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Not long after acquiring the base of a medal of award and attempting a potential reconstruction from the base and a photograph, I managed to acquire an example in its original presentation box. Compare the near chocolate bronze patina on the complete medal issued here and the gilt appearance on the base pictured above. The reverse of both medals appears to be the same (blank and apparently gilt or shiny brass). Perhaps gold and bronze medals? I have no evidence one way or the other.

Bravo!

Pond 26 Tumbled nickel finish, 30 mm Whitehead & Hoag Co. 22,000 struck Obverse: The seal of Worcester, WORCESTER'S / CELEBRATION / OF MASSACHUSETTS / BAY / TERCENTENARY. Reverse: Pine Tree shilling copy. Pond notes these were said to be widely distributed to school children.

Pond 15 White Metal with oxidized silver finish, 30 mm. Whitehead and Hoag Co. 20,000 struck Obverse: Image of a balance beam, standing man, girl on one scale tray, pile of coins on the other, microscopic copyright 1930 BHS. Outer ring reads, TERCENTENARY OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY / 1630 - 1930. The legend reads, JOHN HULL / FIRST MINT MASTER / HIS DAUGHTER'S DOWRY / WAS HER WEIGHT IN / PINE TREE SHILLINGS. Microscopic mark, W & H CO along the rim. Reverse: Reproduction of the Pine Tree schilling. Pond believes these were the first souvenirs struck for the tercentenary. The Bourne Historical Society sold the medals to raise funds for the Trading Post Endowment Fund. The original Plymouth Colony Aptucxet Trading Post was built in 1627. The historical society maintained a replica of the trading post. As legend goes, John Hull paid his daughter's dowry with her weight in the Pine Tree shillings that he produced in the early mint. The Puritan medal with codfish reverse first attracted me to this series, but it was the Pine Tree shilling medals that convinced me to concentrate on the topic.

Pond 12 Gilt Bronze, 32 mm Whitehead & Hoag Co. Mass Produced Pond 13 Gilt Bronze, 32 mm Whitehead & Hoag Co. Mass Produced Two generic medals sold throughout Massachusetts during 1930. These are the two most common medals encountered. Common obverse: Puritan male facing right with a map of Massachusetts behind. MASSACHUSETTS BAY / TERCENTENARY / IN NEW / ENGLAND / 1630 / 1930. First Reverse: Codfish facing right with the legend: SOUVENIR / MASSACHUSETTS / BAY / TERCENTENARY / IN NEW ENGLAND / 1630 - 1930. Second Reverse: Codfish facing right with a spinning wheel in a shield below. SOUVENIR 1630 1930. On the first medal obverse, note the circular die-crack that extends about three quarters of the way around the medal.

It feels good in hand as well. It is 5 mm thick and weighs about 8 ounces, so it has a nice heft. I have one other of this size that I am awaiting delivery. Its made by the same company and I believe it is as nice from the photographs.

Pond 5 Bronze, 32 mm Cammall Badge Co. 3500 struck Obverse: Settler's house, MACY - COLBY HOUSE / BUILT 1654. The surround inscription: MASSACHUSETTS BAY TERCENTENARY / 1630 AMESBURY 1930. Reverse: The Indian in canoe reverse from the generic state medal. The Macy - Colby house was the homestead of Thomas Macy whose flight to Nantuket is described in Whittier's poem, The Exiles. He sold it to Anthony Colby and his descendant, Moses Colby, sold it to the Bartlett Cemetary Association. In 1930, it housed a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Pond 3 Gilt Bronze, 33 mm Cammall Badge Co. Mass Produced Pond 4 Gilt Bronze, 32 mm Cammall Badge Co. Mass Produced Two generic souvenir medals sold through out the state. Common obverse: A sailing ship, the Arbella, with the head of a Puritan below (Gov. Winthrop). MASSACHUSETTS TERCENTENARY / 1630 - 1930. First reverse: Indian in a canoe gazing at radio towers and an airplane. TERCENETENARY SOUVENIR / 1630 - 1930. Second reverse: A representation of the Massacusetts state seal with a codfish below. TERCENTENARY SOUVENIR / 1630 - 1930. Pond 3 used for an employee medal for Lever Brothers. A day at an amusement park outside Boston/Cambridge.

