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The Newsletter of Medal Collectors of America
Volume 12 Number 1 January 2009
Board MembersJohn W. Adams, PresidentJohn Sallay, Vice President, [email protected] D. Tayman, TreasurerDavid T. Alexander, [email protected] F. Fritsch, [email protected] Menchell, [email protected] Miller, [email protected] Rezak, [email protected] Scarinci, [email protected] Turrini, [email protected] Weiss, Webmaster
John W. Adams, Editor99 High Street, 11th floorBoston, MA [email protected]
Barry Tayman, Treasurer3115 Nestling Pine CourtEllicott City, MD [email protected]
Benjamin Weiss, [email protected]
Website: medalcollectors.org
Editor of Collectors’ Guide, Dick Johnson([email protected])
Dues: $20.00/Year $35.00/2 years
What’s New on Our Website!
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE EVERY MONTH
From the Editor 3
Webmaster's Report (by Ben Weiss) 3
Medal Sale on January 12th 3
Byways of Washingtonia(by David Thomason Alexander, Fellow of the ANS) 4
A Tour of the Garrett’s UndergroundCoin Vault at Evergreen House(by Max B. Spiegel and Elliot M. Wehner) 19
Letters to the Editor 22
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From the EditorThe coin market has been described to
us as being “in a state of flux.” This is, ofcourse, a euphemism for declining prices. Ourguess is that medals have been relativelyimmune to this trend, not because of innatevalue but because the reasons for collectingmedals have more to do with education thaninvestment. May it always be so.
David Alexander’s piece onWashingtoniana gets us off to an outstandingstart in the New Year. It will be suitablymemorialized with a limited edition off-print.The first off-prints that we published were quitepopular but the last one (the Truxton medal)did not “sell” well. Accordingly, we areinstituting a new policy whereby members willbe offered off-prints for $35 and then theunsold remainder will be given to a dealer forgeneral distribution at $50. Mr. Alexander’sarticle will be done in an edition of twenty five,signed and numbered. Those members wishingto own this future classic should send a checkfor $35 to our treasurer.
“Washingtonia” will not, we suspect, beour last off-print of the year. Warren Baker ishard at work on a study of the Louis XIVdynasty medal, as is Barry Tayman on Spanishpeace medals. As if this were not prospectenough, Margi Hofer has written an enthrallingarticle on the “Schyler” medal and Scott Milleris preparing a piece on the N. Coleman HartMedal. Stay tuned.
Webmaster's Report(by Ben Weiss)
The next meeting of the MedalCollectors of America will be held on Saturday,January 10, 2009, at 12 noon in the SuttonSuite of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, as part ofthe New York International NumismaticConvention. The MCA meeting will highlight aPanel Discussion on Technology and
Numismatics, chaired by John Sallay. All areinvited to attend.
The MCA Oral History Project isprogressing nicely, thanks to the leadership andefforts of several of our members, in particular,John Sallay, John Adams, Mark Schlepphorstand Dick Johnson. We especially thank MarkSchlepphorst, who has done the bulk of thework of editing and providing the audio files,and Dick Johnson, who has conductedextensive interviews. We now have interviewsof John Adams conducted by John Sallay, andof Alan Stahl interviewed by Dick Johnson. Wecurrently are in the process of completing thesefor publication to our website along with otheruseful material related to the interviews. Anumber of other Oral Histories of prominentmembers of the community of Medallic Art isplanned. Anyone interested in conducting suchinterviews please contact John Sally, MarkSchlepphorst or Ben Weiss.
Please stay tuned, as more informationabout this exciting and informative project willbe forthcoming in the weeks and months ahead.
An article entitled Medallic History ofReligious and Racial Intolerance: Medals asinstruments for promoting bigotry, by BenWeiss has been published on the website,www.kunstpedia.com . The article traces therepercussions of religious and racial intolerancethrough the eyes of historical andcommemorative medals.
MCA website: www.medalcollectors.org
Medal Sale on January 12thOn January 12th, Stacks’ auctioned the
John W. Adams collection of Indian peacemedals from the colonial period. Inevitably,this collection will be compared to that of JohnJ. Ford, Jr. The two overlap on many itemssuch as the undated George III medals(including the small size), Lion and Wolf (Fordhad two, Adams had three), the very rareKittanning and Treaty of Easton medals,
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George I/II trade tokens and the George IIImedals from the War of 1812. It is a tribute tothe strength of the general interest in medalsthat, prices on Adams pieces were 10-15%higher than on comparable items from Ford.
Whereas the degree of overlap washigh, it is the differences between the twocollections that is of special interest. Fordpossessed an example of the Montreal medalwhich, though the recipients name wasmutilated, fetched an astonishing $135,000.Adams did not own a Montreal medal but hedid possess extremely rare French and Spanishmedals not in Ford. The 1693 Louis XIVFamily medal, in gold, fetched $105,000 at thehammer. The same medal in silver, also oflarge size brought a most reasonable $14,000.The Charles III Spanish medal large size insilver was undoubtedly the steal of the eveningat $15,000.
For many, the highlight of the AdamsCollection was the 1780 Virginia Happy WhileUnited. Not seen at auction since 1933, thisitem fetched $80,000 after spirited bidding.For history buffs with less expensive tastesthere was a rich mixture of documentsincluding a 3000 word piece by WilliamJohnson, dated 1754, on the status of what wasthen our Northwest frontier. Johnson’s insightslanded him the job as the first superintendent ofIndian Affairs for the Northern colonies. Otherdocuments also involved Sir William and/or hisfamily.
Club Meeting In New YorkSnow or the threat thereof prevented the
attendance of our founder and our webmaster.Mark Schlepphorst filled in for Ben Weiss,explaining the oral history project and itsimminent debut. President Adams explainedthat 2009 is an election year for MCA, with allpositions open to any member who chooses torun (my e-mail is [email protected]).
Mr. Adams also laid out plans forupcoming issues of The Advisory which, in
turn, led to a discussion of off-prints ofimportant articles. Only four of the 20members in attendance evinced an intention tobuy the next off-print, which will feature DavidAlexander’s superb article on Washingtoniana.Not easily discouraged, ye editor will moveforward on this front, offering unsubscribedcopies beyond our relatively smallmembership. Good material deserves to beenshrined and we will find a way to make itwork for our treasury.
The last and largest portion of themeeting was a panel presentation on“Technology and Numismatics.” Ably chairedby John Sallay, the panel included MarkSchleppehorst, Chris Eimer and Dr. HubertLans. The subject evoked a heated discussion,with some in favor of sharing their holdings (allor in part) over the Internet and others not.Stay tuned for the launch of “NeoCollect,” vicepresident Sallay’s new business that will be animportant enabler for those who want toexchange.
Byways of Washingtonia(by David Thomason Alexander, Fellow of the ANS)
NOTE: This article was originally prepared for andpresented at the American Numismatic Society’sConference on Coinage of the Americas, Nov. 20,1999. It appears here in slightly modified form withpermission of the Society.
The collecting and study of coins,tokens and medals relating to GeorgeWashington were essential to the pioneergeneration of American numismatists. At thetime of the Civil War, Washington piecesdominated American collecting, partly because,by 1860, coinage of the U.S. Mint had onlybeen struck for 73 years.
The actual number of collectibleFederal decimal coins was quite small.Collecting was in some measure a patrioticexercise in the 1850’s, making it desirable toenlarge collecting parameters. Increasing
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attention was paid to coinage die varieties,especially of early coppers, vastly increasingthe corpus of collectible coins.
Token and medal collecting flourishedunder the same impetus. Certainly no greaterfocus for patriotic fervor could be found thanthe already larger-than-life figure of GeorgeWashington. Medals of the Pater Patriaeoffered a rich variety of designs and impressivesizes. Each told some part of Washington’ssaga and many were struck to add to his legend.
