof Venus chastising Cupid by Andrea Briosco,commonly referred to as Riccio (c.1470-1532).(Lot 57) had been in the collection of SylviaAdams and sold in London by Bonhams 1996,when it made £40,000. This time round, it took£64,000. Particularly pleasing was a circulargilt-bronze plaquette by Moderno (GaleazzoMondella), c.1467-1528/9, showing a seatedfigure of Mars amidst shields and trophies. Thishad been acquired from a Paris dealer, and wasestimated at £10,000-15,000, but went on tosell for £23,000 (Lot 54).

The first part of the sale realised£717,774 and the second £670,850, sums whichreflect the evenly balanced spread of materialbetween the two auctions. However, it issobering to think that the total realised figurefor both parts would buy you little in the fieldof old master drawings.

On the face of it, the world ofRenaissance medals could not be moredifferent to that of a Kentucky horse breeder,but in the selection process of his quitedifferent passions, John Gaines clearly had anuncommonly good eye as well as a fineinstinct. Something which his medals - as seenwithin the confines of these two catalogues -bear witness.

* 16 February 2005.

All prices quoted from the various salesare without the buyer’s premium, which at theMorton & Eden sale of the Gaines collectionwas 20%.

LACONIA(by Bob Fritsch)

Laconia was established as a city in1893. In 1855, Laconia had been incorporatedas a town from lands at Meredith Bridge,Lakeport, Weirs and from a part of Gilmanton.The town's name was likely taken from thename of the original company formed byCaptain John Mason and the Masonianproprietors in order to sell parcels to theoriginal colonists during the colonial era: theLaconia Company. Laconia is the county seatfor New Hampshire's Belknap County whichwas established by the legislature in 1840 (andnamed in honor of one of the most notablehistorians of the state, Dr. Jeremy Belknap).Prior to the establishment of Belknap County,the area now Laconia was in Strafford County(1773 -1841) and prior to that, the area wasoriginally in Rockingham County (1771-1773).Belknap County originally was made up ofeight former Strafford County towns: Alton,Barnstead, Centre Harbor, Gilford, Gilmanton,Meredith, New Hampton and Sanbornton.Currently, Belknap County includes Laconia(from Meredith in 1855) and ten towns.

The native inhabitants had longestablished one of the region's largestsettlements at the Acquadocton Village locatedat the point now known as the Weirs, namedafter the wooden fishing weirs of wovenbranches set in the waterway at that point bythe native peoples. The Weirs location hadbeen visited as early as 1652 by the Endicottsurveying party, a point now marked byEndicott Rock. The Europeans did not return topermanently settle the area for quite some time

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owing to the series of colonial wars beingwaged across northeastern America during thisperiod between the English (along with theirIndian allies) and the French (along with theirIndian allies). The last of these wars, the oneAmericans commonly call the French andIndian War, was ended by the Treaty of Paris in1763. The township of Gilmanton was grantedeast of the Winnipesaukee River in 1727, and acolonial fort was built in the location nowLaconia in 1746. European colonists, however,did not finally settle in the Laconia area until1761, that settlement being called MeredithBridge and situated in what is now downtownLaconia.

The settlement was for the most partself-sufficient, the settlers producing their ownfood, clothing and other necessities. The maintrade center for New Hampshire wasPortsmouth and the settlement was connectedto Portsmouth by a road initiated by GovernorJohn Wentworth, who wished to have a routefrom Portsmouth to Canada other than theConnecticut River. That road is the route nowalong Pease Road and Parade Road and onthrough town along Pleasant, Province and (inpart) Main streets to Route 107. Starting in1765, lumber, wheat and corn mills werequickly established near what is now MillStreet. Taverns soon followed on what is nowParade Road (Farrar Tavern, 1782, andDavenport Tavern, 1785).

