Miscellaneous School Medals

 MISCELLANEOUS SCHOOL MEDALS

1892 American University / Lincoln Hall Medal

Cunningham 8-010A, King 785, aluminum, 51.45mm

Cunningham 8-010C, King 785, copper, 51mm

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

Cunningham 8-010Cn, King 785, copper-nickel, 51mm
IMAGE NEEDED

Cunningham 8-010S, King 785, silver, 51mm
IMAGE NEEDED
 
Cunningham 8-010W, King 785, white metal, 51.3mm

In his "Lincoln in Numismatics" work Robert King states the following about this medal: The medal was said to have been subscribed for by the colored people at one dollar each, the profit to be devoted to the building of a great monument in memory of Lincoln, each subscriber becoming a member of the 'University' and possessing a medal as proof of this contribution. Nothing having been heard of this scheme, it is likely the project failed.      In his Auction 82 catalog Joe Levine comments that "King's story about this medal is wholly incorrect. The American University in Washington D.C. was founded by the Methodist Church in 1891, but the school did not actually function as a University until many years later"      It is listed as having been struck in silver, copper, white metal, and aluminum; most I have seen are aluminum. A copper version was in the March 25/26, 1985 Bowers and Merena Auction. I have a record of an ebay listing in June of 2011 for what was described as a copper-nickel piece. Normal College City of New York -  Kelly Medal  I was made aware of these medals by John Sallay and they are  somewhat of a mystery to me. The first two utilize two of  George H's dies. The obverse is what I call his "three muses die - 3 female figures in togas standing around a coin press. On these pieces his signature below the line is replaced with 'Tiffany & Co'  and the other inscription is added. These apparently were added  to the medal after striking and were not part of the die. The reverse  is from an American Institute - Harkness NY-130. All images of the Kelley Medals are courtesy of John Sallay. Silver, 51mm  Bronze, 51mm Were these medals struck by George H. for Tiffany or had Tiffany obtained some of George's dies to use themselves?  It seems there was some connection between the two as there are other instances of some collaboration. The medal below combines a die from an  Arctic Exploration medal by Tiffany and another American Institute die by George H. - Harkness NY-100 (image courtesy of Stacks Bowers) Bronze This is another with a possible connection to the Lovetts. The  reverse is not familiar as a Lovett die but the seated Minerva image on the obverse to all appearances is  the work of Robert Jr. that he used on one of his storecards, as well as on other pieces.    Kane Medal for Natural Science - Normal College City of N.Y White metal

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

Another possible Lovett work?

St. John's College, New York, Medals

First obverse, Ingenio Et Labore reverse

Silver, 48mm

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

Bronze, 47.8mm

First obverse, Biographicae Praemium reverse

Bronze, 47.7mm

First obverse, Dominus Deus reverse

Bronze, 48mm

Second obverse, Ingenio Et Labore reverse

Silver, 42mm

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

The first obverse has the engravers signature while the second obverse omits these. And at first glance the rest of the design appears identical but upon close examination it is obvious these are two different dies. Was the second obverse created by a different engraver using George H's design or visa versa? The medals listed above are all I have seen to date. Anyone with knowledge of other combinations and other metals please contact me.

Presbyterian College of Montreal - Christina Prize Medal

Silver, 45mm

IMAGE NEEDED

Bronze, 45.4mm

White metal, 45mm

IMAGE NEEDED 

University of Missouri - The Stephens Medal

Bronze, 41.5mm

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

Silver, 41.5mm

(on line image)

Gold, 41.5mm

(Yale University Art Gallery image)

From the Archives of the University of Missouri "In 1867, James Stephens provided funds for a medal to be annually awarded for oratory. Mr. Stephens was a prominent citizen in Columbia and very active in fund raising campaigns in support of the University of Missouri and other educational institutions. In later years, the winner of the Stephens Medal became the Missouri Representative to the Missouri Valley Peace Oratorical Contest (ca. 1930-1936)."  Everything I have found on this medal only mentions gold medals.  Could the bronze piece be a trial or specimen that George H. struck to show University officials? I had never heard of this medal until John Sallay let me examine and photograph the bronze example above.

