Items Currently In Collection

in johnsallay's colections

American School Medals (98)

University of Virginia, Jefferson Society. Made in Baltimore, Maryland, 1857. Gold, Completely hand engraved. Diameter 47.9mm, 46.2 grams, with ring for suspension. Engraved by Canfield, Baltimore (signed on edge: Made by Canfield, Bro. & Co. Baltimore ). Obverse: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA JUNE 27, 1857 around a very finely engraved view of the academic quadrangle designed by Thomas Jefferson, within an oval cartouche; above is the device from the Virginia state seal of Liberty crushing the tyrant under foot; below is the motto "Haec olim meminisse juvabit." (see below); copied from an early 19th century engraving by James W. Steel, Philadelphia. Reverse: PRESENTED by the JEFFERSON SOCIETY TO Thomas C. Nelson as their BEST DEBATER Session 1856-7, within an open laurel wreath, and Greek letters Phi Pi Theta below (the intials of the Society motto, which is "freindship, fatherland, divinity" in English).

In the context of the obverse design of this medal, the motto "Haec olim meminisse juvabit" is a fantastic joke, which a young man  of that day who was highly educated in the classics would have understood immediately.  The quotation as shown on the medal is literally translated as "In the future it will be pleasant to remember these things" and, placed under a view of the main quadrangle of the campus, seems highly sentimental.  The quotation is taken from Book 1, line 203 of Virgil's Aeneid, which is one of the most famous -- if not the most famous -- quotation in ancient Latin.  The entire line, however is "Forsan haec olim meminisse juvabit" and is said by Aeneas to his men just after they are shipwrecked, expecting to die and complaining to thier leader.  This full line is translated "Perhaps some day it will be pleasant to remember even this!" and when referring to their time at the college as students, reflects a somewhat different sentiment!

 
University of Virginia, Jefferson Society. Probably Baltimore, Maryland, 1860. Gold, Completely hand engraved. Diameter 51.3mm, 46.4 grams, with ring for suspension. Attributed to Canfield, Bro. & Co. Baltimore. Obverse: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA JULY 3, 1860 around a very finely engraved view of the academic quadrangle designed by Thomas Jefferson, within an elaborately engraved oval cartouche; above is the device from the Virginia state seal of Liberty crushing the tyrant under foot; below is the motto "Haec olim meminisse juvabit."; copied from an early 19th century engraving by James W. Steel, Philadelphia. Reverse: PRESENTED BY THE JEFFERSON SOCIETY TO James M. Boyd as their BEST DEBATER Session 1859-60, within an open laurel wreath, and Greek letters Phi Pi Theta below (the intials of the Society motto, which is "freindship, fatherland, divinity" in English).

Provenance:

  • Heritage Auctions
 
University of Virginia, Jefferson Society. Probably Richmond, Virginia, 1879. Gold, Completely hand engraved. Diameter 45.8mm, 29.9 grams, with loop for suspension. Obverse: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA HAEC OLIM MEMINISSE JUVABIT around a engraved view of the library building in the academic quadrangle which was designed by Thomas Jefferson, within a laurel wreath; above is a shield with the device from the Virginia state seal of Liberty crushing the tyrant under foot and motto SIC SEMPER TYRANNES. Reverse: Presented BY THE JEFFERSON SOCIETY TO Wyndham R. Meredith As their best speaker Session 1878.79, and Greek letters Phi Pi Theta below (the intials of the Society motto, which is "freindship, fatherland, divinity" in English), all within a closed laurel wreath.
 
University of Virginia, Washington Society. Probably Richmond, Virginia, 1891. Gold, Completely hand engraved. Diameter 47.5mm, 43.8 grams. Obverse: UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA QUAMFLUCTUS DIVERSI QUAM MARE CONJUNCTI around an engraved and applied laurel wreath, within which is an engraved and applied view of the library building in the academic quadrangle which was designed by Thomas Jefferson. Reverse: Presented BY THE WASHINGTON SOCIETY TO C.F. SPENCER AS THEIR BEST DEBATER SESSION 90-91, all within a finely engraved and applied open laurel wreath.

The Washington Society is a literary and debating society which is the great rival to the Jefferson Society at UVA.

 

American Scrimshaw (2)

Cutting in the Whale - Tambua Tooth.
 
A Stove Boat - Walrus Tusk.
 

