The Medal In America.
Edited by Alan M. Stahl.
Coinage of the Americas Conference
Proceedings No. 4 (New York, The American Numismatic Society 1988) illus.
ISBN 0-89722-226-1.

QUARCOOPOME, EBENEZER NII. The Indian Peace Medal of King George I.

The author identifies 3 obverse and 3 reverse dies used to strike bronze (or copper) medals bearing the portrait and name of George I on obverse and on reverse, a woodland scene featuring an American Indian. The series is presumed to have been awarded to American Indian Chiefs by George I (and therefore of the "Indian Peace Medal" category); however, the author establishes this run as having been produced privately for use in the fur trade as premiums ca. 1720-25. A catalogue of known examples is appended.

FULD, GEORGE J. and TAYMAN, BARRY D. The Montreal and Happy While United Indian Peace Medals.

The authors describe the circumstances of issue, review contemporary and relevant literature, and illustrate the medals attributed to colonial silversmith Daniel Christian Fueter, as well as the similar Virginia Happy While United Medal.

GIMENO, JAVIER. The Spanish Medal in America.

The article reviews the factors behind the introduction and diffusion of the medal on the American continent under Spanish domination. An evolution is observed during the 18th century beginning with the proclamation medal and the royal oath, sponsorship by local institutions, until the state intervention manifested by the engravings of the first mint and ultimately by the creation of the Academia de San Carlos in Mexico, introducing a medal independent of the proclamation. The nucleus of this activity was in Mexico, from where the influences of the principal cities and mints on the continent were disseminated.

KORSHAK, YVONNE. The Winds of Libertas: Augustin Dupre's Libertas Americana.

This paper examines the sources, influences and iconography of the image of the medal Libertas Americana commissioned by Benjamin Franklin, at the behest of Congress, from the French medalist Augustin Dupre in 1782. The medal's subsequent numismatic history in both America and in France is also traced, with particular reference to the liberty cap device.

VERMEULE, CORNELIUS. Medallic and Marble Memorials: Mint to Mausoleum in Victorian America.

The art of the medal in the United States from 1830 to 1920 reflects official trends and tastes in painting (John Trumbull), in engraving (James B. Longacre), and in sculpture from the neo-classicists (Thomas Crawford) to the new vocabulary in the age of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and his pupils. The medals of the U.S. mint, from the French medalists of the Revolutionary War to the early Greek styles of John Ray Sinnock in the 1920s, are the most prolific expressions of the interrelated arts in America. Certain trends, such as the "Egyptomania" in commemorative and mortuary art of the 1840s to 1880s, or the "classical" funerary reliefs of the same period, have their reflections and parallels in medallic compositions.


BARTLE, DOROTHY BUDD. John Cotton Dana and the Ideal Museum Collection of Medals.

The author surveys the formation and use by a pioneering educator of a medals collection in a public institution: The Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, 1909-1929.
Museum records provide valuable references. Dana's close involvement with Newark-born sculptor John Flanagan, and local manufacturer Chester R. Hoag of Whitehead & Hoag, is discussed. In particular, "process exhibits" showing the steps in creating medals illustrate means used by Dana to reach a diverse audience in an American industrial city.        


HASSLER, DONNA J. The Medals of John Flanagan.

The author discusses the medallic work of John Flanagan (1865-1952), one of America's most important medalists. A studio assistant of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Flanagan continued his studies in Paris, where be established an international reputation for his relief work. The artist's most accomplished medals include The Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia's Medal in honor of Daniel Garrison Brinton, 1898; The Horace Howard Furness Award for Distinguished Achievement, 1909; The Rostron Medal, 1912, and The Verdun Medal, 1921; as well as a series of portrait medallions and plaquettes of artist-friends, which he began in 1917. In 1922 Flanagan received the prestigious J. Sanford Saltus Medal Award from The American Numismatic Society.

RICHMAN, MICHAEL. The Medals of Daniel Chester French.

Having produced over 350 independent sculptures during a career that spanned over six decades, Daniel Chester French worked on only 9 medals. While little is known about his first effort, a medal for the Architectural League of New York, the George Dewey medal of honor (1898-99), designed to commemorate the Battle of Manila Bay is well documented by records recently discovered at the National Archives.

In 1917 French began a second period of numismatic activity producing 7 medals. With one exception, these were executed in collaboration with other artists with whom French shared production credit.

Utilizing the 32,000-plus collection of the sculptor's personal and professional letters gathered by Daniel Chester French Papers Project, the author concludes with the histories of 4 medals: Commemoration of the Visit of the French and British War Commission to New York (designed 1917-18 with Evelyn Longman); Completion of the Catskill Aqueduct (designed 1917-18 with Augustus Lukeman); Recognition of the War Council of the American Red Cross (designed 1919-20 with painter Will H. Low) and honoring the annual recipient of the Pulitzer Prize (designed 1918-21 with Lukeman). The War Commission, Catskill and Red Cross medals were subsequently issued in subscription by the American Numismatic Society.

SAM, CYNTHIA (PRATT) KENNEDY. Bela Lyon Pratt (1867-1917): Medals, Medallions and Coins.

Utilizing the artist's unpublished correspondence, the author reveals the personal tide of this important Beaux-Arts sculptor. Detailed descriptions concerning the solicitation and execution of various medallic commissions are given; new information is provided on the incuse design created by Pratt and eventually accepted for striking the U.S. 2 1/2 and 5 dollar gold coins of the period 1908-1929.


FREUNDLICH, AUGUST L. The Coins and Medals of James Earle Fraser.
The American sculptor, James Eagle Fraser (1876-1953), is best known for his public works, which include End of the Trail, the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial in New York, and numerous coins and medals. Fraser's major contribution to numismatics was the Americanization of subject matter. He developed a uniquely American coin, the Buffalo nickel, using symbols fitting only to the United States. Another contribution was to bring to bear a strong Beaux-Arts aesthetic, not only in his own coins and medals, but through his leadership of an entire generation engaged in the field. Saint Gaudens had first held up the classic ideals in coin design, but it was Fraser's contribution to develop and propagate the use of American iconography and high artistic standards in the process.

LEOTTI, ELAINE J. The American Woman Medalist. A Critical Survey.

In the early years of the 20th century a number of American women stepped boldly into a new field: medallic sculpture. Harriet Frishmuth began her career by studying with Rodin and Janet Scudder, who worked as Frederick MacMonnies' assistant, was the first woman to have medals exhibited at the Luxembourg Museum in Paris. In 1913 the young Laura Gardin Fraser designed the charming Better Babies medal for Woman's Home Companion, the beginning of a long career which included the 1930 Congressional Medal of Honor for Charles Lindbergh. Gertrude Lathrop created graceful designs from nature. Anna Hyatt Huntington, whose sculptured career began with the century's birth and spanned six decades, exhibited her mastery of the miniature in bold medallic designs. Karen Worth's contributions to the medallic world earned her the prestigious Status Award in 1977.

The paper touches briefly on the careers of these and of other 20th century American woman sculptors, concentrating on discussion, contrast and criticism of their medallic output.


NOBLE, JOSEPH VEACH. The Society of Medalists.

The Society of Medalists was founded in 1930, and is the oldest organization in America issuing fine art medals. Its history is recounted and that of its precursor The Circle of Friends of the Medallion (1909-1915). Over the past 58 years the Society has issued 116 medals. The wide variety of subjects, themes and sculptural styles are reviewed. A table lists the 116 medals by issue, year, sculptor, subject of obverse and reverse, and number struck in bronze and silver.