Swedish Lutheran Church Jubilee Medal

[bill]

A recent addition for my aluminum collection:

 

 

A large, 51mm, medal listed on Ebay as related to the World's Columbian Exposition (the 1893 date). It is possible, but I can't really nail that down as a fact. It is American and it does have a link to the exposition. The flaw running from the rim into the portrait is a planchet flaw as opposed to post mint damage.

 

So, what can I decipher from the medal itself? The obverse refers to the tenet of Martin Luther, Sola Fide - By Faith Alone. Upsala 1593 refers to the Synod of Upsala that led to the Church of Sweden aligning itself with the Lutheran Church. I believe the portrait is Martin Luther himself.

 

Compare:

 

 

The reverse refers to the Jubilee of the Swedish Lutheran Church at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas in 1893. The inner legend translates as For Christ and the Church, Through Adversity to the Stars (Heaven).

 

The building is the Old Main building at Bethany College (demolished in the 1968).

 

Compare:

 

 

So what is the link to the Columbian Exposition (besides 1893)? Carl Aaron Swensson founded Bethany in 1881. He served as president of the General Council of the Lutheran Church of North America from 1893 to 1894. He was a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, World's Columbian Exhibition Auxiliary 1893, and a member of Building Committee for Sweden's Building at St. Louis Exposition in 1904. His involvement in the national expositions suggests he could have had the medal struck for the Columbian Exposition or that he was inspired by the prolific output of aluminum medals at the exposition.

[thedeadpoint]

Good detective work

[constanius]

Great one for your aluminum collection Bill. A superb well researched posting, also well illustrated!