Betts Medals (83)

Philip II, Treaty of Vaucelles. Betts 1. Silver, cast and chased. Diameter 34.8mm, 13.2 grams. Obverse: PHILIPPVS HISPANIAR ET NOVI ORBIS OCCIDVI REX (Phillip, King of Spain and of the New Western World), around armored bust of the King facing to the left. Reverse: IMP CAES CAROLVS V AUG (Charles V, Emperor, Caesar, Augustus), laureated bust of the emperor in armor, facing to the right. Extremely Fine. Very rare; missing from the Ford Collection.

Provenance:

  • Lucien M. LaRiviere; Bowers & Merena, LaRiviere Sale, 5/21/01, lot 1001
  • Sotheby's Auction; June, 1976, lot 493
 
Philip II, King of the New World. 1559. Betts 3. Bronze. Diameter 39.3mm, 23.5 grams. VF-EF.

Provenance:

  • Paul Bosco; November 20, 2000, Sale 22, lot 564
 
Dampville, Viceroy of America, Restrike. Paris Mint, 1658 (1880-1898). Betts 39. Copper. Diameter 50.2mm, 51.9 grams. Cornucopia edgemark, CUIVRE on edge. Choice R&B Unc. Very rare, even as a restrike.

Provenance:

  • Lucien M. LaRiviere; Bowers & Merena, May 21, 2001, lot 1015
  • Purchased at the TOREX Show; August 19, 1974
 
Conquest of St. Christopher, restike. 1666. Betts 42. Bronze. Diameter 41.4mm, 33.8 grams. Choice R&B Uncirculated.

Provenance:

  • Jim King
 

Boston School Award Gorgets (7)

Merit Gorget. Boston area, c.1810. Gold, hand engraved. 21.0mm × 30.9mm, 1.6 grams. Obverse: Merit. Reverse: Francis A. Adams.
 
Good Scholarship Gorget. Boston area, c. 1810. Silver, hand engraved. 20.7mm × 37.4mm, 1.5 grams. Obverse: Good Scholarship, with three punched pointing hands. Reverse: AB in ornate script.
 
Merit Gorget. Boston area, c. 1815. Silver, hand engraved. Obverse: Merit. Reverse: Elizabeth Wakefield.
 
Unexceptionable Good Conduct Gorget. Boston area, c. 1820. Silver, hand engraved. Obverse: A reward for Unremitting attention to Study & Unexceptionable Good Conduct, within decorative border. Reverse: blank, with decorative border.
 

British School Medals (57)

Benjamin McKay's School. Edinburgh, Scotland, 1816. Silver, hand engraved. Oval, including the loop, 86.2mm × 55.6mm, 32.5 grams, with loop for suspension. Obverse: Boy leaning on a huge covered urn, with his left leg akimbo and a book in his right hand; the Temple of Fame on a hill in the background, all surrounded by a laurel wreath. Reverse: engraved in nine lines, Quo diligentior eo doctior JOANNI BOGG Condiscipulorum Duci Hocce Numisma Honoris gratia tribuit BENJAMINUS MACKAY VIIIJd: AUG: MDCCCXVI. With Edinburgh hallmarks below, all surrounded by a laurel wreath.
 
Learn Of Us - Gough House Chelsea. London, 1829. Silver. Oval, including the loop, 63.0mm × 41.7mm, 22.4 grams. Obverse: LEARN OF US on ribbon, above an active beehive, with London hallmarks below. Reverse: THE REWARD OF MERIT GOUGH HOUSE CHELSEA around elaborate monogram ARB.
 
Mr. Gowring's Academy. 1818. Silver, hand engraved. Oval, 54.8mm × 42.1mm, 10.3 grams, with hole for suspension. Obverse: Flying Pegasus above a flowing ribbon with the inscription "SIC ITUR AD ASTRA", all within an ornate border. Reverse: Inscribed "Christmas 1818, Presented as the Reward of Industry to Robert Douglas, Aged 14 Years." and hallmarked 1818, all within an ornate border.
 
Mr. Gowring's Academy. 1831. Silver, hand engraved. Oval, with hole for suspension. Obverse: Flying Pegasus above a flowing ribbon with the inscription "LA RECOMPENSE DU MERITE", all within a wreath bound in ribbon which is open at the bottom. Reverse: Inscribed "MR. J.W. GOWRING'S Academy, Finchley" and hallmarked 1831, all within a wreath bound in ribbon which is open at the bottom.
 