Universite' Laval (Quebec) Medal

Sandham 38, silver, 41mm

 (image courtesy of John Sallay)

From the Universite website - "In 1867 the University introduced a poetry contest, to which it added, several years later, a competition in rhetoric. These contests, held with some interruptions until the end of the 1880s, were open the general public across Canada. The subjects, often patriotic themes, were imposed, and the prizes were medals bearing the arms of the University. In 1867 the gold medal in poetry was awarded to Pamphile Lemay and the bronze to Adolphe-Basile Routhier for their works on "The Discovery of Canada," and two years later Pamphile Lemay again took the gold medal for his poem that was to constitute an 'Anthem for the National Celebration of  French-Canadians.' "        In Alfred Sandham's "Coins, Tokens and Medals of the Dominion of Canada" he follows the description of this medal with the statement "The dies for this medal were executed by Mr. G.H. Lovett of New York".  The following quote is from an article on Canadian numismatics by R.W. McLachlin in the American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. XV, July 1880 - July 1881 "This medal is by Lovett, and seems both in design and execution much inferior to his later works. It is presented annually in gold, silver, and bronze, for competition among the students for the best poems in the French language. Sandham, in his Supplement, No. 57, describes another similar medal with the inscription, ' Prix d'elocution.' I am confident that no medal of this description has ever been struck." Sandham 38, bronze (unawarded), 39.8mm

Seneca Falls Academy Medal

In May of 1832 a stock company was organized in Seneca Falls NY for the purpose of establishing a Secondary Private School. Colonel Wilhemus Mynderse became the largest shareholder and donated the lot on Park Street for the Academy. The building was built at a cost of $1666.32, excluding the cupola.       The Regents were petitioned to incorporate the Academy but it was denied on the grounds of insufficient endowment. Colonel Mynderse passed away in 1837 leaving $2000 to the Academy in his will, that same year it was incorporated as the Seneca Falls Academy by a special act of the legislature.         The most prosperous years were 1850 to 1860. But the growth of high schools in connection with a growing public school system led to the demise of most private schools. In 1862 the building was turned over to the local school board, for a nominal fee, to be used as a high school. In June of 1885 the Board of Trustees tendered the property of the Corporation over to the Educational District of Seneca Falls. The number of students had increased to the point that the old building was torn down and the new Mynderse Academy No. 1 was built on the site.

Silver - 99.56%, trace of tin and gold, 39.9mm

Was this a generic awards medal produced by George H. that was later engraved for the Seneca Falls Academy? The reverse die was also used for the Hamilton College Tompkins Mathematical Scholarship Medal but notice the engraving was done misaligned with the other features of the medal. The Seated Minerva figure on the obverse seems to be the same engraving produced by his bother Robert Jr. for use on his storecard.

(image courtesy of Seneca Falls Historical Society)

College of St. Francis Xavier, New York, Medals

Silver, 36mm

Bronze, 33.6mm

University of New York, Medical Dept. - Valentine Mott Medal

Gold, 35mm

IMAGE NEEDED

Silver, 35mm

IMAGE NEEDED

In an article in the January 1891 edition of The American Journal of Numismatics entitled "The Medals, Jetons, and Tokens Illustrative Of The Science Of Medicine" Dr. Horatio Storer describes a gold and silver version of these medals as having been awarded. He does not mention the white metal version.

Awarded to "Franz Hercel of N.Y. Feb. 16th, 1875"

Copper alloy (99.26% copper, .17% platinum, .08% zinc), 34.8mm

Awarded to "Seymour B. Young 1874"

Copper (99.9% copper), 34.9mm, in original case

Unawarded, white metal, 35mm

(images compliments of anonymous collector)

The Old Round House, LeRoy, N.Y. Medal

The obverse die for this medal was created by George H. for use on a Masonic medal for the Olive Branch Lodge No. 39, commissioned by Thomas Warner of Cohocton, NY in 1877.  He later had the engraver cut a second Round House die that differed in a few details from the first. The second obverse is also found with the same Masonic medal. The Old Round House was originally a Masonic Temple later converted to a school house.       In an 1884 auction catalog of the collection of Thomas Warner there is listed a medal with the obverse below and a reverse with a wreath surrounding the inscription "Corner Stone laid, June 24, 1826, Col. Wm. Sheldon, Marshall." It is in silver and called unique. I would assume something Thomas Warner had struck for his own collection. First Obverse, silver?

IMAGE NEEDED 

First obverse, copper, 34.2mm

First obverse, brass, 34.2mm

First obverse, white metal, 34.4mm

This listing from a Bangs & Co. auction of 1878 states that there were

two of the above medals struck in brass and two in gilt.

