All Medals

The medal's obverse bears seated female figure, arm raised in appeal to standing female figure. Around, NON SCHOLAE SED VITAE; signed at bottom, H. Schuler 1914

The reverse bears open book with rose across. In central bar, PEABODY MEDAL; inscrobed and dated at top and bottom, DOROTHY HOWARD / 1925

The Latin phrase "NON SCHOLAE SED VITAE" is the short form of a phrase that first appeared in Seneca's letters. It roughly translates to "We do not learn for school, but for life."

The Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1857 and is the oldest conservatory in the United States.

References:   MACo 1914-003

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Jerome P. Webster, facing right. At right, artist's palette, brush and quill, caduceus.  Below, JEROME P WEBSTER; signed below truncation, E · G · DEMING

The medal's reverse bears two crossed quills at bottom.  Around, COLUMBIA PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER NEW YORK; across, THE / WEBSTER SOCIETY / FOUNDED 1953 / (cartouche for recipient) / PLASTIC SURGICAL / SERVICE

References:   MACo 1962-038

The medal's obverse bears art-deco eagle with spread wings holding crossed Stars and Strips and Condeferate flag in its talons; fire underneath; circled star above.  At top, FRIENDSHIP; at bottom, HONOR · SERVICE; signed under flames, JULIAN HARRIS

The reverse bears silhouette of Rich's flagship store building. Around, 1867 - COMMEMORATING / THE SEVENTYFIFTH - ANNIVERSARY / OF RICH'S INC (star) - 1942; across, A SOUTHERN INSTITUTION / MORRIS, EMANUEL / AND DANIEL RICH / FOUNDERS

Founded by Mauritius Reich, anglicized to Morris Rich, Rich's was a department store retail chain, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated in the southern U.S. from 1867 until March 6, 2005 when the nameplate was eliminated and replaced by Macy's. Many of the former Rich's stores today form the core of Macy's Central, an Atlanta-based division of Macy's, Inc., which formerly operated as Federated Department Stores, Inc.

Daniel Rich who is mentioned on the reverse was the third brother to join the partnership in 1884.

The circular medal measures 56.9mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1941-011

The obverse bears an elegant beauty, one hand toying with string of pearls; above, APHRODITE; in lower right, MCM (circled JF monogram) XXXII.

The reverse bears a relay runner passing the torch to another. In upper left, SWIFT RUN- / NERS; in exergue, JF © Sc.

Flanagan's career had peaked at this point and he reused older works for his medal. The obverse is based on a 1904 marble medallion which graced August Belmont's Knickerbocker Hotel in Manhattan. The reverse was originally created for a clock that was installed in the Main Reading Room of the Library of Congress in 1902.

This medal was chosen as the 6th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York. The reported mintage is 1,494 pieces in bronze and 125 in silver. The bronzes exist in many patina variants and even the silvers exist in two variants: one from the original silver run in the 1970's and one from a telemarketing promotion in 1993.

References:   Baxter 163, MACo 1930-001-006, Marqusee 155, SoM 6

The medal's obverse bears Uncle Sam, carrying pickaxe over shoulder with one hand and holding spade with other, spade handle bisecting the Americas in background at the isthmus. Around, PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION SAN DIEGO 1915

The reverse bears view of S.S. Ancon in canal lock. Around, PANAMA CANAL OPENED BY S.S. ANCON / OFFICIAL SOUVENIR; in exergue, AUG. 15. 1914

The circular medal measures 34mm in diameter and was struck in gilt bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse depicts the allegory of the blind man and the lame, the seeing-eyed younger man carried on the blind man's shoulders, legs dangling uselessly to one side; thorny thistles to one side.  Around top, AIDONS-NOUS MUTUELLEMENT: LA CHARGE DES MALHEURS EN SERA PLUS LEGERE; signed around lower left, G. DEVREESE. 1916.

The reverse bears enameled red cross shield over laurels. Around top, CROIX ROUGE DE BELGIQUE; across, SECOURS AUX VICTIMES / DES INONDATIONS / 1925 - 1926 / -.- / TEMOINAGE / DE RECONNAISSANCE

The story of the blind man and the lame helping each other became popular in France during the 18th century and is frequently attributed to Aesop, though there is little evidence to support this claim.  The legend around the top translates roughly to: "Let us help each other: the burden of misfortune will be lighter."

Eastern Belgium experienced heavy snowfall during December of 1925, followed by heavy rains in early 1926.  As a consequence, the Meuse River Valley in the Walloon region of Eastern Belgium experienced heavy flooding and there was a wide-spread aid effort in which the Belgian Red Cross played a crucial role.

This medal was given to aid donors and helpers as a token of recognition. The circular medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Simon J. Murphy, Sr., facing. Around, SIMON J. MURPHY / 1815 - 1905; signed under truncation at right, Eue

The reverse bears a view of the Penobscot Building. Above, PENOBSCOT; over smaller building in background, 1915; below, 1927 1905

Simon J. Murphy Sr. (1815-1905) was a Maine businessman who started out as a logger and ended up in control of vast lumber lands in Michigan and all over America.  He started the take-over of the Pacific Lumber Company, which succeeded two months after his death. The buildings on the reverse are located in Detroit's financial district.

The circular medal measures 76.1mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears figure of Gad, holding spear and shield in one hand, horse's bridle in other; rows of tents running up slope to his right; sun at left. At left top, GAD; signed and dated in exergue, © 1970 - E. WEISTROP

The reverse bears Star of David, symbols and names from all twelve medals. In center, THE / TWELVE / TRIBES OF / ISRAEL

Gad was Jacob's seventh son, the first he had with Zilpah. Unlike his other brothers, Joseph didn't present Gad to the Pharaoh, since Joseph didn't want Gad to become one of Pharaoh's guards, an appointment that would have been likely had the Pharaoh realised that Gad had great strength. He personified the Israelite fighter:

"Men of might and men of war fit for battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions..."

This is the seventh medal in Elizabeth Weistrop's Twelve Tribes of Israel series. The circular medal measures 43mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintages are reported.

References:   MACo 1969-100-005, TToI 7