There has been some discussion of thecorrect inclusive term for Washington items.“Washington pieces’ sufficed for WilliamSpohn Baker when he published what stillremains the seminal work in this field, his 1885Medallic Portraits of Washington. (1) Duringthe 20th century, the LatinesqueWashingtoniana competed with the slightlyshorter Washingtonia.
Linguistic logic suggests a decisivechoice, especially for those with a speakingacquaintance with the sciences. In botany, oneof the most statuesque palm trees isWashingtonia, a tall, straight, palmate-leafedmember of the family Palmaceae.Washingtoniana describes collectible medals,tokens and ephemera of the first President, justas Lincolniana (not “Lincolnia”) describesmaterial relating to America’s 16th President.
This writer’s interest in Washingtonianaowes a great deal to his experience as anumismatic cataloguer. A determinedcataloguer seeking the full significance of agiven design quickly becomes aware of thesuperficiality of nearly all Washington medalcatalogues.
One of the first listings ofWashingtoniana was U.S. Mint Director JamesRoss Snowden’s 1861 volume, The MedallicMemorials of Washington in the Mint of theUnited States. This beautifully bound volumebore a gold-stamping of the U.S. MintWashington Cabinet Inauguration Medal on itsfront cover.
The sumptuous binding enclosed a listso utterly lacking in factual description as to bevirtually useless. Snowden engaged anengraver to prepare the plates, and the resulting“images of images” frequently require carefulstudy with medal in hand to ascertain just whatmedal is intended. The engravings omit suchkey elements as engravers’ names to make thereader’s task all the more challenging.(2)
William Sumner Appleton offeredsomewhat more detailed descriptions in his1873-74 and 1876 series, “WashingtonMedals,” in the American Journal ofNumismatics. At least Appleton picked up onthe importance of identifying engravers byname, such as the enigmatic TWIGG discussedbelow. Neither on his engraved plate nor in histext did Snowden do even this much. (3)
When Baker’s book appeared, interestin Washington material was already waning.Each passing year saw an increase in thenumber of U.S. Federal coins. Then AugustusHeaton published his slim 1893 Treatise on theCoinage of the U.S. Branch Mints, decisivelychanging the direction of general U.S.collecting. (4) Dates and Mint marks gained agrip on the typical American collector that hasproved well nigh unbreakable. Excluded by thisnew and rigid focus, all other numismaticcategories suffered.
Frozen in time, cut off from the largerpicture of European numismatics,Washingtoniana languished. The fall wasdramatic. In 1850-1885, Washington medalswere among the most popular numismaticcollectibles and held most of the outstandingauction records. Hard Times tokens, merchants’cards and political medalets were also largelyabandoned by mainstream collectors. By 1910all had changed despite the protests ofnumismatists such as New York’s Thomas L.Elder in his eloquent “Plea for American TokenCollecting.” (5)
Elder was never one to hold back inexpressing an opinion, however controversial.His summation included these words, “Let us
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not fall under the spell of the tendency tocollect die-cracks, dates, error dies, andmonotonous lines of dates of United Statescoins. We do not have to go any further torealize that we have in this subject of tokens, afield of great interest, and great possibilities.”Elder might easily added “of medals” to thisexhortation.
Limiting their attention to U.S. coins bydate and Mint mark, American collectorsisolated themselves from the wider world ofnumismatics and segregated themselves fromother broad categories of Americancollectibles. Study of other important areasvirtually languished, to the greatimpoverishment of numismatics.
One result of this hyper-focus was thatnumerous “mysteries” were encysted inWashingtoniana and many false or inadequatetales about particular medals becamepermanent features of the numismaticlandscape. The myopia of the now-constrictedworld of strictly American numismaticseliminated any drive to find solutions toenigmas of the Washington series.
This writer’s monthly column in thenumismatic weekly Coin World (appearingmonthly since 1991) has provided a setting forthe exploration of some of the Washingtonmysteries. Since 1991, “The Research Desk”has offered in-depth historical interpretation ofU.S. and world medals, and Washingtonianahas provided more than a few subjects.
Work on the column has underlined thecontinuing need for original research.Excessive reliance on standard catalogues andwidely used guide books can have a stiflingeffect. The research impulse is often deadenedby a comforting belief that “It’s all in Krause,the ‘Red Book’ or Baker.” The very complexityof fields such as Washington pieces, HardTimes or Civil War tokens refutes this simplebelief.
Delving into the study ofWashingtoniana also reveals the startling andwidespread ignorance of American history
today. When most modern Americans’grandparents attended school, whether inremote rural Ohio or Iowa or in major citiessuch as New York City or Chicago, Americanhistory was a vital part of the curriculum. Fiftyyears later, many of them could readily recallbattles, name commanders and describe eventsin the Revolution with marvelous accuracy.
Shifting trends in historiography, the“history of history,” contributed mightily to thisignorance. The excessive adulation of the early19th century corroded real understanding ofWashington. The 1800 Life and MemorableAction of George Washington, by Mason“Parson” Weems substituted fanciful tales forhistorical fact. Saccharine stories of a silverdollar thrown across the Potomac, or a hatchetwielded against the trunk of a cherry tree veiledthe historical Washington, obscuring his basichumanity, personal foibles and actual virtues.
During the 1920’s, David SavilleMuzzey and other anglophile historians recastthe American Revolution as an economicstruggle between two groups of Englishmen,deadening its heroic aspects. Then came thedebunkers, called by Esmond Wright “theMasochistic School of American history,” whojoyfully assailed the foundations of the strugglefor independence and its participants. Thisprocess is now continued by the “politicallycorrect” who attempt to judge the past bytrendy notions of the early 21st century.
A sober appreciation of Washington’sreal greatness can be gained by contrasting hiscareer with those of many leaders of nationsachieving independence since 1945. In 1781-1789, the new United States had manycharacteristics of the nations identified today asthe Third World. The new nation was saddledwith an unstable and virtually bankruptConfederation government, long-enduringeconomic dislocation from war, corruption andmismanagement, inflation of unsecured papermoney and the acute danger of stronger statessplitting off to seek their own destinies.
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Force of personality and incomparableprestige enabled Washington to summon andpreside over the Constitutional Convention of1787, directing its creation of a strong Federalgovernment capable of effective rule at homeand gaining respect abroad. He became its firstPresident and directed the day-to-daydevelopment of the new government,introducing the Cabinet system and other day-to-day necessities for an untried Federalregime.
He selected assistants such asAlexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson andmade them work in harness. Washingtonoversaw the restoration of financial stabilityand established precedents which still guide theFederal government two centuries later. In canbe argued that Washington showed his greateststrength of character by resigning the nation’shighest office in 1797. Virtually none of thenumerous “national founders” of 1945-2000successfully crowned their careers with suchenlightened self-effacement.
After Baker’s Medallic Portraits, therewas a 56-year hiatus in meaningfulcontributions to the literature ofWashingtoniana. In 1941 Wayte Raymondpublished The Early Medals of Washington asNumber 4 in the Coin Collectors Journal. (6)This 16-page monograph added nothing new toknowledge while perpetuating old errors.
The long-neglected area of laterWashington medals was explored in Susan H.Douglas’ “The George Washington Medals of1889” in the May-July numbers of TheNumismatist. (7) Most 1889 issues wereinexpensive White Metal pieces, as were thethoroughly neglected 1883 issues for theCentennial of the British evacuation of NewYork and the 1887 Centennial of theConstitution.
The 1932 Bicentennial of Washington’sbirth was marked by an outpouring ofinexpensive brass medals across the country,somewhat sketchily listed by Harvey Hansen inThe Numismatist. (8) It is often forgotten that
the official occasion for the 1939-1940 NewYork World’s Fair was the celebration of theSesquicentennial of Washington’s Inaugurationin New York City in 1789. Here again could befound a flood of generally small sized,inexpensive medals, catalogued by ErnestWeidhaas in The Numismatist in 1963-66,reprinted 1968. (9)
Decades of inactivity in the Washingtonfield ended in 1965, when a partial revision ofBaker’s Medallic Portraits of Washington byDr. George Fuld appeared under the imprint ofKrause Publications. (10) Twenty years later,Krause released a long-awaited general revisionof Baker. Directing this 1985 Centennialedition were Russell Rulau and Dr. GeorgeFuld. Collector response to the “new Baker”was highly positive. The second revised editionappeared in 1999 and corrected a number ofdeficiencies of Baker’s work and the firstrevision, but much new information remains tobe integrated, some of which is suggested here.(11)
During this long drought, auctionliterature played a major role in renewinginterest in Washingtoniana. Q. David Bowers’1976 auction of the Stanley Scott Collection(12) was a milestone in this revival. (12).