Civil War Tokens (8)

Civil War Token - Fuld 13-297. Red & Brown Uncirculated.
 
Civil War Token - Fuld 138-434. White metal. AU. R8.
 
Civil War Token - Fuld 141-307. Red & Brown Uncirculated.
 
Civil War Token - Fuld 214-416. Red Uncirculated.
 

Coins (2)

ROME, Elagabalus, 218-222, denarius, 222. ROME. Elagabalus, 218-222. denarius, 222. No. 53, obverse 5-B (horned). Silver. Diameter 18.0 to 19.3mm, 2.7 grams.
 
FRANCE, Lorraine, 1/4 Plaque, 12th century. FRANCE, Lorraine. 1/4 Plaque, 12th century. Diameter 17.9 to 19.7mm, 1.0 grams.
 

Early American Paper Money (6)

Connecticut One Shilling - July 7, 1776. Uncirculated.
 
Delaware 5 Shillings - January 1,1776. Uncirculated.
 
New Jersey 18 Pence - March 25, 1776. Uncirculated.
 
Rhode Island, Five Dollars - July 2,1780. Uncirculated.
 

German School Medals (20)

Patricius Sporer. Wurtzburg, Germany, c. 1650. Gilt bronze. Diameter 61.7mm, 32.0 grams. Obverse: S. PATRICIUS C.R. PATRONUS SCHOLARUM (St. Patricius (Sporer), Christus Rex, Patron of the Students), around a half-length bust of St. Patricius facing three-quarters left, holding a cross over his left shoulder. Reverse: DUMUS B. M. VIRGINIS (Thorns of the Blessed Virgin Mary), below a blazing heart with "T" or perhaps a cross, pierced by two arrows, surrounded by laurel branches. Edge inscribed STUDY VITUTIS AC MOREM TESSERA APUD C: REGV: S.P. AUGUSTINI IN OPPIDO WERTENSI (Award for the Study of Virtue and Morals at the Augustinian Seminary in Wurtzburg).

Provenance:

  • Coin Galleries Mail Bid Sale; April 16, 2002, lot 1430

This is the earliest school medal that I’m aware of that was meant to hang on a ribbon or cord, much the way modern Olympic medals are awarded and worn

 
Diligentiae Praemium. Ansbach, Germany, 1737. Silver. Diameter 21.1mm, 1.2 grams. Obverse: Spread Eagle crest of Ansbach, with 17 and 37 on either side. Reverse: DILIGENTIAE PRAEMIUM (prize for diligence) within a closed laurel wreath.

Provenance:

  • Leipziger; Heidrun Hohn Auction; June 11, 2004, lot 882
 
Regensburg, Germany School Award Klippe. 17th century. 162 162. Silver. Square, vertical tip-to-tip 36.3mm × horizontal tip-to-tip 35.9mm, 4.0 grams. Obverse: DULCE TERGVM LABORIS around a woman standing with floral arrangement and wreath in front of an altar (?) with MAE TAE on base. Reverse: PRAEMIUM DILIGENTIAE above the arms of Regensburg.
 
(Germany) Stuttgart Elementary School, beehive. Diameter 24.5mm, 5.4 grams.
 

Hard Times Tokens (6)

Hard Times Token - Low 8. Red & Brown Uncirculated.
 
Hard Times Token - Low 19. Red & Brown Uncirculated.
 
Hard Times Token - Low 33. Choice Brown Uncirculated.
 
Hard Times Token - Low 51. Red & Brown Uncirculated.
 

Historical Prints (3)

A View of the Taking of Quebec. London, 1759.
 
Benjamin Franklin. Charles Nicholas Cochin (painter), French (1715—1790).
Signed Dessine par C.N. Cochin Chevalier de l'Ordre du Roi en 1777 on lower left.
Engraved by Johann Martin Will, German. Signed Ioh. Martin Will exeudit Aug. Vind. On lower right.

Mezzotint print, 1777.

48.0cm h × 36.7cm w, including frame.

Bright clean condition, in period frame.

Provenance:

  • Northeast Auctions
 
Major General James Wolfe. J.S.C. Schaak (painter),
Drawn by Henry Smith.
Engraved by Richad Houston.

Mezzotint print, London, c.1759.

51.0cm h × 40.8cm w, including frame.

Bright clean condition, in period frame.

