constanius

1909 Hudson-Fulton Celebration (I like the hanger as well as the medal): Bill So do I, it intrigued me as the designed of the steamboat was not known to me. You probably know all the following but for anybody that does not; North River Steamboat or North River also known as Clermont, thought by many to be the first commercially viable steamboat. Of note are the fly wheels slightly afore the paddle wheels. Built in 1807 designed by Robert Fulton with the financial backing of Robert Livingston, who had the exclusive rights to steam navigation on the Hudson, NY. The steam engine though designed by Fulton was manufactured in Birmingham, England by Bolton & Watt, so there is a connection to numismatics! A replica was built for the celebrations in 1909 and was featured on a stamp. That is my 2 cents worth!

Cliché of the reverse of Louis XIV - Conquest of Tournois and Courtrai 1667 Paris Mint. The bronze leaded-cliché depicts allegories of the conquered cities, Tournai & Cotterets, offering the keys of the cities to Louis, who is being crowned the victor by an angel with a trumpet, two river gods look on, the standing river god is emptying an urn which is inscribed LISA(river Lys), the other reclines and has an urn inscribed SCALDIS(river Schelde), on a banner by him is written MDC LX VII (1667) the scene is surrounded by the inscription CIVITATES.TORNACENCIS.ET.CVRTRANCENCIS. Diameter: 89mm. 3 & 5/8 inches! 200 grams.

Very nice Ian, reverse appears to be signed DUV / FILI for Benjamin Duvivier, son of Jean. I believe he used his old reverse die & replaced the original Louis XV obverse signed R. FILIVS for son of Roettier on the 1758 with his own unsigned Louis XVI obverse.

Thanks for the question Art, it was very common. Here are just some renaissance medals from one auction, all are lead. From an earlier post, http://www.coinpeople.com/index.php/topic/33872-francois-miron-the-beautification-of-the-city-of-paris-1606/ with some editing; (there is more medallic info in that post, but you can see it is a learning process for me, re renaissance medals. Did some more research on Renaissance cast medals re their metallic composition. Bronzes; alloys of copper, tin, zinc and lead, with impurities such as iron, nickel, silver, antimony and arsenic. Bronze types; tin bronze, leaded bronze, quaternary bronze(also known as leaded gun metal) Brass types; medium-zinc, low-zinc. Lead added to an alloy for casting enables it to be more fluid & flow easier into a mold. Antimony; Expands on cooling, this unique charateristic allows the finest details of the mold to be preserved, it imparts hardness & a smooth finish to alloys containing lead. Arsenic; adds hardness to the lead in leaded bronze(which typically contain 6% to over 10% lead) Most descriptions of the medals(in literature or auction catalogs) just state bronze or lead, so the ones described as lead must in fact be leaded bronze(bronze with a high level of lead) or leaded gun metal. Hence unlike the 19th century trial strikes using just very soft lead(which is highly purified & was unavailable in renaissance times) so as to not damage an unhardened die, the lead renaissance medals are hard & not easily damaged. So these lead medals are not trial strikes, because with a cast medal there is no die to test before hardening it for use. The high lead content was not just for reducing the expense of the materials used in producing the medals the lead added to an alloy for casting enabled it to be more fluid & flow easier into the mold.

LVDWIG HÖRMAN . ÆTA(tis) . LXV . A(nno) . 80 = Ludwig Hörman(n) aged 65 in the year (15)80. High-relief 40mm x 30mm oval cast lead medal. The prominent forked beard with the ruff collar reflects the then current Spanish-Italian style. The angled front facing, rather than linear, view allows for the very high-relief. Dr Habich ascribes this medal to Balduin Drentwett(Germ 1545-1627), who introduced wax modeling to, and worked in, Augsburg from the begining of the 1570's until his death. Before that the medals in Augsburg were mostly made using wooden models. Habich.II. Group 1580-1586 : #2951 1580. Ludwig Hörmann (Hermann), Augsburg Councillor & Merchant. Munich. Ludwig was born into an elite Augsburg family on 5 December 1515 & died 8 March 1588. As a young man he was a factor for Anton Fugger in Naples, when he returned, in 1543, to Augsburg he married Regina, the daughter of Anton Haug, and became a partner in the Haug-Langnauer-Linck company. In the 1560's this company became involved in mining ventures in Elizabethan England and developed the mines in Keswick, Buttermere, Grossmere and Cumberland, they brought 1000 Tyrolean miners to England. They were, writes W. G. Collingwood in his Elizabethan Keswick, Extracts from the Original Account Books, 1564-1577, of the German Miners in the Archives of Augsburg (1912), ‘already great dealers in silks, cloths, and draperies, in groceries and the spices of the East Indies, and like other wealthy business men of the time, in banking and bill discounting. They had widespread branches, reaching from Venice to Antwerp and from Cracow to Lyons; and though not originally interested in mines, they had recently taken over from the successor of the famous Augsburg house of the Fuggers the control of the copper mines of Neusohl in Northern Hungary. One of their branches was at Schwatz, in Tyrol, near Innsbruck, a celebrated mining centre, where silver, copper, and iron were produced ; and we find… that it was from Schwatz that some of the first miners were sent by them to England’. Elizabeth being Protestant & some of her great northen lords being Catholic was a cause for concern, as the mines in their areas could potentially be used to fund rebellion. So to have both the expertise of German miners & their being Protestants was a double blessing for her.