One of the most significant landmarksin this new wave of auction literature was theKessler-Spangenberger Collection sale of April1981, conducted by Numismatic andAntiquarian Service of America (NASCA) withmedal cataloguing by Carl W.A. Carlson. (13).Before illness ended his career in the early1990’s, Carlson had been an advocate of whathe called “Research Cataloguing,” in-depthpresentation for significant medallic items thatinfluenced several other leading cataloguers.
The Washingtoniana and otherAmerican medals in Part IV of the GarrettCollection Sales by Bowers & Merenahighlighted many rarities long sequestered inthe vast collection of this great Baltimorecollecting dynasty. (14). Another significantcontribution was the joint offering by Bowers
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and H. Joseph Levine of the great David W.Dreyfuss Collection. Rich in Inaugural materialas well as Washington items, the Dreyfuss salewas Michael J. Hodder’s debut as a medalcataloguer. (15)
Stack’s 1990 Fixed Price List ofAmerican medals was catalogued by David T.Alexander and Carl Carlson. The New Yorkfirm’s catalogue of the Gil SteinbergCollection, its annual Americana sales thatbegan in January 1998 continued the trend. Amajor contribution were the 21 catalogues ofthe great collection of the late John J. Ford Jr.,which unhappily ignored most modernWashington research. (16)
Specialized firms such as H. JosephLevine’s Presidential Coin and Antique and theDanbury, Connecticut partnership of Johnsonand Jensen played a significant role by offeringa wealth of correctly described, widely variedmedallic material. Johnson & Jensensuccessfully sold inexpensive medals byprinting remarkably detailed catalogues onnewsprint. Their Washingtoniana offeringswere often significant, helping to re-popularizethis field. (17).
This article examines selectedWashington medals whose origins and fullstories have long remained obscure orunknown. Reintegrating them in the widerworld of numismatics beyond the constrictinglimits of the United States has resolved somepersistent Washington “mysteries.” Includedare medals of 1883, which Baker may havedismissed as too recent, plus others issued afterpublication of his 1885 catalogue.
All of these varied medals possesssignificant historical interest, but their studyhas been delayed by the long slumber ofWashington material.
EARLY WASHINGTONIANAPhiladelphia merchant Jacques Manly
commissioned the first Washington medalstruck in the United States in 1790. Associatedin the enterprise were Philadelphia Post Master
Robert Patton and Peter Prynberg ofWilmington, Delaware. Cutting the dies wasSamuel Brooks of 20 South Front Street,Philadelphia, a well-known goldsmith and seal-cutter.
It would be three years before thePhiladelphia Mint opened and Manly had toconfront the problem of finding coiningmachinery powerful enough to strike a 47millimeter medal in copper, White Metal, silveror gold. The solution was to cast the planchetswith partial relief in the area of the maindevice, Washington’s bust, giving the coiningpress a flying start when it brought the diestogether.
Several strikes were still necessary tobring out the higher points, especially on thecopper and silver strikes, and most existingManly Medals show evidence of shiftingbetween strikes in the lettering or devices. Theobverse presents an aged, haggard bust inuniform facing left with legend GEO.WASHINGTON BORN VIRGINIA, OldStyle birth date FEB. 11./ 1732 below.
Only on sharply struck specimens is theartist’s signature BROOKS F. clear on thenarrow, sharply angled truncation. White Metalpieces show this vividly, but it may be illegibleon even the most sharply struck copper medals.
The reverse presents an 11-line careeroutline and maker’s name, */ GENERAL/ OFTHE/ AMERICAN ARMIES/ 1775/RESIGNED/ 1783/ PRESIDENT/ OF THE/UNITED STATES /J. MANLY &c. 1790
Manly advertised his new medalproudly in Philadelphia’s prominentnewspaper, The Freeman’s Journal orThe North American Intelligencer onMarch 10, 1790. Short quotes from thisad have been reproduced in numerouscatalogues, but the full spirit of the eraand the pride of the issuers emerge in thewhole advertisement, which the lateHarrold E. Gillingham reproduced in theSeptember 1934 issue of The Numismatist.
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(18) It makes fascinating reading, with itscolorful sentence structure and archaicspellings.
A SUBSCRIPTION for/A MEDAL
OF GENERAL WASHINGTON.
Medals, from the earliest period of time,have been regarded by every enlightenedpeople as the greatest help to history, andthe best method of transmitting to posteritythe memory of the heroes and patriots of theage, and one of the most honorarycompliments a grateful people could conferon their favorites --- As the history ofmankind furnishes no instance of a hero orpatriot who has better deserved, or has beenmore justly instilled to the affections oresteem of a grateful people, than hisexcellency the president of the United States,(General George Washington) an artist isinduced to offer to the citizens of America, amedal with a striking and approved likeness,and such inscriptions or allegorical figuresas shall best suit so great a character; and hehumbly hopes to be honored with theirpatronage
To subscribers, a medal will bedelivered of fine white metal, to resemblesilver, for one dollar; of a fine gold-colouredmetal, for two-dollars; of fine silver, for fourdollars; and of gold, in proportion to weight.
Subscribers will please toparticularize the kind they choose. As themedals are now striking, and will be ready todeliver in a few days after the order comes tohand, it is hoped every gentleman will pay atthe time of subscribing.
Subscriptions will be received atWilmington by Mr. PETER PRYNBERG;or any gentleman may have any number ofmedals sent to any part of the continent, bysending his order and remittance for thesame, to J. MANLY, to the care of ROBERTPATTON, Esq. Post-master, Philadelphia.
COPYWe, the undersigned, have seen the
medal of General Washington, and think it astrong and expressive likeness, and worthythe attention of the citizens of the UnitedStates of America.
THOMAS MIFFLIN,Governor of the State of Pennsylvania.
RICHARD PETERS.Speaker of the House of Assembly.
CHRISTIAN FEBIGER,Treasurer of the State.
FRANCIS JOHNSTON,Colonel of the late American Army.
The Manly Medal was undoubtedlyreferred to in a less widely publicized broadsidereproduced in the December 1918 issue of TheNumismatist by Boston’s great numismatistMalcolm Storer. (19) This solicitationadvertised medals and other minor artworksincluding silhouettes:
MEDALS, MINIATUREAnd Profile Painting and Shades
The Publick are respectfully informed, thatthe artists, who took the most correctlikeness of the PRESIDENT of the UNITEDSTATES and executed a Medal of him, areat the House of Mr. JOHN COBURN, in StateStreet, and will continue for one monthonly, to take the most correct likenesses intwo minutes sitting; and finish them fromone dollar, to three, or a Miniature fromseven to fourteen dollars. They likewiseexecute the most elegant devices in hair,on various subjects, and have a variety offashionable Gold Lockets, adapted for thatpurpose and for Miniatures, with a numberof Medals, struck in memory of variousperiods of the American war. Also, of the
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late Dr. Franklin, and that most approvedHistorical Medal of the PRESIDENT of theUnited States; acknowledged a strikinglikeness: Nothing was ever so wellcalculated to transmit to posterity, thememory of the friends and patriots whoserved their country. They are the lastingmonuments of publick respect, andpublick gratitude; and the only thing whichkeeps pace with the tide of fleeting time,as every age increases their value.
In some friendly Patriots cabinet, secure theylie,
From rage of popular commotions, orinclement sky
And like time itself, pass on to all eternity.