Provenance:

  • Northeast Auctions
 

Historical Staffordshire (1)

"Upper Ferry Bridge Over The River Schuylkill" Pitcher and Bowl Set.

Staffordshire, England, c. 1820.

After the engraving by Thomas Birch, Philadelphia, c.1813. Larsen 252 (234).

(Pitcher) 25cm h × 22cm w, Diameter (Bowl) 32cm.

Joseph Stubbs, Longport, Staffordshire.

One small frit on lip of pitcher.

Provenance:

  • Skinner, Inc.

"Lewis Wernwag was asked to design a bridge across the Schulkill just below Fairmount to replace a floating one that had been carried away by a freshet in 1810.  The Upper Ferry Bridgee, as it was called, was a single wooden arch whose chord (length) was 340 feet, 98 feet greater the longest up to then built in North America." (Philadelphia: A 300 Year History, p. 232) The bridge was destroyed by fire in 1838. The print on which this design was made was first issued in 1813, soon after the bridge was opened.

 

Miscellaneous Medals (2)

Boston Female Asylum. 1812. Pewter. Diameter 41.6mm, 26.2 grams, with hole for suspension. Obverse: Christ standing with right arm outstretched, surrounded by three kneeling children; SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN TO COME FOR OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD around. Reverse: BOSTON FEMALE ASYLUM INSTITUTED SEPr 25.1800 - PRESENTED TO THE INSTITUTION BY A FRIEND 1812. Dies rotated apprximately 5°. Plain edge.
 
[Title]. [Place of origin], [date of issue]. [Reference source] [reference ID#]. [Metal], 900 Fine, [method of manufacture], on [undertype]. Diameter [diameter in mm]mm, [thickness in mm]mm thick, [weight in grams] grams, with [suspension device] for suspension. Obverse engraved by [name of creator #1] (signed [attribution location]). [Additional description]. Obverse: [obverse description]. Reverse: [reverse description]. Medal turn, dies rotated [die rotation in degrees]°. [Edge treatment] edge inscribed [edge inscription or markings]. [Condition grading/certification agency] [grade] (#[certification number]), [condition comments]. [Other notes/commentary]. R8, [comments on rarity].

Provenance:

  • [Previous owner/auction house or dealer]; [auction name and/or transaction date], Sale [auction sale number], lot [auction lot number], [public-visible commentary]

[Paragraph on historical or other relevant background]

 

Other School Awards (10)

Battersea Box - "A Reward of Merit" With Woman at Altar.

British, 1822.

Woman seated next to an altar, placing a heart on the flame, with a flying dve above placing a wreath on her head; inscribed inside "Jane Moore 1822".
 
Battersea Box - "A Reward for Merit".

British, c. 1810.

 
Battersea Box - "A Reward for Merit" on scroll, with urn.

British, c. 1810.

 
Battersea Box - "A Reward for Merit" with Lovebirds, in blue.

British, c. 1810.

 

Other School Medals (9)

Australia, The Halloran School Prize Medal. Sydney, Australia, 1824. Silver, hand engraved. Diameter 70.5mm, with ring for suspension. Engraved by Samuel Clayton (signed under the obverse banner S. Clayton Delt. et Sculpt.). Obverse: An allegorical scene of Athena, with owl at her feet, leading a schoolboy by the hand, the Temple of Fame and a church behind, with a legend on a scroll above that reads ARDUA PRIMA VIA EST; SED FIT LABOR IPSE VOLUPTAS. (At first the way is hard; but labour itself becomes a pleasure.). Reverse: engraved on eleven lines: INGENUO, MAGNAEQUE SPEI ADOLESCENTI Joanni D. Tawell, PROPTER INSIGNES IN ARTIBUS PROGRESSUS, SIGNUM HOC HONORARIUM DEDIT PRAECEPTOR EJUS, ET AMICUS, Laurentius Halloran SS.T.P. 1824. Æt. 14 (To John D. Tawell, a worthy young man of great promise, his teacher and friend Laurence Halloran, SS.T.P. Gave this award for distinguished progress in his studies 1824. At the age of 14). Very fine, with a small contemproary wooden display stand thought to be associated with the medal. Very rare, one of the earliest of pieces of Australian silver, executed by the finest silversmith in the colony at the time.

