bill

In geneology searches, I have found C. C. W. Meyer, but nothing specific to tie that entry to Chicago in 1891. I find a Wm. Meyer as a partner in a Chicago photography firm in the right time period, but nothing to link to C.C. Wm. I don't know if the marriage happened in the US, Germany, or elsewhere. I suspect my Meyer is Jewish and not Methodist. Why? A hunch, a thin suspicion that the use of a token is more likely a Jewish tradition or a German tradition. But, its just a gut feeling. One day I will find it.

I recently purchased an aluminum silver wedding anniversary token from 1891. I am looking to learn more about Mr. C.C. Wm. Meyer. No luck positively identifying him so far. He may be William or Wilhelm. He may or may not have been born in American, he could be a German Jew who migrated to the U.S. One possibility is that he may have been a partner in a photography firm. A few things that interest me about the medal. First, it is not a usual subject for someone to issue a wedding anniversary medal. It must have been meant for distribution outside the immediate family, perhaps through one's business. The second interesting fact is that aluminum was not yet that common in 1891. It became a mainstay in token and medal production after 1893 and the Chicago, but it was used sporadically in 1891 and was occasionally used by Chicago token manufacturers in 1891. So, despite knowing it is from Chicago and knowing the name of the person for whom the medal was issued, it remains in my research box in search of Mr. Meyer and his story.

Interesting. I learned something new today.

Thanks. The Genoa light house has a square or rectangular tower, but Venice is a possibility. The leaning tower might be a gouge in the die, but it is hard to tell. Venice does have a tower or church spire that does appear to lean in some photographs. The actually medal struck from the die would have the distinctive scallop edge pattern and clamshell ribbon extending from the bottom edge. One of these days.

I recently cataloged medals for an auction. One die had me stumped. I bought it in the auction for a reasonable price and added it to may "one of these days" file. Maybe someone here might recognize it. I suspect it is from the Mediterranean. I have reversed the die so it appears as the medal would be when struck. The medal would be a little over 40mm across.

The `La Meridionale' is gorgeous!

And now I have seen a photocopy of the sales brochure for these medals stating they were struck in July 1969 with 1,000 struck in silver and 2,500 struck in bronze. Given what is documented here about medals that exist and have not been confirmed, I suspect they were not struck in July 1969. I suspect that was the sales brochure date and the series was never completed. It may well be that the full sales brochure indicates it was one of the sales programs where medals were offered on a subscription basis and the album was available to subscribers. Since the Medallic Art archives have the 1961 date and the sales brouchre has a 1969 date, it would seem to indicate that this was a planned multi-year series and that interest slowly faded out.

I first saw a pair of die trials for the California Midwinter Exposition official medal in the Bill Weber auction years ago (2008). I could no7 afford them at the time. Then, I had the opportunity to purchase the pair for the same price each sold for individually (rounding off the costs to the nearest hundred). I was able to demonstrate some of the die production processes used at the U.S. Mint at the time (the dies were produced by the mint and then handed off to a contractor to strike the medals at the exposition) and demonstrate that the obverse die used on the die trials was badly bungled and a new die produced for the production medals. The reverse die is the same on the die trials as the production strikes. The image below is the two die trials and a gold-plated official medal struck on the first day of the exposition. HK 245 and die trials You can read my article (co-authored with Jeff Shevlin) in the March 2015 issue of The Numismatist.

They all appear to be bullion value pieces. I personally would not pay a premium for them unless you had an interested collector/buyer wanting to buy on the back end. If you like them, then buy them. But, if you are paying a preium for investment value beyond their melt value, its a risk.

How about your grandson having fun? Fun on the swing by bsktmkr, on Flickr

It was cool to strike your own medal. You are really just pushing two buttons requiring two hands (some distance from the press as you can see in the photo) so you can't amputate a finger. We each struck three; silver, copper, and brass. Over one day, we walked through the entire process from design drawings, to computer work, die engraving, striking, and antiquing. The entire process can be seen in my album https://www.flickr.com/photos/wdhyder/albums/72157653219554071

Transit is about 8 hours. Cruise ships pay a premium to have priority for transit because they have docking schedules they have to meet.

What have I been doing when not posting on CoinPeople? In December 2014, I took a cruise through the Panama Canal to celebrate its 100th Anniversary. In August 1914, the Panama Railroad Steamship Cristobal, made the first ocean-to-ocean passage through the canal carrying 50,000 commemorative medals. These popular medals are collected today as so-called dollars and are known by their Hibler and Kappan number as HK-398. Jeff Shevlin, better known as the So-Called Guy, wanted to commemorate the 100th anniversary by striking a new medal and carrying them through the canal during the 2014 anniversary year. 610 medals were struck by Daniel Carr at his Moonlight Mint commemorating the anniversary. Most were sold prior to the cruise with the promise that they would be carried through the canal before they were distributed. Three of us and our wives made the cruise in December 2014. As proof of passage, I photographed the medals at various points in the canal, the pictures here from the Gatung Locks on the Atlantic side of the canal (we passed from the Pacific to the Atlantic). Mike and Jeff with medals by bsktmkr, on Flickr Carrying the commemorative medal through the canal by bsktmkr, on Flickr Medal reverse in Gatun Lock by bsktmkr, on Flickr The full album of all the sights and fun of a fifteen day cruise can be viewed on Flickr. I have plenty of coin and medal albums posted there. The canal cruise album mostly shows life on board and the sights passing through the canal.Just click on the link under the photos to find my pages.

How about an iPhone photo of the lower die in the collar on the press: Lower die in the collar. by Bill, on Flickr

It has been awhile since I posted here as I have been busy producing books, editing the TAMS Journal, providing daycare for my grandson, and other fun activities. I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days at Dan Carr's Moonlight Mint. I thought a picture of me striking a medal on the press might be of interest. Me striking a medal by Bill, on Flickr

It is nice to see this thread continuing. I have been absent for some time. I spent the last year designing and producing the TAMS Guide to U. S. Shell Cards by Q. David Bowers, editing the TAMS Journal, and serving as president of TAMS. I should also mention daycare for my grandson. One day I will get caught up!

The original dies were created by Dickeson to create restrikes (other early medals were copied as well) for sale at the 1876 U.S. centennial exposition. What happened to the dies after that, I do not know. Thomas Elder next owned the dies and used them on a series of his own medals commemorating different things. I don't know where they went from Elder, but they next surface with Q. David Bowers and restrikes he had made at Pinches & Sons in England. He sold the dies to Bashlow who struck the piece pictured above. Baslow states the dies were donated to the Smithsonian, but he sometimes had transfer dies made before the donation. More of the story can be found at: http://so-calleddollar.com/Articles/55551_SoCalledBookletLOW.pdf

The engraving is from a later date. It looks like it might have had a loop added at one time that has been removed. It was perhaps worn on a necklace or carried as a pocket piece.

Found in the US or Britian? I am not an expert in the series, but it looks off to me and I don't have books covering that series to very my suspicion. There are others here, however, who know these coins quite well.

Nice facts to add to the discussion. Thank you.

Great pair.

H&K 352b with rabbit ears:

Nice.

I am fairly certain it was Schwaab Stamp and Seal of Milwaukee. They were a major manufacturer of medals and badges of all sizes at the time. The pieces are not typical of the work of Moise-Klinkner at the time.