Stuff I Love

[Dick]

Hey guys,mthe medal I posted id a "tourists souvenir", of Pope Benedict XVI. I can't see well enough to read it, and I don't read Italian very well, so I guess it was a "flop". It DEFINITELY is not a "Wprk of Art, as are those shown above.
Dick

[JRocco]

When you start to get into these earlier pieces you have to really admire the ability of these medalists to produce these pieces. Just take a look at 2 different examples of the work that went into engraving the face and full Tiara on these 2 different medals (both already shown). The first medal I added here was from 1575 and the last medal was a later 19th century example. Look at the difference 300 or so years has made.

[JRocco]

Here is an extremely rare piece.
This is an original medal of Pope Clement VIII.
As I have learned, the obverse is the work of Giorgio Rancertti and the reverse that of Gian Cristofor Romano.
The obverse shows Clement VIII while the reverse shows Annona, who was used on ancient Roman Coins referring to the annual harvest from Egypt to feed Rome, Annona is shown holding grain and a cornucopia.
This is a bronze piece measuring 33 mm. It has very heavy relief and will not sit, but will rock due to the high relief.

This is an original 1593 work.

[JRocco]

Look at the detail in this Julius III Vatican Medal.
This 1554 high relief medal is made of bronze and measures 34 mm.
The obverse features the bust of Pope Julius III, bareheaded, tonsured (this refers to shaving a patch at the crown of the head), bearded, and wearing a cope with palm and oil branches below.
The reverse shows the holy shrine. The Villa Giulia, on the Via Flaminia outside the Piazza del Popolo. The architects were Vignola, Vasari and Ammannati, with the assistance of Michalangelo.
Take a look at the detail on the holy shrine. Talk about hand work-every window and portico is different because they were all hand cut for this piece. Good stuff.



[IMG]

[JRocco]

Contrast the above piece to this more "modern" piece.
This one is dated 1824, measures a large 43mm and is in perfect condition. As a comparison to coinage-this one would be a high grade MS example.
Pieces like this are really affordable and collectible, but they don't have that wow factor that the older pieces do. This one reminds me more of the readily available medals that are produced in large numbers today. True this piece is much older and therefor much more scarce. These too are neat pieces and show the skill of the artists and metallurgist who produced them.
Besides- it is nice to be able to afford a piece every now and then so the Mrs. doesn't just shake her head and look to the sky EVERY time she sees me

[Robert]

Amazing stuff. What history and craftsmanship. Personally, I like the work done on the portraits of Pius and Leo. The detail on the headpieces is amazing. The one on Leo even has creases/seams in it!

And these 175-year old medals aren't overly expensive either. Amazing.

The "Annona Publica" seems to be the dole per an internet search. I'm not exactly sure what she's doing there but doesn't her pose remind you of the walking liberty half? I wonder if this type of image was the inspiration for it. I wonder if the spiky thing next to "Annona" is a cornucopia and I wonder if the vague circular lines represent the sun (again like the W.L. half). Also, France had similar coins (50 centimes, 1 franc and 2 francs) with a similar motif. They began circa 1900, before our W.L. Half.

Anyway, this is why I like foreign coins/medals/tokens etc. Lots of history and craftsmanship.

Any more pics? Please keep posting!

[JRocco]

Hey Robert,
Let me just say that you are not the first to comment on the appearance of Annona. This symbolism extends back to Roman coinage. Look at Liberty on our US $20 gold pieces, just exchange the torch.
What I like the best about these pieces is the craftsmanship that went into these. Look at this 1874 Pope Pius medal. Talk about detail.
This piece is a little larger than a silver dollar and about twice as thick.
.
.
Looking at this you would think this was a great big part of the design of this medal.
Even the steps are detailed and in full relief.

Pulling back a bit you can see that this is just a piece of the larger design. Note the detail on the wall engravings in this "church"

Back a little further and you can see that this throne is set well back in the interior of the church. Note the detail on the pillars.

Looking up at the roof of the church you really get the sense that you are IN the church looking up at the detailed ceiling.

The detail on the pillars in amazing.

You get the feeling you could just step into the medal. The detail goes beyond the pillars to the walls behind.

The reverse in its entirety.

[coop]

That gives a real plain of dept for a flat surfaced coin. Great images. Probably some doubling on some examples. Probably struck several times to get all that detail?

[Robert]

John,
Compare a 1907 high relief St Gaudens to a later one. Compare a high grade 1909 Lincoln to one made today.

High relief is AMAZING. Die detail is AMAZING. I would not be happy with the product if such designs as the ones you've been posting were made today. True, today's cents are designed for mass production but I don't think today's "proof" coin makers could begin to match your medals.

[JRocco]

Here is another Papal Medal that I really love.

This is a 1569 Pope Pius V
It measures approx. 30 mm and is bronze piece. This very early medal shows Pius V on the obverse in high relief bareheaded. The reverse shows a beautiful figure of Peace standing, with a cornucopia in one hand and a torch in the other, pointing toward treasures. While in the background are ruins commemorating the victory at the battle of Moncontour France of October 3, 1569, a definitive battle where the papal troops distinguished themselves (Pius V had send 4000 soldiers and 500 knights to fight against the Huguenots).
I will show a close up pic of the obverse to show a nice die crack as well as the intricate hand work on this one.
A treasure.

[JRocco]

This is a beautiful Pope Paul III Papal Medal.
I believe that this is listed as Spink # 498.
This is a tough one to find.

This is a large 40mm bronze piece.
The reverse shows the nude figure of Ganymede along with an eagle.
The story goes that Zeus fell in love with the young Ganymede. Zeus then came down in the form of an eagle or sent an eagle to carry Ganymede to Mount Olympus where Ganymede became cupbearer to the gods. Fascinating stuff on a mid 16th century Papal Medal.

I really like this piece. The medal is done with enough detail as to show the furrows on Pope Paul's forehead.
Look at the eagle detail.
This is great stuff.





edited to add.....
I was asked by member if this could really be a mid 1500's medal with all this detail. This is a more modern restrike of an original 16th century medal. They were good back in the 1500's, but not this good. I was referring to the design being fascinating. Earlier in this thread I posted several geniune 1500's material, but this is a restrike. Just wanted to clarify.

[JRocco]

I just posted this medal in the error section of this site asking for thoughts on this one.
This one speaks for itself in its uniqueness.
This planchet is paper thin at the rims and bulges out in the center. Kinda like the bottom of a weebles wobble....

[Dick]

With all those cracks, (breaks), they must have had to tie the pieces together with raw-hide things to keep it in shape!It is a beauty, any wat you say it!
Dick

[JRocco]

Just a touch of something that I had to laugh about.
I am sure that Pope Clement XII, 1730-1740, was probably a really nice guy and he probably even thought that he had a good sense of humor at times, I mean being a pope and all had to give him some inner joy. But I have 2 Pope Clement XII Vatican pieces that were done 7 years apart showing the Pope in 2 different versions.
Unfortunately for Pope Clement, I don't think that those around him and especially those chosen to give their artists rendering of him thought that he was well......the life of the party....

One word comes to mind for me...GRUMPY
1730 version:

1737 version:

Reverse of the 1737 piece:

[coppercoins]

John - Your medals and the photos you took of them are very nice indeed. Only one suggestion I might make being a photographer myself: Try to use bulbs in both lamps that are the same. It will help with white balancing the overall image and will keep the blue/yellow opposite highlighting from happening.