With the price of gas and the cost of coins from Europe when paying with dollars, I've started two new topics to occupy my collecting fever. The Massachusetts Bay Tercentenary was celebrated in 1930 across the state with a variety of exonumia. The organizers hoped for a commemorative half dollar, but I suspect the Pilgrim half issued ten years earlier made that goal a long shot. At the end of 1930, Shepard Pond collected the various medals and tokens issued over the year to form a representative collection viewed as the state commission closed its books. Pond went on to publish a list of the items in the June 1931 Numismatist followed by updates over the next two years. The ANA brought the various articles together into a reprint. I am using Pond as my guide for collecting the items, although I am ruling out some athletic badges and an encased cent. I will post the items here as I build the collection. Pond 1 68 mm x 90 mm Bronze (also plated in gold and silver) Struck by Robbins Co., Attleboro, MA I'm showing as my obverse what Pond calls the reverse of the medal. I know one could debate the issue, but I think of the image side as the obverse and the text side as the reverse in this case. The tercentenary final report described the medal as I do. Obverse: A symbolic scene of the historic development of New England. First Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop appears in the bottom center with the charter and great book below.. To the left is an Indian family with a child. A stagecoach winds its way along a road, with a sailing ship on the sea in the distance. In the far distance, one can see smoke stacks, a city skyline, and an airplane. To the right is a Puritan family with child and ships sailing upriver towards the woodland and the setting sun. Bunker Hill Monument can just be seen. A witch flys across the full moon. The emblems in the four corners are the Liberty Tree, the don't-tread-on-me rattlesnake, the arm and sword from the state seal, and the ancient notary seal of a stag's head. Reverse: The emblem adopted by the citizen's organizations sponsoring the tercentenary showing the codfish. The inscription reads THE PRINCIPLES PLANTED HERE BY THE PURITANS IN 1630 ROOTED FREE GOVERNMENT ON THIS CONTINENT. THEN AND THERE THE EXISTENCE AND CHARACTER OF THE FUTURE UNITED STATES WERE ASSURED. The edge is stamped ROBBINS CO. / ATTLEBORO. REG. U.S. / PAT. OFF The medal sold for $5 in rose gold, $4 in silver, and $3 in bronze. It came with a booklet which I have not seen. A larger image.

Added another just published work as well: Striking Change: The Great Artistic Collaboration of Theodore Roosevelt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. By Michael F. Moran, Whitman Press, 2008. I haven't read it as yet, but Moran's article on the San Francisco earthquake and the US Mint published in the Numismatist a couple of years ago was excellent. It was well researched and well written.

My copy of the deluxe edition of the 2nd edition of Hibler and Kappen's So-Called Dollars arrived yesterday. Hardbound and full color unlike the trade edition (paper bound, black-and-white). Five of my photographs of my medals are included and I am listed in the acknowledgments. I was asked to contribute photographs based on my Coin People posts and I was happy to do so. Needless to say, I am very pleased with the book!

Nice!

I really hesitate to throw my example into the mix, but: I don't have much use for more testicles than I already have, but money is always useful. However, my jeton is not for sale today. The image is definitely a "celestial" shield. I'm not sure I could easily relocate a cgb image of one such shield leaning against a wall with some weapons illustrated on a spectacular jeton. It is in one of their auctions (not the jeton catalogs) and it went for something between $500 and $1000 if I remember right. It is a spectacular piece. I will post a link if I stumble across it again. The opportune time refers to the battle of Troy when the gods threw down a "celestial shield" at an opportune time. That is a much too short reference to a much longer story. In any event, French symbolism drew heavily on the legends of Troy, etc. in the 1600s.

And, I like the bust on your new acquisition.

Its been awhile since anyone has posted in this thread including myself. I've acquired more than a few books since then, but two are significant additions. My last post was Comitia Americana and Related Medals: Under Appreciated Monuments to Our Heritage by John W. Adams and Anne E. Bentley Published by George Frederick Kolbe, 2007 While I could not afford the deluxe edition printed by Bird and Bull Press, I did acquire a copy of The Magnum Opus of Joseph Florimond Loubat: A Leaf Book by Adams, et al. printed by Bird & Bull Press, 2007. The book includes two original plates from Lobat's original book. After admiring the paper, printing, and quality of the original, I finally acquired an original, signed copy of: The Medallic History of the United States of America 1776-1876. By Loubat. Published in new York by the author, 1878, signed by the author in Paris, November 25, 1889. It has been rebound, but it is still a beautiful example of printing, paper, and engraving.