They may be has as above, in whiteand gold coloured Metal and Silver, at one,two and four DOLLARS each, where thespecimens of the ARTISTS’ ability inpainting and Hair Work may be seen.
The publick may depend onparticular and obliging attention. Ladies andGentlemen who read the above, arerequested to communicate it to their friends.
All who wish to have any of thosearticles, will please to apply soon, as theARTISTS cannot stay longer than the timeproposed, having engaged to go to Carolinain the next month.
N.B. That all Persons may have anopportunity of purchasing those Medals, aperson will be appointed to wait on Ladiesand Gentlemen, at their Houses.
TAVERN KEEPERS will oblige theARTISTS, by putting this up in someconspicuous part of their public rooms.
The reader may wonder whether THEARTISTS included medalist Samuel Brooks,but what a marvel! Home delivery and medallicpublicity in “everyman’s club,” the friendlytavern! Apparently habituated to the heroic
Houdon bust, Baker called Brooks’Washington likeness “quite aged.” However,consider the new President’s description by anonlooker at the first Inauguration,Massachusetts Congressman Fisher Ames, (20)“Time has made havoc on his face…his aspect(is) grave, almost to sadness.” Here isportraiture distinctly more accurate than heroic.
Perhaps the arch-type of supposedWashington medal mysteries is the 34millimeter portrait piece universally known as“The Twigg Medal.” Neither Appleton, Bakernor his present-day editors, nor WayteRaymond could provide any hard data on theartist who signed himself simply as TWIGG.
Stranger still, Leonard Forrer was alsoat a loss in his definitive BiographicalDictionary of Medallists, satisfying himselfwith “TWIGG (amer.). (21) This Dieengraver’s signature occurs on a Portrait-medalof Washington, 1789, with bust on Obv. AndInscription on Rx; diam. 34 mill.”
This medal presents a mature uniformedbust with severe expression facing right withlegend GEORGE WASHINGTON. Thereverse offers a 9-line precis of Washington’smilitary and civil career, GENERAL/ OFTHE AMERICAN/ ARMIES 1775./RESIGN’D THE/ COMMAND 1783./ELECTED PRESIDENT/ OF THE UNITED/STATES 1789.
American medal engravers of 1789could have been counted on the fingers of bothhands with digits to spare. Not even thecosmopolitan Raymond seemed to realize thatif Twigg had indeed been American, he wouldundoubtedly have created other works.Blinkered by American exclusivity, thesecataloguers failed to take the most basic step oflooking into the wider world to find thisseemingly mysterious artist.
A glance into British sources existingby the 1880’s might have enlightened earliercataloguers. Today, Lawrence Brown’smonumental British Historical Medals, VolumeI, cites Charles Twigg as engraver of the 1793
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Capitulation of Valenciennes Medal. (22) Thismedal bore a bust of the victorious Duke ofYork and an all-inscription reverse hailing thesurrender of French revolutionary forces atValenciennes in July 1793. This 37 millimeterWhite Metal piece is signed TWIGG and I.S.G.(BHM 369).
“I.S.G.” was Johann Samuel Götzingerthe Younger, engraver to Margrave Alexanderof Brandenburg-Ansbach. Götzinger settled inLondon after the Margrave abdicated andconveyed his southern German principality ofAnsbach to Prussia in 1791.
The same signatures appear on the Kingand Constitution Medal (BHM 370), also listedamong British Tradesmen’s tokens as Dalton &Hamer Middlesex 187-190. This 37mm Whitemetal patriotic issue bore an uniformed bust ofKing George III facing right. Its reversepresented a 12-pointed Garter star with legendKING AND CONSTITUTION, rallying cry ofBritish loyalists opposing the excesses of thelater French Revolution.
Twigg alone signed the 35mm WhiteMetal George Prince of Wales and CarolinePrincess of Brunswick Wedding Medal, 1795(BHM 394, called RRR). It bears the portraitsof the dissipated Prince on one side, hisunappealing bride on the other, perhapsmirroring the physical separation that wouldcharacterize this disastrous union after its firstnight.
Numismatic researcher Michael J.Hodder has found contemporaryadvertisements of Charles Twigg in bothLondon and Birmingham. He was described inthe latter city as a “toymaker,” standardwhimsy for medallic engraver in the MatthewBoulton era. (23). One of the most persistent“mysteries” of Washingtoniana, Twigg’sidentity, has been resolved by re-connectingAmerican numismatics with the outer world,Great Britain and Germany.
Some early Washington designs are sosimilar to one another as to suggest directinspiration. It is possible that Twigg was
inspired by the all-inscription reverse employedby Samuel Brooks for the Manly Medal.Thomas Wyon’s Presidency Resign’d Medal of1797 (Baker 66) is a 37mm White Metal areworking and updating of the Twigg effort.
Wyon’s distinctly different Washingtonbust faces left with legend GEORGEWASHINGTON. The reverse bears anupdated Vita, GENERAL/ OF THEAMERICAN/ ARMIES, 1775./ RESIGNDTHE COMMAND 1785/ ELECTEDPRESIDENT OF /THE UNITED STATES1789/ RE-ELECTED 1795/RESIGN’D/1797.
That Twigg was an English die-sinkerand a contemporary of Wyon’s is reinforced bythe similarity of these two White Metal issues.A more original design is Wyon’s 33mmBronze Repub. Ameri Medal or Penny, 1796,(Baker 68, D&H Middlesex 245). Nearly allknown examples are bronze, but one or two arereported in White Metal. Most have plainedges.
This obverse bears a civil bust facingright, identified as GEORGEWASHINGTON, date 1796 below. Thereverse shows three concentric lines of legendsurrounding an inner circle bearing a scrollinscribed REPUB. AMERI, over cannon,fasces and caduceus. The legend recordsGENL. OF THE AMERICAN ARMIESRESIGND. THE COMMD. 1783:/ ELECD.PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES1789+/ surrounding RESIGNED THEPRESIDENCY 1796+.
Some numismatists consider this, acoin-relief piece with plain edge, a medal.Dalton and Hamer included it in theircompendium of 18th century BritishTradesmen’s Tokens, still unhappily called“Conder Tokens” in the U.S. The late WalterBreen listed it among circulating pieces in hisComplete Encyclopedia of United States Coins.(24) Rulau and Fuld place it amongWashington coins and tokens. Worn examplesin existence testify to actual circulation and a
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rare variety is known with a token-style incuseedge device, PAYABLE IN LONDONLIVERPOOL OR ANGLESEY, whichshould clinch the argument.
The 41mm 1778 Voltaire Medal, (Baker78) is generally accepted as the firstWashington portrait medal to be struckanywhere. Exiled in London, Loyalist SamuelCurwen of Massachusetts recorded this medalis his diary for April 20, 1778. Curwen wasowner of the unique NOVA CONSTELLATIOcopper “5” piece associated with Robert Morrisand Benjamin Dudley and was obviously well-informed about contemporary numismatichappenings.
It is believed that French Philosophe,satirist and revolutionary thinker Voltairecommissioned this medal in the year of hisdeath in Paris at the age of 84. (25) Most ofthese medals were struck in bronze on thin,somewhat convex planchets, and possiblyseven are known in silver (see Stack’s sale ofthe Gilbert Steinberg Collection, lot 43; amedal reappearing in Bowers’ LucienLaRiviera sale, lot 3078).
The small, round head is unlike anyknown Washington portrait. This should be nogreat surprise, as there was no authentic portraitavailable to the unknown engraver who createdthe medal. A persistent, if unverified belief isthat the head is that of British humanitarianJeremy Bentham. Since Bentham’s mummifiedbody is still on display in London, it mighthave been suggested that some interestednumismatist could have verified this supposedresemblance visually.
The English-language legend identifiesGE. WASHINGTON ER. GENERAL OFTHE CONTINL. ARMY IN AMERICA. TheGE is presumably a space-saving abbreviationof GEORGE, but what is ER? The ContinentalCongress granted Washington the titleExcellency, but that title has no `R’ in Frenchor English.