An interesting area for you to plow Bill. This, to my knowledge, is the only shell card listed in BHM, though it is not described as such. BHM#2751 Br. 33mm (filled) RR. Allen#SK-B285 RRR Br shell. The medal was made from two thin pieces of embossed brass, the reverse included the edge, the obverse was fitted inside of the reverse's edge and the edge locked the obverse in place. Unusual issued for the 1862 International Exhibition Kensington.

There are so many varieties, you need a copy of Fuld's. http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-Guide-To-Civil-War-Store-Card-Tokens-By-George-and-Melvin-Fuld-/221277405111?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3385293fb7

http://www.mcsearch.info/record.html?id=214234 Has some info here. http://www.mcsearch.info/ext_image.html?id=214234

Found another translation of Per Omne Fas Et Nefas. Ordd.R.Sveciae Violenter Fracti MDCCCLXV = Through right or wrong the Ship Sweden was violently fractured 1865. So this 1874 medal for the new Horticultural society does seem to hark back to the constitutional changes of 1865 when king Oscar ceded sovereign power to parliament, ergo the shipwreck is allegorical. No wonder I could find no record of the disaster. I have been unable to find a reference for this medal & have not seen another example of it in the 5 years since the original post. Tempus fugit

A bit late but the same bust was used on this unsigned medal issued by EdwardThomason & Co of Birmingham, which in all probability means the M is for George Mills and is the reason why he only signed M not MILLS, as per usual, on the medal he issued himself. Thomason used the best engravers for his medals but they often did work for others & of course for themselves, so for Mills to engrave this for use by Thomason & also issue a smaller medal of his own, using the same bust but everything else different, seems to be what occurred. Obverse: Bust, l.: CASTRENSIS PRAEFECTVS PRINCEPS WAGSTADT MDCCCXIV Reverse: Wreath surrounding legend: PRINCEPS CREATVS A REGE SVO APVD DVBRIM|IVNII VI MDCCCXIV 52 mm Bramsen.1475

Thanks for the info Barry, I see that it is by Caqué. Pat

Great find Clive probably the first step in the making of the electrotype! There might be a few of the electrotypes but, I would think, only one sulphur-cast!