Manufacturing mills began to appearearly in the 19th century; indeed, in 1800, theBean Carding Mill was built. In 1813, theAvery Mill was opened. The importance of thethriving settlement to the region can be seen byits selection as a site for the court, built about1822. In 1832, regional industrial growth basedon water power was marked by the building ofthe Belknap Mill. Currently restored this textilemill, still standing in the heart of Laconia, islisted on the National Register of HistoricLandmarks and is the oldest such structure inthe United States. (A second distinction for theMill is its water-powered wheelhouse from the

early 1900's. It once supplied electricity to thedowntown area and is the last of its kind inAmerica.) At the formation of Belknap Countyin 1840, the courthouse was designated thecounty court, establishing the settlement as thecounty seat.

This period was also notable for theexpansion and improvement of the regionalroads with many major routes beingestablished. Not only did the roadways in theregion improve throughout the 19th century,but railroads also arrived in the area. By 1849,there was rail service provided by the Boston-Concord and the Montreal Railroad throughLaconia to Lake Village, the Weirs andMeredith. During the same period, steamboatswere appearing on Lake Winnipesaukee. Thefirst such vessel, built at Lake Village in 1833,was the S.S. Belknap (like the county, namedfor Jeremy Belknap). In 1848, theWinnipesaukee Steamboat Company wasformed.

Throughout the second half of the 19thcentury, industry grew in Laconia in manydifferent areas of endeavor (lumber, textiles,shoes, hosiery, knitting machinery and needlesfor knitting machines); the increasing laborneeds of the region were met in large part byimmigration of French Canadians, manysettling in East Lake Village. Among theemerging industries for the region was tourism,spurred by the growth of the railroad and thesteamship lines. Lodging needs for thesetourists were met by boarding houses and largehotels. Transportation needs within the city fortourists and residents alike during this periodwere met by trolley cars. The Ranlet CarCompany, at first a builder of railcars, playedan important role in the city's development. Thecar company became the city's largestemployer, expanding to the building of trolleycars and subway cars. The Laconia CarCompany was operated from 1848 through tothe 1930's.

With the city's growth as an industrialcenter came a growing need for fire protection

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and early private fire brigades were set up inthe city by manufactures to protect theirfacilities. The services of these fire brigadeswere made available to the public as well bythe companies which had set them up. Themain incentive for establishing this service wasthe Great Fire of 1860 which destroyed most ofthe property on Main Street from Mill Street toWater Street on November 21 of that year.These private fire-fighting companies werewell established by the 1870's with fire houses,men in uniform and up-to-date equipment. Ahorse-drawn Amoskeag Steamer (a steam-powered water pump) and its fire brigade werephotographed in Laconia in 1875. In 1888, aphotograph of a large fire company is notablefor its two hose wagons and its hook andladder. Upon the establishment of Laconia as acity, the City Council as one of its first actsvoted to have the Weirs firehouse built and thatstructure was complete in 1894. Fire brigadeswere called in by telegraph and, later, bytelephone. In winter, equipment was placed ontrains to get it as close to the fire as roadconditions would allow. It is worth noting thatthere were two major disasters in the early1900's: in 1902 there was an explosion whichdestroyed the Masonic temple and the adjacentlivery stable. On May 26, 1903, a fire destroyedLakeport, with fire companies being brought inby train from as far as Dover, NH, to fight theGreat Lakeport Fire.

As electricity came to the area (thankslargely to the abundant water power available),the horse-drawn trolleys were replaced withelectric ones and the last horsecar run wasmade in 1898. The car building shopscontinued to operate until they closed down inthe 1930's, but other manufacturing remainedin the area into the 1960's. The heavy industrieseventually relocated, but Laconia revitalized itsdowntown during the 1960's and 1970's andnow the region has light manufacturing andhigh-tech industry as well as a solid base ofprofessionals and service industries. Veryimportant to the area now, of course, is the

four-season tourist industry, many features ofwhich can be seen through the Links page inthis site.

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NOMINATIONS SOUGHT2007 marks an election year for the

Medal Collectors of America and we arelooking for a few good men. We are lookingfor members to step forward and help to run theclub. Positions to be filled are President, VicePresident, Secretary/Treasurer, and sixDirectors. Duties are light and the reward is agood feeling that comes from helping a goodclub. Bob Fritsch is the NominatingCommittee of one, and can be contacted onemail at bobfritsch@earthlink.net or via USPSat PO Box 3003; Nashua, NH 03061-3003.Don’t be surprised if Bob comes up to you atthe Denver meeting to ask for yourinvolvement.