The reverse presents a trophy of armswith banners, trumpet, drum and cannon balls
in glory with French legend WASHIN.REUNIT PAR UN RARE ASSEMBLAGE,LES TALENS DU GUERRIER & LESVERTUS DU SAGE, Washington Unites in arare Assemblage the Talents of a Warriorand the Virtues of a Sage. The Voltaire Medalhas no derivatives or close copies of later date.
Among the most impressive earlyWashington Medals is the 1805 EcclestonMedal, (Baker 85), a 76mm bronze which mayhave been struck like the Manly medals on castplanchets. A large bust faces r. in an armoredbreastplate or cuirass with legend GENERALWASHINGTON/ INSCRIBED TO HISMEMORY BY D. ECCLESTON MDCCCV.The artist’s signature (Thomas) WEBB appearson the truncation.
The reverse presents three concentriclines of legend, separated by solid lines, HELAID THE FOUNDATIONS OFAMERICAN LIBERTY IN THE XVIIICENTURY/ INNUMERABLE MILLIONSYET UNBORN WILL VENERATE THEMEMORY./ OF THE MAN WHOOBTAINED THEIR COUNTRYSFREEDOM. A heavier circle encloses astanding Indian holding an arrow, leaning on abow with legend, THE LAND WAS OURS.
This medal has attracted muchcomment. Baker called the armor “a singularconceit,” unaware in his American numismaticisolation that armor was an Old Worldmedalist’s shorthand for a victorious militarycommander. Several years ago a noted auctioncataloguer added to a routine description of theEccleston Medal, “In our opinion the entiremedal is satirical and is an unusual way toexpress an `admiration for Washington…’”(Scott sale lot 471). This was a superficialmisreading of Quaker humanitarian Eccleston’spurpose, as the 1999 Baker revision admits.
Eccleston traveled extensively in theWest Indies and North America, including astay as Washington’s guest at Mount Vernon.Returning from Montreal to Boston, henavigated Lake Champlain in a birch bark
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canoe with the Chief of the ConnawagaIndians. He was a lifelong advocate ofaboriginal rights and expressed this fervor onhis medal. However, he idolized Washingtonand nothing as crude and disrespectful as satireagainst him would have entered his mind.
Speaking of inter-relationships, thesharp-eyed numismatist may be aware ofseeing this specific medallic Indian before. Hestands on the reverse of Lewis Pingo’s 1775William Penn, By Deeds of Peace Medal,clasping hands with a figure resembling theimposing Penn. Detached from Penn’s hand onthe 1805 medal, the same Indian now grasps anarrow. Christopher Eimer’s recent work on thePingo family and its medals did not discoverthis linkage. (26)
Eccleston himself appears on his own1794 Halfpenny Token by the engraverPonthon. (D&H 57, R.C. Bell p. 82-83). Thisunusually handsome obverse displayscartwheel rims with incuse legends identifyingDANIEL ECCLESTON, LANCASTER. Thereverse presents a sailing ship with thestatement LANCASHIRE HALFPENNY1794. This widely circulated halfpenny existsas a circulating token and as a bronzed Proof.
R.C. Bell, the British token specialistwell known on these shores for his manyarticles in the old World Coins Magazine, triedto cleanse the Augean Stables of 18th centuryBritish tokens by eliminating all non-circulating collectors’ items from hiscatalogues.
He recorded that Eccleston was active“in several trades successively as a liquormerchant, insurance broker etc. He was acollector of coins and medals and had a largeand handsome medal struck of GeorgeWashington, sending copies to the Governmentofficials of America, the Emperor of Russiaand other heads of state; while in 1794 heissued a quantity of halfpenny tokens bearinghis own effigy. In these pursuits he squanderedmost of his property and in the later years of hislife his means of support were supposed to be
very limited. He was a member of the Societyof Friends but was excluded by that communitythrough his total neglect of attending theirmeetings.” (27)
Possibly the most bizarre incident inEccleston’s long life was his refutation of hisown Obituary, which had appeared in 1816 inthe Lancaster Gazette, which informed theworld that he had died at Kidside nearMidthorpe at the age of 71. The next issuecarried the news that Mr. Daniel Eccleston was“not defunct,” though in the spirit of the thinghis letter to the newspaper was indeed datedfrom the Next World:
and the Ladies Cry in doleful dumps,Daniel’s dead! What’s Trumps?!
Addressing the erring editor as“Friend,” the writer drew attention to perceivederrors in his life story, ending with “We aretotally precluded from giving you poor mortalsany description of this Happy Country…thishappy habitation in heaven, the New Jerusalem,The City of the Saints.” This extraordinarycommuniqué was signed in eight lines writtenfrom left to write across the page, DanielBelteshazzar/ Fitz-William/ Caracticus/Cadwallador/ Llewellyn/ ap-Tudor/Plantagenet/ ECCLESTON. This Lancashirenumismatist-traveler was a rare bird indeed!(28)
It is decidedly possible that engraverThomas Webb received some inspiration fromThomas Wyon’s 1796 Repub. Ameri. reverse,with its highly distinctive three concentriclegends.
LATER WASHINGTONIANAWashington was also widely regarded
as a hero in Europe and Latin America, andParis Mint Engraver Emile Rogat created ahandsome 53mm bronze medal for anorganization called the Cercle Britannique, atRue Neuve St. Augustin 55 in Paris.
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Washington is portrayed first on the right in atrio of honorees.
Next is his aide in the AmericanRevolution, the then-youthful Marquis deLafayette. After exile and imprisonment for hisrole in the first French Revolution, Lafayettereturned home during the Restoration.Lafayette took a leading part in the 1830revolution, bringing to the French throne theerstwhile Jacobin, Louis Philippe, Ducd’Orléans, hailing the new July Monarchy as“The Best of Republics.” (28)
Rogat portrayed the Marquis with hisrevered father-figure Washington and Polishpatriot Tadeusz Kosciuszko (here THADEUS)who died in 1817 at Solothurn, Switzerland.This medal (Baker 196) is dedicated TO THEHERO’S (sic) OF LIBERTY AND FRIENDSOF THE PEOPLE’S INDEPENDENCE.
Rogat’s reverse provides interestinglyspelled biographical data separated by oakcrowns. Struck by the Paris Mint, this medal isremarkably rare in original, plain edge form.Later strikings are known with the familiarParis edgemarks Antique Prow and CVIVRE of1841-45.
There is a whole category of later-dateWashington pieces that have received littlestudy. One example is this 32.8mm Bronze(Baker 272A), engraved by Joseph Davis,British commercial medalist of Birmingham.Rulau-Fuld trace this half-length bust to aGilbert Stuart portrait but the reverse ishauntingly familiar to collectors of otherAmerican medals, with its seated Liberty orColumbia holding a U.S. shield, Liberty cap onpole, spread eagle at left with a ship on thehorizon.
That design should be familiar becauseit is an unabashed reworking of the AmericanInstitute Medal by Robert Lovett Sr. Most ofDavis’ design elements appear on a 28.1mmgold American Institute medal awarded in1851. Here can be seen the same Liberty andeagle, but the bird is now on the right withimplements of agriculture and commerce
suggesting that Davis did a simple medallic“cut and paste” from this design.
A bold crossover from medals to U.S.coins originated with Peter L. Krider’s 50mmbronze and White Metal 1881 YorktownSurrender Centennial Medal (Baker 452).Krider, a prominent private Philadelphiamedalist, placed a Houdon-like Washingtonand a mature Lafayette copied from FrançoisCaunois’ 1824 medals facing right. (29) Thereverse re-creates the ceremony of Britishsurrender with the handing over of furled battleflags.