 

Second obverse, silver, 34.2mm

Second obverse, copper, 34.2mm

Second obverse, brass?
IMAGE NEEDED
 
Second obverse, white metal, 34.4mm

As these are not cataloged anywhere that I am aware of they may have
been struck in metals other than the ones above. A Bangs & Co. auction catalog
from 1878 list a gilt version of the first obverse and since the second obverse
was struck in silver I am going to assume a silver example of
the first obverse exist. Possibly a gilt and brass version of the second
obverse 

From the Regan - Ettinger Family History blog (http://reganettinger.blogspot.com) "Le Roy was a hotbed of the Anti-Masonic furor of the 1820's that followed the disappearance of William Morgan, the bricklayer, who had threatened to expose the secrets of the Masonic order. Morgan had worked in Le Roy and had friends there. In May, 1825 he was made a Royal Arch Mason in Le Roy. Some historians maintain it was the only legitimate Masonic degree he ever held. At that time Le Roy lodge planned a splendid temple, three stories high and circular in shape. The story goes that Morgan's disappointment over his failure to obtain the contract to build this temple whetted his grievances against the fraternity. The Morgan excitement prevented the Masons from ever using the Round House, as their temple was called. After serving as a church and a school, it was demolished in the 1850's."

Generic School Award Medals

The medals pictured below indicate that George H. was producing a series of dies and then using them to produce generic award medals that he could supply to schools and other institutions for them to personalize. None are signed but the association with other known dies of his, and design details, lead me to attribute these to him. The female sculptor die was used for the Cromwell Award Medal for the City College of New York as well in combination with a Washington die known to be his. The wreath used on the die with the lamp enclosed seems to be the same wreath used on his Monitor and Merrimac medal.

White metal, 34.3mm

White metal, 34.25mm

White metal, 34mm

These are the only examples I have seen to date and I have seen none that have been engraved. If anyone knows of others in different metals or that had been awarded please contact me.

Lockwood Sewing School Medal

This medal seems to have been produced for the Cayuga Asylum For 

Destitute Children in Auburn N.Y.. Founded in 1852 and incorporated

by the State Legislature the same year the act stated "The object of 

this institution shall be to provide a home for orphans, half orphans, 

and destitute children, supply their necessities, promote their moral, 

intellectual and religious improvement, and fit them for situations of 

usefulness". A line on page 13 of the "Reports, Rules Regulations and 

Statistics of the Cayuga Asylum for Destitute Children together With

Act of Incorporation, By-laws, Etc." (Auburn NY 1882) reads 

"A very pleasant feature of asylum work during the past year has

been the 'Lockwood Sewing School' it having developed from a 

thoughtful suggestion of Mr. H.N. Lockwood, secretary of the Board 

of Trustees"

 

OBVERSE - wreath in center enclosing AUBURN / N.Y. , LOCKWOOD 

SEWING SCHOOL around 

 

REVERSE - 24 pointed star device with blank center

 

NY - Au 11, white metal, plain edge, 31.4mm

 Although this would appear to be an award medal, with the blank

space in the center of the reverse, Rulau states some pieces exist 

with a numeral incused in the space, possibly an identification

badge?

 

 

Lincoln School Medal

White metal, 31.35mm

This beat up, enigmatic little medal came up for sale on Ebay and just struck me as having the features of a Lovett work. I am tentatively attributing it to George H. for 3 reasons. First, the wreath on the obverse is very similar to wreaths on several other pieces of his. Second, the style of lettering on the obverse inscription is the same that is used on the Rugg Byrne tokens and a few other pieces. Finally, the leaves and berries wreath on the obverse is the same as the wreath on the reverse of the Easter Medal pictured on the Church Tokens and Medals page.      The obverse is also found with a reverse featuring "REWARD OF MERIT" on a scroll within an ornate border. This is listed in Malcolm Storer's "Numismatics of Massachusetts" as being a Boston piece.

Reward of Merit reverse, Cunnigham 36-670Bz, Storer 528, bronze, 31mm

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

All Seeing Eye / Wreath reverse Mule

Brass, 31mm

This muling of seemingly two unrelated dies I think is confirmation that the Lincoln School medal dies are the work of George H. Lovett, or possibly his brother John D.. The seeing eye die is found paired with several presidential campaign medalets including the obverse of AL 1860-34 produced by John D. Lovett.  The reverse die is the same as that usd on the Lincoln School medal above.        This piece is from the John J. Ford Collection; Joe Levines PCAC Auction 47 contained a similar piece. Another case of George H. grabbing any two dies of the shelf just to strike something interesting?

St. Timothy Medal

Silver, 27.3mm

(image courtesy of John Sallay)

The obverse of this medal reads "presented by St. Timothy's", I am unsure what the AVL.M.D. means. The reverse legend is "Award for Virtue and Diligence".  This design is nearly identical to the Columbia College medal listed in Julian as SC-18.