The Political Satire Medals of R.W.Julian, 1977-1981(by Steve Pelligrini)

IntroductionWithout doubt some energetic and

devoted numismatist will one day decide tostand on the shoulders of Edmund B. Sullivani

and write a successor volume about 20th

century political tokens and medals. Within thatbook the satirical political medals produced byRW Julian in 1977-1981 will have pride ofplace as the highest quality and perhaps mostimportant political medals of the 20th century.They are certainly the most politically telling oftheir particular time and place.

When considering political medals,whether from a pervious century or from theprevious generation, it is necessary to put theminto the context of their time In thebicentennial year of 1976 R.W. Julian, one ofthe United States premier numismatichistorians, completed his Magnum Opus onearly US Mint Medalsii. After having spent themajority of the previous five years reading andwriting in the company of the founding fathers,the scholar emerged to view the current resultof the endeavors of those noble men. Fromtheir perspective, he saw a country dividedagainst itself, politically adrift, with leadershipthat either would not or could not lead thenation as a whole. Unlike Americans of 1776,the people of 1976 seemed without a compassto help guide themselves back on course. Julianidentified the main problem in bicentennialAmerica as the liberal Democraticestablishment. In 1976 the Republican Party,for all intents and purposes, had been out ofpower since the onset of the Great Depressionand Franklin Roosevelt’s election 1932. But,after 45 years Roosevelt’s grand coalition wasbeginning to fray and loosen at its center. Aconfluence of disaffected Americans voterswere beginning to quietly come together inwhat would soon become a groundswell.Ironically these voters were first identified andcourted by Lyndon Johnson, the last of FDR’s

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progressive New Dealers. Johnson called thisgrowing swath of disaffected Americans the‘silent majority’. R W Julian determined hewould give a voice to this (actually not sosilent) group of Americans.

As a numismatic historian andprofessional educator Julian knew just how tomake his point. Julian had long admired KarlGoetz’s work, most especially his series ofpolitical satire medals. The success of thesemedals rested on their startling imagery, theclever irony of their inscriptions and theirtimeliness. Goetz in his medals seemed to havea sure feel for the heart, mind and politicalsympathies of the average citizen – even whenthey themselves did not. So popular andeffective were Goetz’s medals that they hadhelped to form public opinion in Germanybetween the wars. During WWI Goetz hadproduced a series of medallic satires thatlampooned the perceived foibles of Germany’senemies. When the war ended Goetz, againthrough his satirical medals, was instrumentalin helping the German people find andconcentrate on a new set of enemies. Inaddition to former battlefield foes, Goetz nowincluded a whole new set of internal enemies:the former Kaiser, liberal politicians, Weimardemocrats and the shaggy radicals of thesocialist and communist left. As immediatelytopical as these medals were to the 1914-1924era, they continued to strike such a strong cordwith the public such that Goetz was able to sellthem right up until his death in 1950. With thismost effective numismatic model in mind,R.W. Julian set about designing the first of hishigh-end medallic editorials.

Once he had his ideas and designs onpaper, RWJ began to search for a sculpturalartist who could render his vision into plaster –one of the first steps toward producing afinished medal. Before the 1970s, there werefew artists in the U.S. experienced in the craftsand art of medal making. One of the few wasseptuagenarian artist-sculptor Warner Williamsof Indiana. Williams’ favorite artistic theme

was Americana and his native West. At aboutthis time there was a dramatic spike in preciousmetals prices. This brought about a revival ininterest among collectors and ‘investors’ forsmall medals struck in silver, gold andplatinum. Artistically the majority of thesemedals were mediocre and not much above thecreative level of ingots and bullion. However,optimist Warner Williams saw in this anopportunity to once again try his hand at fineart medals. He was surprised to soon findhimself with a growing reputation for hismedallic work.