In 1900, U.S. Mint Chief EngraverCharles E. Barber appropriated these heads forhis Lafayette Dollar, America’s first (and longits only) commemorative silver dollar (BakerC-8). It is curious that Barber chose to depictthe aged Lafayette of 1824, rather than thestripling barely out of his teens that joinedWashington early in the American Revolution.A young Lafayette was subject of PaulWayland Bartlett’s equestrian statue depictedon the reverse of the commemorative dollar.
This was not the only time that theimperious Barber casually adopted anotherartist’s work. His Columbus bust on the 1892-1893 World’s Columbian Exposition halfdollars was lifted from a Columbian ExpositionMedal by Olin Levi Warner with the sameinsouciance. (30)
A little-known engraver of the 1883-1889 era was New York’s Abraham Demarest.If modern collectors know his work at all it isprobably because Susan Douglas illustratedsome of his 1889 designs with their verydistinctive, art naif stick-figure like treatmentsof the human form.
A higher quality Demarest work isBaker R-456A, a 42mm bronze medal. Thisdesign combines three themes, Washington’sNewburgh, N.Y. headquarters, his family coatof arms (FROM WHICH THE AMERICANFLAG WAS DESIGNED, a popular 1880’sbelief) and a reference to a largely forgottenepisode of the late Revolution, HE WAS
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MOST NOBLY CROWNED BYREFUSING TO BE CROWNED.
Demarest devoted a separate 27mmWhite Metal medalet to this incident (Baker S-456). Most are known holed, but the exampleillustrated is not, bearing a tiny raised circlecalled a limiting guide where the hole would bepunched. Washington stands with one foot on arejected crown, holding a Liberty Cap rathergingerly in his left hand within GEO.WASHINGTON REFUSING THECROWN, NEWBURGH. The reversepresents winged Fame with trumpet and aninscription noting the 1783PROCLAMATION OF PEACE ANDVICTORY.
At his Newburgh headquartersWashington relinquished his military commandand disbanded a largely unpaid standing armythat he had just talked out of a threatenedmarch on Philadelphia. The disaffected troopsplanned to turn out the ineffectual ContinentalCongress, which had failed to provide financialsupport to the army.
The Revolution’s republican experimentwas in real danger in 1783. Monarchy was thestandard form of government in the 18th
century world, and Irish-born PennsylvaniaContinental Army officer and Supply Officer tothe Continental Army Col. Lewis Nicola cameup with a solution to the army’s dilemma andthe new nation’s uncertain future. He suggestedabandoning the exotic republican concept andselecting a good king loved and respected byarmy and people: Washington himself. (31)
Historians agree that the agedNicola was undoubtedly well meaningand sincere. Let Washington but saythe word and the Continental Armywould triumphantly declare him king,head of a new dynasty that wouldprovide the public order, stability andcontinuity Congress had so signallyfailed to provide!
Nicola was devastated by the cold furywith which Washington greeted his proposal,
suggesting that the monarchists had found theindividual least likely to entertain such an idea.He demanded to know what he might ever havedone to give anyone the idea that he mightentertain such thoughts. Washington pointed toexisting public distrust of his large, poorly paidand disgruntled force and asked Nicola toimagine his audacious proposal’s effect onpublic opinion and a suspicious Congress.Nicola withdrew and his monarchist idea fadedaway, leaving scarcely a ripple.
Soon after, Gen. Nathaniel Greeneoffered the army’s support for a proposed fivepercent impost for financial support ofCongress. Shouting “No dictation by aCromwell,” Congress now voted down thisproposal which the legislators had alreadyapproved!
In 1883 the nation celebrated theCentennial of British Evacuation of New YorkCity. This great seaport almost became anAmerican Hong Kong, as the British Army stilloccupied it two years after the surrender atYorktown ended full-scale fighting. The Britishdeparture was written into the treaty of peaceand steps were taken to combine an orderlyBritish exit with a suitably ceremonious entryof Washington’s army with no unpleasant lastminute scenes.
By this agreement, the British forcesand civilian Loyalists would withdraw to RoyalNavy ships in the Upper Harbor via the Batteryat the tip of Manhattan Island. After the lastRedcoats and Tories were aboard ship,Washington and his entourage would ride downBroadway to take possession of Fort George atthe Battery amid general rejoicing. That, atleast, was the plan.
Such passivity was too much for anunidentified British sailor, as two White Metalmedals by Demarest recall. The first is a 32mm1883 piece (Baker A285); the second is anunlisted mule of an 1883 Evacuation Dayobverse and 1889 Inauguration Centennialreverse not listed by Susan Douglas. Both showthe same event but with a bizarre difference.
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Some older historical referencesrecorded that a British sailor decided tosabotage the proceedings. (31) He climbed theflagpole of Fort George, nailed a British flag tothe wooden staff, ripped away all pulleys, eyesand lanyards used to raise or lower a flag andthen thoughtfully smeared the pole with pig fatas he descended. He then rowed offshore andwaited in his longboat to enjoy the Yankeereaction.
“An American sailor lad” saw theBritish flag, seized a hammer and handful ofsteel spikes and rapidly pounded an impromptuladder into the pole. He climbed up, rippedaway the British flag and nailed the Americanflag in its place just before Washington’s forcerode into sight. Demarest’s 1883 medal showsDAVID VAN ARSDALE UNFURLINGTHE AMERICAN FLAG AT THEBATTERY. The lad hangs on the right side ofthe pole as a Union Jack floats to the ground atthe right. The reverse presents Washington coatof arms with legend hailing it as THEORIGIN OF THE STARS AND STRIPES.
The 1883-89 Mule provides a moredistant perspective with an applauding crowd,noting that JOHN VAN ARSDALEREMOVED THE BRITISH/ FLAG ANDNAILED THE EMBLEM OF/ FREEDOMIN ITS PLACE. The lad now hangs from theleft as the British Red Ensign floats to theground. This reverse shows Washington takingthe Oath of Office at Federal Hall fromChancellor Livingston and John Jay. Bothmedals are pierced for suspension. Here is onemystery not yet resolved. Was it David orJohn… or perhaps no one? Here is a pleasanttopic for later research.
A final item deserving mention links thelate 19th and middle 20th centuries. It is agrotesque hybrid combining the heads andfacial features of Abraham Lincoln and GeorgeWashington. Robert P. King described itwithout any expression of bewilderment as “aNude bust of Lincoln wearing a pigtail.”(original diameter 25mm, King 270-276).
Original strikes include the legend 16th
PRESIDENT of U.S. 1861-1865. (32)The example shown here is a
modern uniface strike without legend.It is almost certainly the work of thebrash young Robert Bashlow, creator ofthe controversial 1961 “Second Restrikeof the Confederate Cent” and other1960’s mules struck for him by August C.Frank of Philadelphia.
Close study reveals that this portraitbegan its life as a Houdon-style Washingtonbust, over which William H. Key or an+otherengraver imposed the nose, beard and wrinklesof Lincoln! King apparently saw nothingworthy of mention in this strange hybrid,showing that 20th century cataloguers arecapable of the obliviousness as those of the19th.
This brief survey of Washington medalsboth familiar and obscure has traveled from1790 to our own time. While answering anumber of long-standing questions, thisexcursion into the byways of Washingtonianahas shown that the field still offers manyopportunities for significant research as a newMillennium dawns.
FOOTNOTES
1. Baker, William Spohn. Medallic Portraits ofWashington. Philadelphia, Robert M. Lindsay,1885. The original Baker appeared in a verylimited edition, printed on exceptionally acidicpaper whose rapid deterioration has madepristine copies major bibliophilic rarities inmodern times.
2. Appleton, William Sumner. AmericanJournal of Numismatics & Bulletin of theAmerican Numismatic & ArchaeologicalSociety. Volume VII, No. 4, April 1873; VolumeVIII, No. 1, 2, MONTH 187-; Volume IX, No. 2.October 1874; Volume XI, No. 2. October1876. In all, Appleton noted 284 principal typesin no discernable order. He applied the tersest
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descriptions while exhibiting an amiableegotism, as in his summation of the VoltaireMedal, “Specimens in bronze are valuable, butnot very rare; but mine and one other are theonly ones I have ever seen in silver.”
