Art Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 elverno's 1804 L'École des Mines du Mont-Blanc, France In 1818 Captain Laskey wrote in part about this medal: "This medal was struck on the establishment of schools for the instruction of students in the art of mining and mineralogy. ... There is a modern statue, representing the Apennine mountains, by John de Bologna, at Florence, designated Father Apenninus; it represents the loftiest of the ridge of these mountains, which runs through the middle of Italy, from Liguria to Ariminum and Ancona, and joins the Alps. If standing erect, it proportional height would be about sixty feet. We are not quite certain if this is not the representation of this statue, and depicted here as the hoary headed Mont-Blanc, whose bald summit penetrates the clouds." elverno's 1812 Loge de l'ardente amitié de Rouen, France All Masonic medals from the Napoleonic era qualify as RR+. This one hails from the collection of Prince Victor Napoleon, sometimes known as Napoleon V to supporters. His collection came in part from Napoleon I's personal collection but there's no indication in this pieces' provenance as to when and where to came into his collection. Marvin's book on Masonic medals describes it as follows: "Obverse, On the left, an altar surrounded by a garland, and having on it three burning hearts. At the foot of the altar are the square, compasses, level, and plumb. Above, on the right, a radiant triangle. In exergue, ARDENTE AMITIE O.-. DE ROUEN. in two lines. Reverse, A leafless tree, over which an ivy vine has grown. Legend, LA MORT MEME NE L'EN A PAS SEPARE. [Death itself has not separated them.] This is an octagonal jeton, and was probably struck about 1812. Silver. Size 20." His sizes were in sixteenths of an inch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedeadpoint Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Miners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ætheling Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Silver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Obviously I like them both. I picked these because I love silver octagon pieces of the period. And the image of the god of mining (or saint perhaps?) with his head sticking up through the clouds has always been one of my favorite pieces. So, I'm not telling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted February 24, 2010 Report Share Posted February 24, 2010 both are worthy but I will make no bones about the fact I have voted for the miners peice down the line and I still think its the most impressive one from an artistic standpoint... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElleKitty Posted February 28, 2010 Report Share Posted February 28, 2010 I would love to have both of these in my collection, they're fantastic pieces! However, the silver octagon beats the mining token by just a hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knowtracks Posted March 2, 2010 Report Share Posted March 2, 2010 Tough choice, the octagon by a nose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 The Winner of The Exonumia Contest -- by only 1 vote -- is: elverno's 1812 Loge de l'ardente amitié de Rouen, France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted March 3, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2010 Congratulations Elverno. It's truly a beautiful piece of history. Thanks and congrats to all the entrants. It was a tight competition all the way and your pieces are all beauties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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