RWJ already knew Williams throughhis art medals and through his work with theNational Sculpture Society. Both men werefrom Indiana. When the two met, the youngscholar and the old artist, they talked aboutJulian’s vision and his plan for an Americanmedal series. When RWJ produced a packet ofhis preliminary designs and some sketched-outideas for future medals Williams wasimmediately enthusiastic. No doubt whatimpressed him most and drew him favorably tothe commission was Julian’s proposal that eachyear’s medal be fronted with an originalportrait of an American. Whatever luminarywas chosen, would have to act as a clearallegory illustrating the political point of themedal. Julian was proposing a modern updateof the classic formula of the renaissance medal:a strong obverse portrait with its interpretiveimpression on the reverse. The opportunity tocreate such an American suite was very muchto William’s taste. He quickly accepted thecommission agreeing to create the mastermodels for the first of the proposed medals –‘The Media Medal’. Equally importantly toRWJ was the artist’s commitment to the seriesgoing forward. Williams had committed to theproject for however long they both chose orwere able to continue.

With an experienced and dependablemedallist on board, RWJ had overcome the firstof two hurdles. The next task was to find aprivate medal mint that could turn his and

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Williams’ models into a finished medal--notjust a finished medal, but a medal finished tothe most exacting standards. He wanted amedal struck from dies engraved to the finestfidelity, struck on flawless planchets of highestquality alloys, struck on presses powerfulenough to bring up his design in the sharp extrahigh relief he envisioned and then finished bycraftsmen skilled enough to apply the beautifulpatinas perfectly.

Keep in mind that RWJ was in 1977already acknowledged as one of the world’sforemost experts in the realm of historicalmedals and their minting. He had to have amint that could meet all of his exacting criteria.Perhaps inevitably he turned to the MedallicArt Company - formerly of New York Citynow of Danbury, CT - universally known asMACO. Since the earliest years of the 20th

century, MACO stood at the pinnacle asAmerica’s most prestigious maker of fine artmedals. Over the years their clientele includedthe brightest names in the worlds of Art andCommerce. Once he’d secured MACO as hismint, RWJ was ready to make his medals.

RWJ carefully planned the first medalin the series - ‘The Media Medal.’ It was asatire on the Liberal bias of the Americanmedia. To illustrate this point, the designerchose to portray Ex-President Richard M.Nixon on the obverse. Since the McCarthyhearings, Nixon had been the boogieman underthe bed for the American Left. An anti-Mediamedal that at the same time expressedsympathy for Richard Nixon would be theperfect vehicle to unequivocally present a pointof view. It would also, engender controversy:Julian knew that the mere mention of Nixon inconversation sparked a gut reaction inAmerican Liberals still inflamed by theWatergate Hearings. He knew the medal wouldget a reaction out of the media resulting in freepublicity and a boost in sales for his medals.

No doubt the medal upset the media.And they did react - as Julian knew they would.But their reaction was not what he had

anticipated. Later that year the embitteredscholar wrote about the Press’s reaction to hisfirst medal: “The concepts involved were sounpleasant that many newspapers refused toprint the material. Those acting in this mannerhave proven the point that newspapers are nolonger totally unbiased and uncensored…Publicity for this Medal did appear inapproximately fifteen newspapers as well as thenumismatic press.... If the publicity had beenwidespread and uncensored, several tens ofthousands of medals would have been struck.”

In late1977 the first Julian medals werestruck in bronze. MACO used heavy planchetsof a relatively bright colored alloy and its mostpowerful medal presses. About half a hundredof the medals were also stuck in a lovely Cu-Nialloy called ‘nickel-silver.’ Throughout the fiveyears of the series the technical specs for bothtypes of medals remained consistent. Eachyear, at the end of the medal’s production run,the dies were defaced. This was to insure thatno more of the medals would ever be struck.The finished medals were packed betweencotton padding and placed into one of MACO’sstandard, ivory-colored presentation boxes.Along with the medal, RWJ included a smallplastic easel and a short written explanation ofthe medal’s symbolism and message. In thispaper also were the year’s exact mintagefigures for both bronze and nickel-silvermedals. Collectors of the series came toappreciate these extra touches. They wererecognized as the thoughtfulness of anenthusiastic scholar-numismatist whose love ofmedals was as great as their own. To RWJ’smind, a table medal is meant to be displayed,studied and talked about. And to a collectorthere is nothing more enjoyable than having anew medal explained by its creator.