3. Snowden, James Ross. A Description of theMedals of Washington, of National andMiscellaneous Medals; and of Other Objects ofInterest in the Museum of the Mint.Philadelphia, J.N. Lippincott & Co., 1861. 203pp, 21 pl.
4. Heaton, Augustus Goodyear. Treatise on theCoinage of the U.S. Branch Mints. Washington,D.C., 1883. 54 pp.
5. Elder, Thomas Lindsay. A Plea for AmericanToken Collecting. Originally delivered as apaper read before the New York NumismaticClub, Jan. 8, 1915
6. Raymond, Wayte. The Early Medals ofWashington. Coin Collectors Journal NumberFour, Wayte Raymond Inc., New York, 1941.
7. Douglas, Susan B. The George WashingtonMedals of 1889. The Numismatist, 1949.
8. Hansen Harvey L. George WashingtonBicentennial Celebration, 1732-1932. TheNumismatist, January 1934.
9. Weidhaas, Ernest, New York World’s FairMedals, 1939-1940. The Numismatist, March -June 1963, July 1966.
10. Baker, William Spohn, Medallic Portraitsof Washington, revised by Dr. George Fuldincluding addenda and photo plates. Reprint byKrause Publications Inc., Iola, Wisconsin,1965. This re-issue of the classic Baker textincluded an updated bibliography of worksappearing since 1885, half tone platesillustrating some highlights of Washingtoniana,a price list and rarity guide.
11. Baker, William Spohn with Russell Rulauand George Fuld, Centennial Edition, MedallicPortraits of Washington. Iola, Wisconsin,Krause Publications, 1985. Preserving andextending Baker’s numbering system whiledrastically revamping the entire text, thisedition added hundreds of new listings withdropped-in illustrations. This new treatmentgrouped medals in Baker-style categories,causing perplexing discontinuities in thesequence and resultant difficulties in locatingmany items.12. The Stanley Scott Collection. AmericanAuction Association/ Bowers & RuddyGalleries Inc. (Subsidiary of General Mills),Hollywood, California, June 5-7, 1975.(Hereinafter Bowers & Ruddy). Lots 400through 614 comprised one of the finestofferings of Washingtoniana in the second halfof the 20th century.
13. The Kessler-Spangenberger Collection ofU.S. Colonial Coins, Medals of the Mint et Al.NASCA, Rockville Centre, L.I., New York,April 28-29, 1981. The late Carl W.C. Carlsonargued at this time for what he called “researchcataloguing” for in-depth lot descriptions. Lots1588 through 1963 formerly comprised thecollection of long-time ANA Historian HankSpangenberger. Hank was another modernpioneer of the medal field whose columns inNumismatic Scrapbook magazine introducedmany collectors to medals for the first time.
14. The Garrett Collection Sales, Part IV.Bowers & Ruddy, March 25-26, 1981. Lots1693 through 1912 were Washington items,often described in satisfying depth.
15. The Collection of David W. Dreyfuss.Bowers & Merena Inc., Wolfeboro,(Hereinafter Bowers & Merena) andPresidential Coin and Antique Company Inc.,Alexandria, Virginia, April 12, 1986.
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16. American Historical Medals, Fixed PriceList, 1990; The Gilbert Steinberg Collection ofWashington, Lincoln, Columbus and UnitedStates Mint Medals, May 6, 1992; AmericanaSales, Jan. 14-15, 1998; Jan. 12-15, 1998; Jan.12-13, 2000; Jan. 16-17, 2001. One of the mostsignificant offerings of modern times tookplaces after this COAC presentation, the piecesin the John J. Ford. Jr. collection, Part II.Stack’s, New York, N.Y. Regrettably the FordWashingtoniana cataloguing often relied onobsolete data in the few instances in which itoffered any interpretation whatever.
17. Johnson & Jensen Sales 1 through 27; Feb.20, 1978 through Dec. 11, 1983. Part 2 of thefirm’s Sale 10, April 12, 1981 offered anoutstanding selection of Washington medals.Largely forgotten today, Johnson & Jensenrelied heavily on interpretive cataloguing.
18. Gillingham, Harrold E. The fulladvertisement for the Manly Medal discoveredby him was featured in The Numismatist,September 1934, p. 561.
19. Storer, Malcolm. The Numismatist,December 1918.
20. Ames, Fisher (1758-1808), leadingFederalist and Congressman fromMassachusetts, 1789-1797. His violentrejection of the excesses of the FrenchRevolution made Ames a passionate believer inWashington’s importance in the new Americangovernment.21. Forrer, Leonard. Biographical Dictionaryof Medallists, Coin-, Gem- and Seal Engravers,Mint-Masters &c. Ancient and Modern, withReferences to their Works, B.C., 500-A.D.1900. Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1916.Volume VI. P. 155.22. Brown, Lawrence. A Catalogue of BritishHistorical Medals, 1760-1960. H.A. SeabyLtd., London, 1880. Volume I, 1760-1837.(Hereinafter BHM).
23. Michael J. Hodder, personalcommunication, September 1999.
24. Breen, Walter Henry. Walter Breen’sComplete Encyclopedia of U.S. and ColonialCoins. Doubleday. New York, 1988. Breenlisted copper and white metal REPUB.AMERI. pieces among other early Washingtontokens as numbers 1275-1277 and 1278-1281.
25. Appleton, op. Cit. “This medal appeared inFrance during the Revolutionary War, and isprobably first mentioned in April 1778, bySamuel Curwen, who says in his Journal, that ithad been lately struck for M. Voltaire.”
26. The identity of this Indian on both the Pennand Eccleston Medals was first published inAlexander, David T., “The Research Desk,”Coin World, Sidney, Ohio, July 12, 1993.Eimer, Christopher. The Pingo Family andMedal Making in 18th Century Britain. London,British Art Medal Trust, 1998. #53.
27. Bell, R.C. Commercial Coins, 1787-1804.Newcastle upon Tyne, Corbitt & Hunter Ltd.,1963, pp 82-83.
28. For a comprehensive examination ofLafayette’s role in the July Days of 1830, seede Stoeckl, Agnes. King of the French. NewYork, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1958, p. 160 ff.
29. See Alexander, David T. and DeLorey,Tom. Coin World Comprehensive Catalog &Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Secondrevised edition, 1998, p. 297. The sectiondevoted to the first series U.S.commemoratives includes a far morecomprehensive treatment of design history thanhas been customary with popular guides.
30. Alexander-DeLorey, Op cit, p.297,illustrated in Eglit, Nathan M., Columbiana,p.94 (Eglit 406).
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31. Martin, Harry V. America’s First President– John Hanson. FreeAmerica, 1997. ThisInternet historical feature is one of many thatexplore many aspects of the Revolution thathave been played down or ignored altogether instandard print-medium histories.
32. Internet sites have once again returned thisstory to prominence today. John Van Arsdale isfeatured on at least two Internet sites,Compton’s Encyclopedia Online, (TheLearning Company, 1997), which includes anartist’s sketch of the young man atop hisflagpole with hammer in hand. He is alsoillustrated in DeWan, George, Long Island, OurStory, America Celebrates its New Freedom,“Defeated British and Loyalists board ships toleave U.S.”
33. King, Robert P., “Lincoln in Numismatics,The Numismatist, 1924, medals number 270-276. The August C. Frank-Robert Bashlow re-creations are described in “The Research Desk,George’s Successor, `Most Worthy’ Lincolnappears on bizarre medal,” Coin World, Dec. 8,1997, p. 34.
A Tour of the Garrett’sUnderground Coin Vault atEvergreen House(by Max B. Spiegel and Elliot M. Wehner)
The Evergreen House, nestled in themiddle of Loyola College in Baltimore City,now part of the Johns Hopkins University, wasonce home to two generations of the Garrettfamily, the famous collectors, patrons of thearts, and socialites. Built in 1857 for thewealthy Broadbent family, the mansion waspurchased in 1878 by John W. Garrett for hisson T. Harrison Garrett. The home, a vividsymbol of what Mark Twain dubbed the GildedAge, underwent a series of massive renovationsby T. Harrison Garrett and his wife AliceWhitridge. In 1920 the house was given to their
son, John Work Garrett, who continued tomodify Evergreen.