Provenance:

  • Morton & Eden, Ltd.; December 2, 2009, lot 351

The following catalogue description was provided courtesy of James Morton, of Morton & Eden:

A similar medal (awarded to William M. Campbell) was included in Noble Numismatics, Pty. Auction, Melbourne, 22-24 July 2008.  [see Noble Numismatics, 22-24 July 2008, Lot 705] The catalogue entry for the sale included a detailed footnote on Laurence Halloran's career and the information that five examples of the medal were recorded at the time - awarded to Robert Campbell in 1819, Francis Lord in 1822, Charles Driver and William Campbell in 1823, and to Henry Halloran in 1824.  The present piece, recently recognised in a UK private collection where it has remained for many years, therefore appears to be the sixth known.  The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser of 1 July 1824, under the heading 'Sydney Grammar School', states: '.The first silver Medal was awarded by Doctor Halloran, to Master John Tawell, who, by assiduity of application, has in one year from the commencement of the study of the Latin language, qualified himself, to read Cæsar and Virgil, and to apply the rules of Syntax and Prosody, with readiness and facility.'.

Laurence Hynes Halloran (or O'Halloran), teacher, writer, inveterate litigant and bogus clergyman, was born in County Meath, Ireland in 1765.  Orphaned at a young age he was educated at Christ's Hospital and appears eventually (in 1800) to have been awarded a doctorate in divinity from King's College, Aberdeen.  However he never achieved the Anglican ordination he so craved, instead assuming it - with considerable success - for most of his life.

In 1783 as a young naval midshipman, Halloran was jailed for stabbing and killing a colleague.  Although acquitted shortly afterwards, he was later to become embroiled in a number of duels and in numerous disputes.  He married in 1784 and ran private classical schools in Exeter and Alphington (near Exeter) for some 12 years during which he achieved recognition as a skilled and accomplished educator, despite also being charged with immorality.  A 1794 silver medal from Alphington, hallmarked for the silversmiths H. And J. Sweet of Exeter, is known (see Grimshaw, M.E. Silver Medals, Badges and Trophies from Schools in the British Isles 1550-1850 (privately printed, Cambridge), p. 21).  Finely engraved with the Minerva and pupil motif, the piece very clearly provided the inspiration for the Sydney pieces by Clayton which were to come.

Forced to give up his Alphington school in 1796 through insolvency, Halloran managed to re-join the navy by posing as a chaplain and was additionally appointed as Secretary to Lord Northesk, third-in-command (after Nelson and Collingwood) at the Battle of Trafalgar.  The Trafalgar Roll confirms the presence of 'Rev. L.H. Halloran, D.D.' at the battle, as Chaplain on board Northesk's flagship Britannia.  Halloran's lengthy poem The Battle of Trafalgar, written in a classical, epic style, was published in London in 1806.  He was also invited to, and attended, Nelson's funeral, and subsequently delivered a sermon on Nelson's death.

The 'Reverend Dr.' Halloran was appointed Chaplain to H.M. Forces in the Cape, sailing to South Africa in 1807 with the added brief that he would 'receive 12 young gentlemen as pupils' (see Philip, Peter, British Residents at The Cape 1795-1819, 1981).  The position seemed promising but Halloran's behaviour, including libel, disobeying orders and pecuniary irregularities, soon led to severe disagreements with the Forces Commander General Grey.  By 1810 Halloran had been found guilty of defamatory libel, was fined heavily, and was expelled from the Colony.  Exposed as an impostor and fraud, a special Act of Parliament was required to retrospectively solemnise the numerous marriage ceremonies he had performed in South Africa without proper authority, some of which involved officers of high standing.  Back in England his colourful past was catching up with him, and after several years spent trying to rebuild his social standing Halloran was caught trying to forge accreditation for himself as a curate.  He was transported to Australia for 7 years, arriving in Sydney in June, 1819.

Sydney offered fresh opportunities.  With the aid of friends and the support of Governor Macquarie (who was later to call him 'the best and most admired instructor of youth in the Colony'), Halloran was soon able to open his 'establishment for liberal education', also known as 'Sydney Free Public Grammar School'.  He was joined by his second family and their unmarried mother (who may have been Halloran's own niece) in 1822.  She died following the birth of their twelfth child and in August 1824 he married Elizabeth Turnbull, aged 17, who was to bear him several more children.

Halloran appears by general consent to have been an inspiring teacher but he also had an obsessive sense of persecution, a weakness for indulging in litigation, a poor sense of financial management and a penchant for writing libellous tracts.  As he reeled from one crisis to the next, the school's fortunes wavered violently and it underwent several reincarnations before Halloran's death in 1831, following his temporary appointment as Sydney's Coroner.