In each November’s issue of the‘Numismatist’ from 1977 through 1981, a ¾page ad appeared offering that year’s bronzeJulian satirical. The ad stated that advanceorders would be accepted up until the 30th ofNovember and that the cost was $9.95,

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included shipping and insurance. Curiously theCuNi medals were not mentioned. Nor was theextraordinary offer to sell 15" hydrocal plastercasts of the original artwork. These wereuniface high-relief models of the obverse andreverse designs. They could be ordered directlyfrom the artist and Warner Williams insuredthat they were flawless, clean and neatlytrimmed – well suited for wall display. It wouldseem that interest in either of these objects, theCuNi medals and the plaster models wouldcome from readers of the Numismatist. Yet,almost after the fact, these two items wereoffered only in the written inserts thataccompanied the delivered medals. In fairness,RWJ planned the series to be marketedprimarily to the public at large, latentconservatives and potential crossover voters -and not especially to the relatively smallnumismatic community. That is why todaythese well-distributed medals are rarely seen onthe numismatic secondary market. The nickelsilver medals in particular are very scarce andthe large hydrocal models are downright rare.RWJ has retained a set of the hydrocal models.

RWJ was able to hold the price of themedals to a modest $9.95 throughout most ofthese inflationary years. However, by 1981mounting expenses and declining sales hadchanged the equation. The price for the lastmedal, “The Justice Medal” had to be raised to$12.50 in order just to break even. With thatyear’s medal, subscribers received a note fromRWJ, "Due to the severe decline in sales overthe past two years, this medal is the last of theseries...It is with a great deal of reluctance thatI have decided to end the series... I would liketo express my appreciation, in particular, tothose persons who stayed with the entire seriesof medals. (Sig.) R.W. Julian." - From thebeginning all profits had been donated to a non-profit, non-political organization to furthernumismatic research. And so the series endedas it had begun, with the rare touch and flourishof an American gentleman and scholar.

THE MEDALS

NOTE ON DESCRIPTIONS

In the following brief descriptions ofR.W. Julian’s political medals I have tried touse Mr. Julian’s own words whenever possible.Due to space considerations I’ve had todrastically edit and paraphrase Mr. Julian’sown descriptions of his medals. If in theprocess I have changed or distorted themessage of that fine writer I can only offer mysincere apologies. I’m sure my paraphrasing,rusty scissors and even more rusty writing stylehave not done justice to RWJ’s artistic orintellectual intentions.

Each year RWJ wrote a shortexplanation of the meaning and

symbolism of the annual medal. Thisanalysis was included with the

medal when it shipped. A truncatedversion of these descriptions

appeared each year inadvertisements for the medals as

they were issued. An ad aimedprimarily at the collector communityappeared each year in the Novemberissue of the ‘Numismatist’. The firstof these ‘Numismatist’ ads, offeringthe ‘Nixon-Media Medal’, appearedin the Nov 1977 issue. A similar ¾page advertisement appeared in

each November’s issue thereafter.These old ads, and the texts thataccompanied the medals, are themost readily accessible means ofreading RWJ’s own analysis and

explanations of his medals.

1977 THE MEDIA MEDAL

RWJ-77 Bronze 63mm Mtg:1,340 / RWJ-77aCuNi 63mm Mintage: 49

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R.W. Julian explains:OBV: ”Portrait of the former President Nixonfacing right. Constant personal attacks on MrNixon over the years show to what extent acorrupt media can go.REV: “The reverse symbolizes the TV newsmedia, a slickly packaged industry which slantsthe news to its own ends. The Janus head isfrom a Roman coin of about 200 BC andsymbolizes the media’s DOUBLESTANDARD. The blindfold on the leftindicates that the misdeeds of the political Leftare ignored while concentrating on theimagined wrongs of the Right.”