These two generations of Garretts—both husbands and wives—were majorsupporters of the arts and often invitedEuropean artists to stay with them, creating anenvironment mirrored after the French salons.A theater was even built in the basement of thehouse. They were important collectors with avariety of interests, including paintings,drawings, Tiffany glass, Chinese porcelain,Japanese artwork, rare books, and, of course,coins. Much of the numismatic collection wasstored in a vault at the Robert Garrett & Sonsbuilding in downtown Baltimore. In 1904 theGreat Baltimore Fire destroyed the building,melting and fusing the coins and medals storedin its vault. By a stroke of luck, however, mostof the coins had been sent to PrincetonUniversity just a few weeks earlier. (For moreinformation about the Garretts and their coincollection, see MBS’s article in the Winter2006 issue of the ANS Magazine.) Safe storagebecame a major concern of the family, andwhen John Work Garrett commissionedLawrence Hall Fowler to design a new libraryto house his immense book collection, he had aspecial vault built underneath.
The library, finished in 1928, becamesomething of a sanctuary for John WorkGarrett. He was known to spend hours therereading his books or examining his coincollection. If he wanted to view any coins, hecould send one of his servants down to thevault, tell him which number tray to send up,and using a dumbwaiter the tray could be sentup to Garrett, without him ever having to leavehis chair. When John Work Garrett died onJune 26, 1942, he bequeathed the EvergreenHouse and his collection to the Johns HopkinsUniversity. For security reasons the coins werekept in a bank vault until the Universitydecided to sell the collection during the 1970sand 80s.
While recently searching through thenumismatic books still kept in the Evergreen
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House (albeit not in the Fowler Library), wewere offered an extraordinary opportunity: arare glimpse into John Work Garrett’s coinvault. Entering the Fowler Library, which isopen to tours, we were struck by the thousandsof volumes of extremely rare and importantbooks. After our guide carefully rolled up oneof the carpets, pulled up a few floorboards, andeven moved some furniture, a steep and narrowstaircase was revealed. We carefully descendedthe stairs and stood in a room that was probably50 square feet. To the right of the staircase wasthe dumbwaiter used to deliver the coins toGarrett while he sat comfortably in the library.Along the walls were several safes of varyingsizes, along with a seismograph that had longsince failed. Connected to this room was asmaller space that contained several grayarchival boxes. Our interest piqued; we knewwe had to look inside these boxes and safes.
Much to our surprise, the boxes andsafes were not empty! Several of the trays werefull of medals and tokens, although most werenot of any significance. We were told that thereare 1,665 medals still stored in this vault, mostof which are likely the remains of the Garrettcollection. A search of the museum’s onlinedatabase indicates that the University possessessome other medals, including a Charles Carrollof Carrollton piece, but it was unclear whetherthese were being stored in this vault as well. Inall likelihood the collections have probablybeen combined and all of the University’smedals are kept inside the vault as part of the1,665 pieces. It would take a long time toproperly catalog every token and medal storedin the Evergreen House, but it is certainly atask that ought to be done.
The archival boxes, however, provedsignificantly more interesting. They containnumerous nondescript envelopes that hold themany foreign coins and medals that weredamaged or destroyed in the 1904 fire. Much ofthis mangled mess of metal is nowunidentifiable, but a look inside severalrandomly selected envelopes revealed some
significant pieces. A copper peace medal,identifiable by its “Peace and Friendship”reverse, is joined to another blackened medal.When one of the authors (MBS) wrote anarticle about the Garrett collection for the ANSMagazine two years ago, he assumed that all ofthese fire-damaged medals had been donated tothe American Numismatic Society by JohnWork Garrett. While some did end up in theANS collection many boxes remain in the vaultbeneath the Garrett library. The 1,665 assortedmedals along with the numerous fused pieceswarrant thorough cataloging, as it seems nodetailed inventory exists.
Unfortunately our tour concludedquicker than we would have hoped. Beforeleaving the vault we were able to snap a fewpictures of the white-washed walls lined withsafes and boxes. Perhaps the most interestingfeature of the vault was the special mechanicalpulley system designed to carry trays of coinsto John Work Garrett as he sat comfortably inhis library. One can imagine him sitting in hisarmchair and waiting for a servant to send himsome of his prized coins from the vault belowhim. As we climbed up the steep and narrowstaircase, we could only think about theincredible coins and medals that were oncehoused in this vault. As our host replaced thefloorboards, rolled back the carpet, and shiftedthe furniture, the secret entrance to Garrett’svault was again hidden in the grandeur of theFowler library. The hundreds of medals thatremain in the Evergreen House deserve a closerlook, and as we left that day, we were alreadyplanning our next trip back.
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Letters to the Editor
Sons of Liberty Medal
Hi John (et alia)I happen to own David Hackett
Fischer's Paul Revere's Ride, and can add toKatie Jaeger's note on the medal of the Sons ofLiberty. On page 377 under "Notes to Pages20-26," footnote 47 says the group began as theSecret (or Loyal) Nine. No direct mention ofsource for the medal's description, but severalworks are cited:
Maier, Pauline, From Resistance toRevolution: Colonial Radicals and theDevelopment of American Opposition toBritain, 1765-1776 (New York, 1972).
Morgan, Edmund S. and Helen M., Stamp ActCrisis: Prologue to Revolution (Chapel Hill,1953), 121-22.
Anderson, George P., "A Note onEbenezer MacKintosh," CSM 26 (1927): 348-61.
Unlike the replicas, which look cast orstruck, the originals were likely engravedplanchets--quick and easy for Revere to turnout. I haven't checked his day or account books,but he didn't list everything he produced...nordo we hold a complete set of his ledgers.
Professors Maier and Morgan aremembers of the Historical Society, so I'm surethat the works Fischer cited are in our library.I'll check to see if the description originateswith either of them when I return to work onthe 6th.
Happy new year to all!
Anne Bentley
Hi John,One of the reasons I am interested in
Betts-76 is that I do not believe it belongs inthe Betts series, believing it to have beenincluded in Betts solely because of its
resemblance to Betts-75. Is that commonknowledge or would this make an interestingshort article for MCA? One of my favoritenumismatic books is Charpentier's volume onLouis XIV medals, which is why I wasinterested in buying one even though I felt itsconnection to early American history to be non-existent.
Let me know what you think.All best,David Fanning
David F. Fanning Numismatic LiteraturePO Box 132422Columbus, OH 43213(614) 256-8915www.fanningbooks.com
Hopefully, Warren Baker is going toexpound on the Family medal at length. Fornow, let me quote Victor Morin on the 1686version: “The examples of this medal thatwere brought to Canada caused acommotion among the Indians, who saw itnot only as the portrait of the King, but alsothose of his son and grandsons; in a word,the entire royal line; since this piece was alsoof fairly good size (41 millimeters), it becamea highly desired medal.”—Ed.
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MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
Date: ......................................................................................................................................Name: ....................................................................................................................................Mailing Address:Street: ....................................................................................................................................City: .......................................State: .....................................Zip code: ...............................Telephone (Work): ...........................................(Home): ......................................................Email: ....................................................................................................................................
QUESTIONAIRE
How did you learn about the MCA?
What are your collecting interests?
What would you see highlighted in MCA publications?
For volunteers: I am willing to devote time to the following MCA projects:
DUES: $20.00 PER CALENDAR YEAR (Includes a subscription to monthly publications of theMCA advisory)
Please send completed application and payment to:
Medal Collectors of Americac/o Barry Tayman
3115 Nestling Pine CourtEllicott City, MD 21042
Or email completed form to: [email protected] WEBSITE: http://www.medalcollectors.org