The engraver of Halloran's medal, Samuel Clayton, had also been transported for forgery in 1816 (see Grimshaw, M.E. In Proceedings of the Silver Society, London, 1984).

John Dawning Tawell, the recipient of this example of the medal, arrived in Sydney with his mother Mary, and younger brother William, in 1823.  They were joining their father, John Tawell (Senior) and the brothers both attended Halloran's school.  The whole family returned in 1831 to London, where William died young.  John D. Tawell studied medicine in England, qualifying as a surgeon and apothecary before returning to Australia where he planned to build upon his father's business in Sydney.  He is known to have travelled to New Zealand in 1837 on behalf of an English friend but he too died at the early age of 27, following a lung complaint, in 1838.

The career of John Tawell Senior is an extraordinary one and is well-documented (see inter alia Geoff Miller's account published in The Pharmaceutical Journal, vol. 269 (2002), pp. 905-907).  While Halloran purported to be an ordained priest, Tawell feigned the piety of a devout Quaker to support his various endeavours.  But like Halloran, Tawell's lifestyle was such that the Society of Friends never felt itself in a position to admit him as a genuine, full member.

As a young man Tawell Senior was employed by a Quaker linen-draper, Janson of Whitechapel, where he seduced a young housemaid named Mary.  When she became pregnant the couple married and were forced to leave Janson's on account of their 'disorderly and immoral conduct'.  Tawell obtained a position with a firm of druggists and patent medicine wholesalers where he learned much but earned little.  He turned to the potentially lucrative but dangerous business of banknote forgery, being caught when he tried to order a replacement printing plate for £10 notes of Smiths' Uxbridge Bank.  Fortunately for Tawell the Smiths were (genuine) Quakers who disapproved of the death penalty, which was statutory for his offence.  By agreeing to plead guilty to the lesser charge of 'possession', he escaped the noose and was transported instead, arriving in Sydney aboard the Marquis of Wellington in 1815.

By dint of hard work and - like Halloran - by obtaining the support both of his friends and of Governor Macquarie, Tawell succeeded in opening the first pharmacy in Sydney on 1 March 1820.  The business prospered, expanded and boomed, inducing his family to join him (as noted above) in 1823.  In due course Tawell became a wealthy and a free man, able to travel at will between Australia and England, which he did from 1831.  After Mary became ill they settled in Southwark, where Tawell employed a young nurse named Sarah Lawrence to look after her.  He and Sarah began a relationship which produced two children while Mary died in late 1838 following the death of their elder son, John Dawning Tawell.

In 1841 Sarah Lawrence changed her surname to Hart and went to live near Slough, receiving an allowance from Tawell.  He married Eliza Cutforth, an elegant and well-respected Quaker widow who soon produced another son, but to Tawell's frustration the Society of Friends once more frowned upon the union.  A financial crisis in Australia in 1843 added to his problems which were further exacerbated by the growing liability of Sarah's maintenance.  Tawell resolved to poison her, an enterprise in which he succeeded (at the second attempt) on New Year's Day 1845, by means of prussic acid.  Following a court case which attracted enormous attention from the media and public at the time, he was publicly hanged for Sarah's murder at Aylesbury on 28 March, 1845.  Central to the case against Tawell was the fact that a newly-installed electric telegraph system was used to warn police at Paddington of his impending arrival on the train from Slough, and the trackside wires became known as 'the cords which hung John Tawell'.

For further refernce see:

Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol 1, p.506-7 (A.G.Austin).

ANS Journal 1982, Sydney Grammar School Medal 1819-1824, by L.Carlisle, p.2-10.

Silver Medals, Badges and Trophies from Schools in the British Isles 1550-1850, by M.E.Grimshaw.

 
Protestant Gymnasium . Klagenfurt, Austria, c.1555. Gold. Diameter 26.3mm, 10.3 grams. Obverse: EGO SUM VIA VERT ET VITA (I am the true way and the life), around a half-length portrait figure of Christ, facing right, with orb in left hand. Reverse: AGNUS DEI QUI TOLIT PECCCATA MUNDI (Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world), around the full figure of a lamb, facing left holding a banner above.