1978 THE PANAMA CANAL TREATYMEDAL

RWJ-78 Bronze 63mm Mtg: 1,340 / RWJ-77aCuNi 63mm Mintage: 49

OBV: “Portrait of President TheodoreRoosevelt facing right. More than any otherman TR was responsible for building of thecountry of Panama and the Canal. This medal isa permanent memorial to those Senators who socallously gave away a part of America.”REV: “A kneeling Uncle Sam gives away thePanama Canal on a silver platter to a two-headed figure standing over him – Panamaniandictator Trujillo and his conjoined evil twinFidel Castro. The umbrella above is a symbolicreminder that 1978 was the 40th anniversary ofthe Munich Agreement and British PM NevilleChamberlain’s appeasement of Adolf Hitler.”

1979 THE ENERGY MEDAL

RWJ-79 Bronze 63mm Mtg:1,055 / RWJ-79aCuNi 63mm Mintage: 45

OBV: “Presidential portrait of Lincoln (afterBrady photo of Feb.’1864) facing right with thequote: ‘Let The People Know The Facts AndThe Country Will Be Saved’.

REV: “This medal is meant to remind us of theinaction that has characterized US energypolicy. Famous 3 Monkey tableau representsthose most deserving of blame: Congress(Dem.-led), current administration (Dem. Pres.J. Carter), and a distant 3d, the Oil Industry –for failing to educate the public. EcologyGroups and National Media were also toblame.”

1980 THE DEFENCE MEDAL

RWJ-80 Bronze 63mm Mtg: 1,000 / RWJ-80aCuNi 63mm Mintage: 50

OBV: “Facing portrait of Gen. DouglasMacarthur with direct quote, ‘There Is NoSubstitute For Victory’. If the General’s policyhad been followed we would not now be facingthe problem we do. Loss of will by leaders inthe late 1940’s (Dem. Pres. Truman) erodedAmerica’s might and encouraged aggression byCommie Bloc.”REV: “Uncle Sam, shirtless, blindfolded,armed with antiquated weapon, his powergreatly diminished, attempts to defend thenation. The blindfold symbolizes the muzzlingof the CIA (Dem. Pres. J. Carter).”

1981 THE JUSTICE MEDAL

RWJ-81 Bronze 63mm Mtg:1,000 / RWJ-81aCuNi 63mm Mintage: 50

OBV: “Washington portrait facing right. Quote(paraphrasing the Constitution), ‘The LawsShall Be Faithfully Executed’.REV: ‘Goddess of Justice statue with brokensword, slipping blindfold, She is and holding anunbalanced Scales of Justice symbolizing thebias existing in favor of the criminal over theinnocent. Inscription: ‘The Criminal is Set FreeWhile The Victim is Forgotten’.

NOTE ON INCUSE EDGES EDGEINSCRIPTIONS:

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All of the medals in the series carry an edgeinscription. The inscriptions on the medals inmy collection vary from year to year andbetween the bronze and CuNi strikes. On theAe example of the first year 1977, theinscription reads: (copyright logo) MedallicArt Co. – Danbury, CT-Bronze. The Ae medalof the next year 1978 reads simply: Bronze.The third year reads: (copyright logo) 1979MACO Bronze. The forth year Ae except forthe date is the same: (copyright logo) 1980MACO Bronze. The last year in Ae is again thesame: (copyright logo) 1981 MACO Bronze.

In CuNi, the 1977 first year edgeinscription reads about the same as on the Aestrike except, naturally, the words Nickel-Silverare substituted for Bronze. The next year 1979reads similarly to the Ae of the same year,again with the just alloy name being different.However the third year inscription on the CuNiexample differs from its Ae counterpart:(copyright logo) 1979 Medallic Art Co. –Danbury, CT – Nickel-Silver. The last twoyears in CuNi carry the exact same inscriptionincluding the date: (copyright logo) 1981Medallic Art Co.- Danbury, CT – Nickel-Silver. The first of these last two, the DefenseMedal, should carry 1980 as its date, ratherthan 1981 as it does. This seems to be an errorby MACO as the same medal in Ae carries thecorrect date of 1980. The edge inscriptions onall ten medals appear centered at 6:00.

