Medals: Jewish Personalities - Coin Auctions
 Lot 110 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleAustria: Joseph [von] Wertheimer commemoration medal in silver by Carl Radnitzky, 1867; 44.5mm, 34.85g; thickness: 2.75mm. Obverse legend: "Dem Scheidenden Vorstandpraeses" [The Outgoing Board President] + 2-line subtitle: "Die Beamten der Israel Cultusgemeinde in Wien 1867" [The Officials of the Israelite Religious Community of Vienna, 1867], surrounding Hebrew Proverbs quotation "A Faithful Man Shall Abound with Blessings" (dots over letters indicate word is laden with blessing); the word "Man" is misspelled. Reverse: left facing Wertheimer with name + "C. Radnitzky" below. Wertheimer (1800- 1887) was Austrian philanthropist & author; established Kindergarten system in Austria & helped Jews acquire trade skills/vocations; trustee & President of Vienna Jewish Community; received nobility from Emperor in recognition of his work; Forrer vol. V, p.15. A thinner bronze example sold at auction (2014) for €2500. The silver & bronze issues weigh the same in spite of identical size because of variations in their planchet thickness. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 126 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleGreat Britain: Nathan Mayer Rothschild death memorial medal in bronze; by Joseph Moore (not marked); size: 61mm; weight: 101.4g. Obverse: 3-lined Latin legend based on Rothschild's initials, "Nummis Maximus Reperitur." ['the greatest is found in coins']; date of death in Roman numerals below, on 2 lines "OB JUL. XXVIII MDCCCXXXVI" [obiit - he died] July 28 1836. Reverse: right-facing Rothschild with name above, "Pub. by Hyam Hyams" below. Medal designed by Joseph Moore (Forrer vol. IV p. 140), and commissioned by Hyam Hyams, a Jewish London goldsmith, watch and clock maker, and money changer upon Rothschild's death. Nathan Rothschild (1777-1836) is credited as the financial genius of the Rothschild family: he founded the British branch of the family's bank (N. M. Rothschild and Sons) and financed the Duke of Wellington's campaign against Napoleon; GJPM-88 & JMM-66-67. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 142 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleUS: Elkan R. Myers memorial award medal, ND; manufactured by the Medallic Art Company, designed by HCS (Hans Carl Schuler, 1912-1999; Forrer listed v8 p.196); size: 76mm; weight: 176.45g. Obverse: Myers + years of birth/ death; was a prominent member of the Baltimore Jewish community, chairman of United Jewish Appeal, a Fellow of Brandeis University, vice-president of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, member of the Joint Distribution Commitee. Reverse: prepared legend for dedication: "Elkan R. Myers Memorial Award Presented to | | for Dedicated Leadership and Devotion to the Highest Ideals of Communal Service." Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 121 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleGermany: 25th anniversary bibliophile bronze commemoration medal for Gustav Kirstein, 1929, by Bruno Eyermann; size: 50.5mm; weight: 51.4g. Obverse: female holding owl; German legend "25 Jahre Bibliophilen Abend + Leipzig + 1904 1929". Reverse: left-facing Kirstein; German legend "Gustav Kirstein Dem Bibliophilen" ['Gustav Kirstein The Bibliophile']. Issued by the most presigious bibliophilic association in Germany, the "Leipziger Bibliophilen-Abend". Kirstein (d. 1934) was a Jewish author; co-manager of EA Seemann Verlag, 1904, and helped turn it into into one of the leading art publishers in Germany; Forrer v.7 p.285. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 137 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleRussia/Soviet Union: Emmerich Kálmán centennary commemorative bronze medal, 1983, by Jewish medallist Mark G. Salman (b. 1938); size: 60mm; weight: 107.2g. Obverse: front-facing Kalman with dates of birth & death. Reverse: conductor's stick, flying carpets & sheet music over grand set of stairs & arches; "Imre Kalman" in Russian & "Kalman Emmerich" in English. Kalman (1882-1953) was a Jewish-Hungarian composer of operettas, together with Franz Lehár (Catholic) helped bring Viennese operetta to its "silver age" in early 1920's. Both favorites of Hitler's, but Kalman declined Hitler's offer to be "honorary Aryan" & fled. Mintage: 850 pcs. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 116 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleFrance: Alfred Dreyfus/Fernand Labori medallion (ND); bronze(?); 22.5mm, 4.2g: busts of Dreyfus & Labori below their names; may date to period of Emile Zola's letter "J'accuse", which effectively reopened the trial (1898). In VF. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 132 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleNetherlands: Shlomo Ansky ("An-ski") medal of the Dutch Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam, circa. 1979; cast bronze (no discernable maker mark); 76mm, 134.8g: features a portrait of An-ski in a tarboosh hat (see photo) adorned by the legend "Joods Historisch Museum" on obverse, and a Yiddish dedication to him in Hebrew letters on the reverse ("Yiddischer Kultur-Verein 'Sh. An-Ski'") and the dates 1921-1979 over an image of a Jewish "Menorah" (candelabra) with a small figure at the top-center of a religious Jew studying. Sh. An-ski (1863-1920) was the pen-name of the Russian Jew, Shlomo Zeilenvil (Zangwill) Rapaport (also "Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport"), an author, poet and stagewrite in Yiddish and Russian; composer of the play "The Dybbuk" and of the hymn, "Die Shvue" ("The Oath") for the Jewish-Socialist "Bund" movement. He was raised Hassidic religious though left the faith and joined the Socialist movement and became active there, only to return to his Jewish roots at the turn of the 20th Century and began writing in Yiddish, collecting Jewish folk tales. He was active in Jewish charity and salvation work during the First World War, fled Russia for Vilna and then Poland, during the Russian Revolution and died in Poland. A search reveals a sole connection to a "Jewish Cultural Society" spelled in Hebraicized Yiddish as on the medal existed in Vienna, at least in 1927, and the dates shown on the medal may be a reference to it. A lovely design, in AU-UNC. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 148 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleUnited States: Judah Magnes/ Magnes Museum 20th anniversary(?) bronze bas relief medal by Jewish medallist Marika Somogyi, c. 1982; size: 110 x 117mm; weight: 1.151kg. Obverse: right-facing Magnes with dates of birth and death. Reverse: Magnes Museum and dates 1962-1982. Judah Leib Magnes (1877-1948) was a prominent Reform Rabbi, Jewish activist and co-founder of the Hebrew University, who advocated the establishment of a bi-national Jewish-Arab state. The Judah L. Magnes Museum (Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life) was founded in 1961 by Seymour & Rebecca Fromer and is the third largest collection of its kind in the US. The medallist is a child survivor of the Holocaust who was protected by Catholic Sister Margaret Slachta ('Sisters of Social Service'), recognized as 'Righteous Among the Nations' by Yad Vashem. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 111 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleAustria > Vienna: Ludwig August von Frankl Jewish Community recognition medal, 1880; struck in bronze(?); by Carl Radnitzky; weight: 29.1g; size: 39.75mm. Obverse: left facing Frankl; legend "L:A : Frankl Ritter V:Hochwart". Reverse: coat of arms of "Jewish Religious Community" + date '1880' above; motto in Germanic script below"By Word and Deed"; rim legend "The Friends and Fellow Officers of the Israelite Religious Community in Vienna". Frankl (1810-1894) was Jewish Austrian poet, writer & philanthropist; promoted awareness of Jewish identity; helped establish the Lemel School in Jerusalem, and Schiller monument (1876) for which he received hereditary title "Knight of Hochwart" by Emperor Franz Joseph I. Conferred "freedom of the city" accolade by city of Vienna (1880) and probably for this occasion the city's Jewish community was issued this medal (Forrer-unlisted but holds Radnitzky's works in high exteem). In EF-AU; Forrer vol.5 p. 11-16. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
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 Lot 127 - Medals: Jewish Personalities - Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleHungary: Dr. Armin Vambery 80th birthday uniface bronze plaquette, 1912; by Jenő [Eugene] Körmendi–Frim, minted by Ludvig E. of Budapest; size: 59.5x60 mm; weight: 128.7g. Left profile of Vambery with latin numerals for birthday. Commissioned by Hungarian scientific associations in 1911 for the occasion. Vambery (born Hermann/Ármin Bamberger/Wamberger) was a Jewish Turkologist and traveller, d. 1913; Kormendi was a baptized Jewish medallist. Ref: JMM-90; comes in original display. Historama HISTORAMA AUCTION #7 - 'Buy or Bid' SaleMedals: Jewish Personalities |
