Let's see your exonumia!

And I thought Chicago Transit Authority was a rock band.

 

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Not that I am particularly picky when it comes to spelling, but that grammer school label, hmm. Apart from that, nice image side!

Christian

 

Slight confusion there I think! The School is the Edward VI school in Birmingham, and this is named after the King from the 16th century, son of Henry VIII. The future Edward VII was only 11 at the time this medal was issued.

 

Actually Grammar is correct - it is a term used for publically funded schools in the UK where pupils are selected by ability. Other public funded schools are "Comprehensives" where any ability of pupil is accepted.

 

I have had another extraordinary day of lucky pickups - both in exonumia and in coins. It may take me a while to post them all! This is the first:



Great big copper medallion - the scale at the bottomis in tenths of an inch. Apologies for some blurriness in the image - the detail is in very high relief so that the medal does not lie flat on the scanner bed.

Marie was the second wife of Ernest I Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and so step mother to Prince Albert - husband of Queen Victoria. Much more detail here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchess_Marie_of_Württemberg

The date on the plinth is 1837 (5 years after her marriage and before Albert married Victoria.) I have not yet worked out what the reference to the Statue of Jeanne D'arc is all about.

I hope you like.

 

One more for tonight. This one is not in such good condition but is older and relates to much greater events: Nelson's victory at the battle of the Nile in 1798.


Many medals were struck around that time to celebrate the result, the most famous being Davison's. This one seems to turn much less often, but I have found this website giving more detail: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/40353.html

Again I hope you like.

 

They changed their name because they thought it might generate a law suit. They dropped off transit authority and became known as Chicago.

 

I could offer you another Marie. Now my knowledge about the historical background is close to zero, but I came across this one:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Marie_of_Orléans_(1813–1839)
That Marie was also a sculptor, and some of her works feature Jeanne d'Arc. See the French Wikipedia here:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_d'Orléans_(1813-1839)#La_sculptrice
The photo in the middle apparently depicts the statue on your medal. And yes, that sure is a fine piece ...

Christian

 

Thanks for that Christian - yes I think you are right and I was off on the wrong track. I will amend my notes.

 

Here is the next from yesterday's great pick up:
Base metal medallion celebrating the opening of the International Exhibition of 1862 and the building which housed it. Typically Victorian attitude in recording the engineering skills involved in the construction and it's cost rather than it's beauty!
Medal has sadly some heavy corrosin spots, but still attractive.


I hope you like!

 

With those exhibitions, the technical skills were probably more important - most of these buildings were not supposed to be permanent. Interesting how the designer added all those little meerkats to show the size of the building, hehe.

Christian

 

OK - this one is a bit more challenging!

The legend, as far as I can work out, reads: "Andreas Crispus Patavinus A?r T M Dant Candelabrus". It is in base metal and corroded, measuring about 49mm across.

I found this link for Andrea Riccio - also known as Crispus for his curly hair - which seems to be relevant. I can't believe this one dates to the 16th century, so...?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Riccio

 

I'm traveling in Europe and picking up an exonumia piece when I see one I like. I got this in Barcelona, by eye it's about 57 mm. Google says the guy was a noted Spanish stamp scholar, who every year was invited to serve on the jury at international stamp expositions, (of which PHILEXFRANCE was one, every country is allowed one every ten years) for at least fifteen years. I'm privileged to own a medal presented to him. http://www.rahf.es/member/jorge-guinovart-vidal/.

 

I have a good friend who lives in Jackson Michigan . He's a collector of Lincoln medals and such. He has a beautiful wood cabinet he made that houses his Lincoln collection . The other day while I was in my LCS I ran across this medal 29 mm dia. About 10.33 grams. It's also high relief struck.
Once a year my friend drives down to Baltimore and we go to the Baltimore show. Sometimes another good friend Alan aka Coinzip.com joins us to walk the show have lunch and enjoy a few short hours together.
I called Bill and described this medal and he ID it and said it had a $50 value. Sweet huh? Well Bill here it is, it will be on its way up to Jackson in a few days.
Enjoy it my friend for many years......Paddy

 

That's really interesting, Paddy. At first glance I thought it was an ancient Roman coin. It appears to have been made to be attached to something, since it has two neat holes and a crosshatched reverse. Do you know exactly what it is, and what its use was?

Bruce

 

I always liked Chicago, Sam. I didn't know that about a possible lawsuit. I just thought it was easier to drop the "Transit Authority." Easier to remember name.

Bruce

 

That's an unusual medal, Wehwalt. It is a privilege to own something like that. I'm glad you appreciate its significance.

Bruce

 

I can't give an exact answer - I am still hunting. I found this picture on the Italian Wikipedia: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre..._andrea_briosco_detto_il_riccio,_1532_ca..JPG
which seems to confirm it is Andreas Riccio and he created a very similar medal in 1532, however I suspect mine is a 19th century "Grand Tour" copy - maybe fixed to a piece of furniture or a box?
Still an interesting piece!