• Sullivan, Edmund B. ‘American PoliticalBadges and Medalets 1789-1892’Quarterman. 1981

• Kienast, Gunther W. ‘The Medals of KarlGoetz.’ Artus. 1967

• Julian, R.W. ‘Medals Of The United StatesMint, The First Century 1792-1892’ TAMS1977

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Letters to the Editor

Dear John

This comes to you as Editor of the MCA ~many thanks and best wishes ~ Daniel

John,The latest MCA Advisory has arrived

and another Ford-fest it is too! Since you drawattention to Warren Baker's mention of theReford Sale, held by Sotheby's in Toronto inOctober 1968, may I add my two cent's worth.The Reford Collection was a small adjunct to amuch greater collection of Canadiana paintingsand prints. It was sent to London where Icatalogued it (and it was not a bad effort for a23 year old, unfamiliar with the wonders ofIndian Chief Medals, even if I say so myself!),and then I traveled with it back to Toronto forthe sale.

David Spink attended with Mr. andMrs. Norweb, for whom he hoped to buy.Warren Baker bought two lots! But it was thelikes of Judge Sam Weir, who caused theexcitement, when he bought the "Happy WhileUnited" medal, and others including PeterWinkworth (whose collection of drawings andpaintings were acquired for the Canadiannation shortly before his death last summer),Warda Drummond and Charles de Volpi - allCanadiana collectors.

And, of course, John Ford was thereviewing thoroughly (and cleaning his handswith wipes after each lot). He impartedknowledge and appreciated the captiveaudience I provided. It was the way to learn. Iwas to see more of him the following yearwhen I worked for Sotheby's in New York andwould visit the New Netherlands, and fromthen onwards we kept in touch. I have a copyof The Coin Collector's Journal for May - June1951, with an article on the "Copper Company

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of Upper Canada", along with a dedicationfrom April 1983 (when it arrived out of theblue!), "For Daniel Fearon - From an aging'boy wonder' - J. J. Ford."

If permitted a final line of self-promotion - acopy of the Reford auction catalogue is listedfor sale on my web site,www.danielfearon.com.

Daniel Fearon

Dear John,Here is an idea for the MCA Advisory.

I recently received a letter from BrookgreenGardens about their medal program. They havetwenty-two large size medals for sale at $75each. You will notice from the enclosed listthat some top notch medalists are represented.

So few institutions have on-going medalprograms I feel this should be supported. Theonly problem is no photographs of the medalson line yet. Carol says however that she soonwill remedy that problem.

I hope your summer is going well.Sorry I can’t get to Colorado but I will be at theMedallic Art Society of Canada meeting nextweek in Niagara Falls.

Sincerely,

Gerry Muhl

[Those interested in these medals can reachBrookgreen at www.brookgreen.org –ed.]

Inquiries Answered

The following inquiry was sent to DavidBoitnott, MCA’s webmaster, who forwardedit to Dick Johnson for answering.

David,My name is Bryan Ellis, I am a fine

medal collector. I have been trying to find outsome information about a coin/medallion Icame across the other day and have had no luckat all. I was hoping that you or someone theremight be able to give me some informationabout it or where I might be able to find someinformation about it.

Anyway, it's pretty nice size, weighs7.13 ounce, and has a 3D head of Michael V.Disalle on it. Underneath the head it has RalphJ. Menconi, who I assume is the artist. On theback side it has the state of Ohio logo with therising sun. The coin date is 1962 and isstamped on the edge .999+ pure silver medallicart company, 262. Any help with this will begreatly appreciated, if its fake that's okay too,I'd just like to find out something about it.

If you have any info. at all could yousend it to my email address at homebentl@verizon.net Thanks!

Sincerely,

Bryan Ellis

From Dick Johnson:

Bryan Ellis:

David Boitnott, the webmaster of theMedal Collectors of America website, hasasked that I answer your recent inquiry to him.

Your medal is known as the Michael V.DiSalle Campaign Medal, 1962. It was indeedcreated by sculptor Ralph Joseph Menconi(1915-1972) and struck by Medallic ArtCompany, then of New York City (later ofDanbury, Connecticut, and even later ofDayton, Nevada). It is MAco catalog number68-87.

