Hi...I have about 3 dozen Medals or Medallions, some of which are rim-marked with a Cornucopia & the word Bronze, with a late 20th century date. A few others are Medallic Art Co; but most are unmarked on the rim. I'm looking for a forum specific to this type of exonumia to further research the older (19th C) & more unusual of these items. Some are in foreign languages. Can any of you help me? PS: The 'and receive email notifications' checkbox seems broken; I used to get those emails, but no longer. Yes, 'Watch this thread...' is checked.
Best way to get one started is to start posting your medals in it and see what happens. If there is an interest the members will find it.
I've been collecting medals from France and the Low Countries for 25 years or so. The cornucopia on the edge of your medal indicates that it was made at the Monnaies de Paris (Paris Mint). The Low Countries (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg) often had their medals produced in Paris because they could not afford to operate their own mint. The cornucopia is called a "Different" which is the mintmark for medals produced by the Paris Mint. Beginning in 1841, the Director of the Paris Mint would choose a design for the Different that would represent his tenure in office. This was necessitated because there were a lot of counterfeit medals being made that did not contain any precious metal. Sometime around 1880, France opted to use the cornucopia for all medals. Unfortunately, you probably won't have any luck getting CT to create a separate forum for medals. There just isn't enough activity to justify it. I just use the "Coin Chat" forum whenever I want to post a medal. There is no comprehensive catalog for French medals. At one time I considered trying to buy all of the annual catalogs issued by the Paris Mint, but I learned very quickly that just trying to get all of them for the 19th century would cost about $2,000, and that was 15-20 years ago. There are two resources that I find helpful: 1) Jetons, Medalets & Tokens: The Low Countries and France, Volume Two by Michael Mitchiner, and 2) Biographical Dictionary of Medallists by L. Forrer. The Mitchiner book is more than 800 pages, and the Forrer compendium is comprised of 8 volumes with 5,200 pages. Chris
Excellent background, Chris...Thanks a lot! Your suggestion to post here is an iffy thing. I had suspected, due to an earlier exonumic query and the responses, that...as you emphasize...there ain't a whole lot of activity, so no justification for a forum...which, to me, translates to limited (at best) interest. What I'm hoping to find is a site with lots of exonumic interest & activity, in part to limit my effort in photography and description to a single, high-traffic source of help. Having said that, I readily admit in all previous posts anywhere on Coin Talk, I have invariably been most satisfied with the readiness of members to inform & guide, even in response to typical noob queries...and the depth of knowledge evidenced by most of those responses is breathtaking. Plus, the friendliness factor is a major benefit...I read threads I haven't particular interest in pursuing just to listen in to some deeply nuanced and enlightening conversations. I really am happier with CT than any other forum I belong to...perhaps 20 or so. You are showing just that exemplary conduct. And as for those physical references: I'll do some digging, but doubt that even the Mitchiner would be within reach of my budget...let alone 8 volumes of Forrer. Perhaps my local library could order from University of Washington, or the State Library in Olympia. Maybe...wlw
@wlwhittier I didn't even mention that I also have a fairly large collection of medals (150+) that were produced by private mints in the US, and that Medallic Art Co. (MACO) happens to be one of my favorites. 1960 - 350th Anniversary of Santa Fe - MACO 63.5mm struck in both silver (4.55ozs.) and bronze 1960 - Launch of the U.S.S. Enterprise - MACO 63.5mm struck in both silver (4.55ozs.) and bronze Chris
You can't forget the U.S.Mints output of medals from the America's first medals for the Bicentennial, pewter
Side note - These days it is quite similar again. No mint in Belgium and Luxembourg, and the Dutch mint (KNM) is owned by a Belgian company. Also, the Monnaie de Paris issues - their coins at least, don't know much about medals - have both the cornucopia mintmark (différent) and an individual mark of the chief engraver (chef du service de la gravure). Agreed, topics about medals are just fine here in Coin Chat. Sure, World and Ancient became two separate forums a while ago, but that was justified by the increasing number of "ancient" posts and participants. Christian
Several of you members have offered encouragement for me to post in this forum, and so I will, soon. Gotta take some reasonable pics, then I'll begin with the older ones, 19th & early 20th C...one or two atta time. Hope you all find them worthy of comment! wlw PS: Chris...is there e a reference book on MACO?
@wlwhittier FWIW, there is a dealer in California named Hedley Betts who deals in medals and is where I purchased the Forrer compendium. He has an extremely diverse listing of books for sale, and I thought you might like to browse through them. https://www.mcssl.com/store/8596432/catalog/category/5347979 Chris
I'm looking forward to seeing them! MACO? I'm not sure. I just sent you a link to a dealer in California. He has had this same website for at least 15 years that I know of. You might find something in his list of books for sale. I did spot a couple more that I want to look into. I haven't spoken to Hedley in quite a few years. You might want to call him and ask specifically about MACO. If he doesn't have anything, he might be able to give you some leads. Chris
exonumia-exposition-universelle-internationale-medal-paris-1900.225841 Hey, Chris...If you look at the above link, you'll recognize that we were discussing one of my medallions a few years ago. I had forgotten all about that...so I won't re-post any chat on that one. I wonder if I drug out some of the others out at the same approximate time? The link showed up in a Google search! Nothing gets forgotten anymore...at least by the web. wlw
Ah, yes! I remember that thread. Well, have you acquired any medals from the four artists that I mentioned in that thread? Vernon? Roty? Rivet? Bottee? Just to whet your whistle, here is a plaquette from Louis Oscar Roty. Chris
I picked this up today at a coin auction just cause I really liked it, and came across this thread researching it.