Provenance:

  • UBS; September 15-17, 2003, Sale 57, lot 2851
  • Numismatik Lanz; May 29, 2001, Sale 103, lot 712

Prizes for academic excellence were given in Europe as early as the 14th century, but in those days were useful items such as books, silver pens and monetary awards.

The first school award medals were given at gymnasiums in Austria and Germany in the third quarter of the 16th century.  These gymnasiums were essentially secondary schools (run by either Jesuit or Protestant clerics), which prepared boys for university and taught the classical languages and liberal arts.

Dr. Herbert Erlanger, who published a book in 1975 entitled the “Origin and Development of the European Prize Medal to the End of the 18th Century”, noted that the earliest dated school award medal was given in 1577 at the Nuremberg Gymnasium at Altdorf.  There are also dated examples of school medals from other German, Austrian and Swiss cities dated from the few years right after that.

This gold medal, however, which recent research by Dr. Hubert Lanz indicates was awarded around 1555 at the Protestant Gymnasium in Klagenfurt Austria (the oldest high school in Austria), is the oldest school medal that I know of and certainly one of the oldest that exists.

All of these early school award medals were struck in silver and gold in monetary sizes (this being a 3 ducat size) and so were probably acceptable in payment, but were produced in very small numbers, and were not struck according to the legally prescribed norms for coins of the period.

Award medals (both shooting and school medals) seem to have originated in the middle of the 16th century, when a silversmith in Augsburg figured out around that time that he could use a screw press to stamp out coins and medallic objects.  As a result, the labor required and therefore the economics of making these sorts of things changed dramatically and it became more practical for medals to be used as academic prizes.

For additional information, see Lanz Auction 87 (May 19, 1998) lots 504 and 505, with additional historical notes (in German).

 
Jesuit Gymnasium. Graz, Austria, 1627. Probszt 104. Gilt silver. Diameter 55.5mm, 86.6 grams. Triple thaler size medal. Obverse: FAUTORI PATRIA GRAECIV M. (From the fatherly patrons of Graz), around a cartouche with a rampant lion facing left. Reverse: DULCI EST QUONDAM MEMINISSE LABORIS MUNUS NON MUNUS PATRIA FINIS ERIT (It is sweet to remember one day things that are past.Achieving a reward of labor is not an end in itself), within a cartouche; engraved below is the recipient's name, PETER HAIMER and the date 1627 and "B".

Provenance:

  • Numismatik Lanz; November 25, 2003, Sale 118, lot 265
  • Almost certainly the Marquis Hohenkubin piece; cf. Horsky 6234
 
Gouda Latin School, 1796. Netherlands, 1796. Gilt silver. Diameter 67.1mm, 67.3 grams. Obverse: Ornate engraving of the arms of Gouda. Reverse: Inscription in 14 lines, "INGENUO OPTI-MAEQUE. SPEI. ADOLESCENTI ABRAHAMO VAN GELDER SCOLASTICO STADIO DECURSO, ET ORATIONE PUBLICE HABITA. J.A. VAN DER BURCH. J.J. SLICHER. J.R. TAKENS. V.DM. J.P. KEMPER. SCHOLAE. GAUDANAE. CURATORES. HOC. NUMISMA. RECTORE. J. VAN LAAR. EXAMINE. AESTIVO. MDCCXCVI." above a floral spray, all within a narrow ornate border.

According to Dr. Herbert J. Erlanger (Origin and Development of the European Prize Medal to the end of the XVIIIth Century, 1975, page 41), "The Latin School in Gouda, which was either organized or re-organized in 1573, commenced to give 'promotie penningen' in the XVIIth century.  They are a fairly unusual type of school prize medal for a secondary school in that they bear the name of the recipient engraved on the reverse.  The obverse uniformly has the arms of Gouuda.  The earliest known date is 1677 and the last 1833.  Of those known one was given in the XVIIth century and the rest thereafter.  Almost certainly there are more than those that could be located by Van der Meer.  Two such medals dated 1770 and 1772 are illustrated and described in the continuation of van Loon.

 

Pewter (4)

Pear-Shaped Teapot. London, for export to the American colonies, mid-to-late 18th century. Pewter, with carved wood handle. Diameter 110mm. By John Townsend.

Provenance:

  • Antiques Associates at West Townsend; Goodwin Collection Sale; January 6, 2006
 
Flower Handle Porringer. Providence, Rhode Island, engraved SAH and dated 1820. Jacobs 163. Pewter. 200mm × 135mm. By Samuel E. Hamlin, Jr.