The medal was issued by PresidentialArt Medals of Englewood Ohio. How theyissued this medal is an interesting story. This

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organization began two years earlier by issuinghalf-dollar size medals of the presidents of theUnited States (struck by Medallic Art Co). Thisseries proved so successful they commencedplans in 1962 for a second series on the Statesof the Union.

Since they were located in Ohio, theywanted to issue the Ohio Statehood Medal asthe first medal in this series (MAco 62-2-1).They contacted the governor's office for asuggestion for the most famous Ohio citizen(s)to place their portrait(s) on this medal. (Theultimate decision was to place the WrightBrothers portraits on this Ohio medal.)

The governor at that time was the veryMichael DiSalle you see on your medal. Hebecame intrigued with their project and invitedthem to visit him. All four principles ofPresidential Art visited Governor DiSalle. Hewas running for reelection in 1962 and asked ifthey could strike a medal for his campaign. Theanswer obviously was yes.

But that is not the end of the story.Later DiSalle became associated with one ofthe Presidential Art principles, Max Humbert,and the two became very active in the issuingor marketing of coins and medals. DiSalle, whocommanded an impressive appearance, large instature, voice and intent, was an excellentnegotiator. He traveled in diplomatic andpolitical circles, was often in the White House.The pair even solicited foreign governments forissuing their coins, somewhat like the FranklinMint was doing at the time.

Michael DiSalle (born January 6, 1908)died September 14, 1981. The duo had donequite well and Max Humbert bought a home inthe Bahamas or West Indies but continued torun a numismatic firm out of Florida.

Now about the DiSalle medal. It wasissued in three sizes. The 2 3/4-inch (70mm)you have was issued in bronze and silver. A 11/4-inch (32mm) size was issued in bronze andplatinum, and a 13/16-inch (21mm) size inbronze and silver.

The 262 on the edge of your medal is aserial number. There were 2,000 issued thissize all serially numbered. There were 1,000issued in bronze unnumbered this size.

The medium size is the most common,17,000 in bronze were struck and these werewidely distributed as campaign medals (apractice that goes back in American history toAbraham Lincoln and before). Of the platinum,only 10 were struck and these were seriallynumbered.

The small sizes were all made intojewelry items (ideal for charm size medalets).For women, 25 silver medalets were struck for12 pair of earrings, and 524 bronze struck for262 sets of earrings. For men 1,000 medaletswere struck in bronze for 500 sets of cufflinks.

About the genuineness of your medal; Iwould have to see the medal, of course, to attestthat it is genuine. However, I have never heardof this medal being copied. In fact, very fewmedals have been replicated of Medallic ArtCompany medals because of their high quality(it is so difficult to replicate this quality).

Collecting these would be a challenge,imagine the thrill of the chase to find andacquire these elusive items! Other than theplatinum medal, you already have the mostexpensive silver medal. Good luck in yourfurther collecting.

Respectfully,

Dick Johnson

(You ask a question of Dick Johnson andyou get a world-class answer.—ed.)

Dear John,We have corresponded in May of 2000.

Once again, I am in need of your expertise. Ihave recently acquired a Distinction May, 1786given by John Johnson in Montreal to a Ottawachief; it mentioned a small medal. My question

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to you would be, what small medal could ithave possibly been? Your input would bedeeply appreciated. Last week, I visited a dearfriend, Fr. Paul Prucha, and your name came upand he mentioned favorably your landmarkbook. By the way, my email address haschanged from angelfire toraslovick@yahoo.com

Thanks again,

Ron Slovick

Hi Ron - The small medal then in use was theundated George III, either the obverse withGeorge and Charlotte or with the king only.This was a medal meant for warriors, notchiefs, but presumably Johnson knew what hewas doing.

As you probably know, distinctions area lot rarer than the medals. Paper gets lost ordestroyed a lot easier than silver. How aboutgiving us the full text of your distinction aswell as an image for our next issue? It willprovide a fine primer for Ford XV.

Best,

John

i Sullivan, Edmund B. ‘American Political Badges andMedalets 1789-1892’ Quarterman 1981.

ii Julian, R.W. ‘Medals Of The United States Mint, TheFirst Century 1792-1892’ TAMS 1977.