This site might be of help http://www.abccoinsandtokens.com/Coin%20Weights.html

Pietro Bembo; An almost forgotten renaissance man Poet, author, statesman, courtier, cardinal, Knight of Rhodes(Elisabetta Gonzaga, duchess of Urbino, addressed him as Knight of Rhodes in a letter of 26 October 1517) Unifaced cast lead 63mm, Cardinal Pietro Bembo, long-bearded right, wearing a cardinals cape & beretta around, . PETRVS . . CARD . . BEMBVS . The subject of the medal, Cardinal Pietro Bembo, was born in Venice in 1470 and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the world of Italian literature during the Renaissance. He edited the works of Petrarch and Dante, insisted on the classics as contemporary models, and helped ensure Tuscan became the standard language for Italian letters. Bembo appears as a character in Castiglione's celebrated treatise on ideal courtly behaviour, Il Cortegiano [The Courtier]. His own works include verse in Latin and Italian, as well as a history of Venice and a celebration of Platonic love, Gli Asolani [The Asolans]. Secretary to Pope Leo X, he was promoted to cardinal in 1538 by Pope Paul III. His portrait was painted by Raphael and Titian, amongst others. Bembo died in Rome in 1547. He had a platonic love affair for many year with Lucretia Borgia, & might have been, at one time, her lover. Some of their letters survive & there is a book named for Byron’s description of them as “The Prettiest Love Letters In The World” Credited by biblophiles with the first modern book De Aetna (1495) published by Aldine Press(Aldus Manutius), the type-face used is still called Bembo, he also introduced literary methods and standards as well as punctuation which are still in used today. I found 2 references online; 1: From "The Italian Medals of the 15th & 16th Centuries by Alfred Armand 1883" BEMBO (Pietro), Venetian, born in 1470, made a cardinal in 1538 + 1548. Dia. 60. . PETRVS . CARD . BEMBVS. No Reverse. Bust right of Pietro Bembo, with a long beard, Cap of the berretta, wearing a Cardinals cape. - M.,I, LVII 3. 2: Esemplare del Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Firenze: una sola faccia; diam. mm 61,4; iscrizione -PETRVS-CARD-BEMBVS Bibliografia: ARMAND, Les médailleurs italienscin, 11, 174, n. 5; 111, 233, a; HEISS, op. cit., 197, n. 2 ; POLLARD ... Sent picture and asked Philip Attwood of the British Museum if he had info re my medal, here is his reply "Yes, this is a version of the medal in the Bargello in Florence. It appears in Graham Pollard’s catalogue of that collection as no. 819 and is listed among the anonymous medals. Pollard was clearly not impressed, describing the medal as “of poor and unconvincing style and may be a restitution”. I would have said that the original medal may have been fairly skilfully modelled but only aftercasts survive. It’s certainly not possible to put a name to the artist" Whether it is an aftercast or less likely a restitution, it is a very rare cast lead medal. My example is 63mm, slightly larger than both the 60mm example that Armand references(assuming he is accurate) & Bargello's 61mm. Typically when a mold is made & a cast medal is produced from it the resulting medal is slightly smaller than the medal used to make the mold, that is due to shrinkage as the metal cools. Ergo my medal is probably earlier than both Armand's & the Bargello's. Whether it is an aftercast of a circa 1538-1548 medal, or less likely a restitution, it is a very rare cast-lead renaissance medal. It has been varnished, which I might try to remove, seeing that it is unifaced I could try the back of the medal & see how it goes. Found this old auction of what appears to be a more modern copy of this medal though it might just be an old variant minus inscription, never mind it is wrongly referenced, look at the hammer price! !

I was hoping for a change from the Edwards & Georges, I know we have a Charles then Henry in waiting but I think almost 300 hundred years of Kings George & Edward with just a William is too much. Luckily they did not name the Queens George or Edward!

Obv; Victoria & Albert left, around VICTORIA BRITAN REGINA, ET ALBERT SAX COBURG GOTHA PRINCEPS HALLIDAY Rev: Britannia holding the new born above 3 shields(G.B., Royal,, S.C.G.) topped with the Prince of Wales Plumes, around H.R.H. ALBERT EDWARD PRINCE OF WALES. T.H.F. Exe: BORN NOV. 9.1841 The ground is shown uneven with a hill behind the shields and perhaps is meant to represent Wales? Silvered WM. 33mm by Thomas Halliday unlisted. Most of the few medals that were issued for his birth are rated as RRR. This being unlisted, RRRR? Halliday issued another medal for the birth BHM#1992 in WM R 45mm so perhaps he had second thoughts about the prominent naked prince on this medal and decided not to issue it. I have never seen it before.

Hi B-DU welcome All listed as Card Counters.

If it is a common coin do an "advanced search" for "completed listings" of that coin, that will show what they have sold for recently.

I believe that they are just the personifications of Paintings and Sculptures, and not any specific goddesses.

Very nice Ian, I really like 'ÆMULÆ' in the inscription, so elegant looking.

It is BHM#1192 listed as rare in all versions, AR(45mm), AE(45), AE(28) and yours WM(28)

It would have been issued by a private company, I would guess in either Birmingham or London. Mistakes on medals are just a fact of life, perhaps the engravers liked a lunchtime pint or two! Unfortunately the cheaply made unofficial Edward accession or coronation medals never go for much. There are not too many collectors for the number of medals available. One just sold on Ebay http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1901-King-Edward-VII-Ascension-Medal-/200870130418?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec4caf2f2&_uhb=1 It only reached $10. Perhaps it might have gone a touch higher if the seller had pointed out the date error.

Very interesting story & a great coin!

Excellent, absolutely beautiful

This is a commemorative medal for Edward VII accession to the English throne, it is not listed in the standard reference "British Historical Medals" by Brown. Queen Victoria died on the 22nd Jan 1901, Edward Became King on that day but he took the oaths of sovereignty the day after. So some of the medals issued give the date he ascended to the throne as 22nd, some as 23rd(which is wrong) but yours gives the 25th which is totally wrong. Not the first or last medal to have a date error. But being unlisted & wrongly date does make it more collectible.