1893 Aluminum Berry Brothers Ltd., Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building Eglit 501 41 mm, 4 mm thick My latest purchase, an advertising medal with the image of the Manufacturers and Liberal Arts Building on the obverse.

My latest acquisition is a coin box from the exposition with the top embossed with a design similar to that of Hibler & Kappen 250 (see above). The box is unsigned, but the image on the top of the box is definitely close to that of H&K 250 with a different inscription.

1894 Medal of Award Gilt base metal Base of medal only. I acquired the base of a Medal of Award on Ebay. I've not seen a full medal for sale, but I used my base to reconstruct the medal by making a composite with an image in the Exposition final report. The black-and-white image has been colorized by me based on information at hand. The ribbon color may not be correct.

1894 Aluminum Lauer Exposition View So-Called Dollar Hibler & Kappen 263 35.6 mm EF Obverse: State seal, signed LAUER at bottom. Reverse: View of the Fine Arts Building, CALIFORNIA MIDWINTER INTERNAT. EXPOS. / SAN FRANCISCO 1894. FINE ARTS / BUILDING in exergue. LAUER NURNBERG in small letters below central image. Lauer of Nürnberg, Germany won a gold medal at the exposition for their medal manufacturing exhibit. Six differerent medals were issued. Upgraded the medal in August 2009:

Nice.

Wonderful coins. I particularly like the pennies of the 10xx range from England and Scandinavia. I sold my one Norwegian penny and two early bractates in 1990. There are times when I miss those critters. They are too expensive today to start collecting again.

An inexpensive 38 mm bronze medal designed by Julio Kilenyi and struck by Whitehead & Hoag. Kilenyi designed two so-called dollars, HK 738 (1926 Paramount Pictures) and HK 775 (1935 Mark Twain Centennial). Kilenyi also designed the 1932 Olympic participation medal, U.S. presidential medals and other medals honoring famous people, organizations, events and companies. The bust of Larkin caught my eye. I thought it was well done. The reverse shows the Larkin factory in Buffalo, New York. The inset at the top is the original factory building. The company's administration building (extreme right hand edge of image) was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. A postcard shows the buildings: The Larkin Company was founded in 1875 to produce Sweet Home Soap. He was so successful at selling door to door ("soap slinging" or "factory to family"), that his line of soaps expanded and ultimately grew into a variety of household products marketed through more traditional channels, chain stores, and mail order. By joining a Larkin Club, you could buy virtually everything you needed from one source. Larkin's innovations extended to his treatment of his employees. The list of amenities included daily exercise, savings accounts, educational services, men's and women's clubs -- even free coffee. A dental clinic, doctor's office and public library branch were all on-site. An early air conditioning system provided fresh air. His biography, "John D. Larkin: A Business Pioneer" by Daniel I. Larkin was published by Western New York Wares in 1998.

Three convention medals (in chronological order): 1978 ANA First Mid-Year convention medal. Colorado Springs. Issued in 350 bronze and silver sets, this bronze example is numbered 243. 1983 ANA San Diego convention medal. Mintage: 150, non-numbered, 100 serially numbered in silver and bronze sets. 1987 ANA Atlanta convention medal. Mintage: 150 The nice part about this collecting topic is that most items have been less than $25, many less than $10 for rather limited issue medals.

Using the holidays to catch up on cataloging my collection. Two purchases from Art: 1970 ANA convention badge Mintage: 2400 1971 ANA convention badge Mintage: 2400

Thank you. Thank you. thank you! (Although some might say I'm odd, I've never accused of being charming! ) And finally, yes, my guess is that it was a marketing ploy, but he kept at it (and it turns out he was both a little odd and a whole lot charming). I wished I had had the chance to meet him by the time I had finished researching and writing the article. Corresponding with his granddaughter was the closest I got. She helped me learn things that I would not have otherwise discovered and I helped her learn things she never knew about her grandfather. Coin collecting is a great hobby when it all comes together as it did when working on the article.