Provenance:

  • Skinner; June 6, 2004, Sale 2242, lot 132
 
Flagon. Hartford, Connecticut (sold in New York), c.1830. Jacobs 39. Pewter. Diameter 128mm. By Thomas D. Boardman.

Provenance:

  • Greenwich Fine Arts - Mallory Collection; June 16, 2001, lot 104
 
Ink Stand. Probably American, mid-to-late 18th century. Pewter, with blown green glass inkwell. 227mm × 128mm. By Engels Harttin (?).
 

Swiss School Medals (45)

Virtutis Comes Gloria. Basel, Switzerland, 1642. M&H 39, Leu 1122. Silver. Diameter 57.1mm, 5.5 grams. Obverse: VIRTUTIS COMES GLORIA (Fame is a companion of virtue), around a scene of a full length figure of a boy facing left, who is reading an open book, being crowned with a laurel wreath by an arm reaching down from the clouds above.. Reverse: MAG BAS IVVENTUTI STUD BRABEION DD MDCXLII (Basel student prize 1642) in 5 lines, implying that it was a prize in a contest or examination
 
King David Psalmenpfennig. Bern, Switzerland, c.1670-1680. M&H 103, Leu 659. Silver. Diameter 43.6mm, 18.8 grams. Obverse: OMNIS LAUDET IAH (May every breath praise Jehova, or God). Around a full-length figure of King David, kneeling facing left and playing a harp. Reverse: MONUM LIBERAL REIP BERNENSIS (A token of recognition from the Free Republic of Bern).

Provenance:

  • UBS; January 27-29, 2004, Sale 58, lot 468

In Berne, medals were given in Sunday schools for memorizing the Heidelberg catechism, and smaller ones given for memorizing the Bern Catechism (which was an abbreviated and simplified version).  This particular medal was given to a child in a Sunday school for memorizing all 150 Biblical psalms in the verse translation of Lobwasser which was published in 1655.

 
Athena Presenting Laurel Wreath to Cherub - Invitat Pretiis Animos. Basel, Switzerland, c.1780. M&H 47, Leu 1131. Silver. Diameter 24.1mm, 3.7 grams. Obverse: Athena seated at left, facing right and presenting a laurel wreath to a cherub. Reverse: INVITAT PRETIIS ANIMOS (He invites (or summons) the souls (people) with prizes (and offers rewards)), within a laurel wreath.

Provenance:

  • Jefferey Zarit

“Invitat Pretiis Animos (et praemia ponit)” is from line 292 in the 5th book of Virgil’s Aenid

 
M&H 2 - Wund. 2816 - Aargau school medal, 1801. Diameter 36.4mm, 6.3 grams.
 

Thomason Medallic Bible (60)

1. ADAM GAVE NAMES TO EVERY BEAST OF THE FIELD AND FOWL OF THE AIR. Birmingham, England, c. 1830. White metal. Diameter 73mm. Struck by Sir Edward Thomason (signed THOMASON D. at lower obverse rim), after Paolo Veronese.
 
2. EVE PRESENTING THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT TO ADAM. Birmingham, England, c. 1830. White metal. Diameter 73mm.
 
3. THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM PARADISE. Birmingham, England, c. 1830. White metal. Diameter 73mm.
 
4. CAIN SLAYING HIS BROTHER ABEL. Birmingham, England, c. 1830. White metal. Diameter 73mm.
 

William H. Key Medals (58)

Reward of Attention And Industry/ Rev. James Dolan. Philadelphia, c. 1860. White metal. Diameter 39.7mm, 29.5 grams. Engraved by Frederick C. Key (signed F. C. KEY below the beehive).
 
Girl Praying "Those That Seek Me...."/Reward of Merit. Philadelphia, c. 1875. Copper. Diameter 38mm, 36.9 grams. Engraved by William H. Key (signed KEY F. below the girl).
 
Girl Praying "Those That Seek Me...."/Reward of Merit. Philadelphia, c. 1875. Copper. Diameter 38.2mm, 33.9 grams. Engraved by William H. Key (signed KEY F. below the girl).
 
Girl Praying "Those That Seek Me...."/Reward of Merit. Philadelphia, c. 1875. White metal. Diameter 38.1mm, 19.9 grams. Engraved by William H. Key (signed KEY F. below the girl).