Rare Anthony de Francisci plaque medal
dcarr
Posts: 8,510 ✭✭✭✭✭
There are not a lot of works by Anthony de Francisci that can be collected, other than the Peace Dollar.
I had seen a picture of one of these a few years ago, but I never thought I would ever find one.
I was recently looking around on the internet for something completely unrelated, and there it was. And offered at a good price too.
The William Lawrence Saunders Award medal, awarded by the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, to Walter Hull Aldridge "For Achievement in Mining" 1933.
Only one of these medals was awarded per year, starting in 1927. The first one (the 1927 issue) is reportedly in the Smithsonian Institution. The 1928 award went to mining engineer and soon-to-be President Herbert Hoover. The whereabouts of that one are unknown to me.
Walter Hull Aldridge was a descendant of three important people:
1. Commodore Isaac Hull, Revolutionary War commander of the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides");
2. General William Hull, who fought with Washington at the battles of Princeton and Trenton in the Revolutionary War;
3. Commodore Perry, hero of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Upon graduation from college, Walter Hull Aldridge went to work for the Colorado Smelting Company. Throughout his career he worked at a number of companies involved with the production of silver, copper, coal, and sulfur.
The medal design has similarities to the Peace Dollar. The sun rays are very reminiscent of those on the reverse of the coin. The maiden's face, hair, and hair bun are just like the Liberty Head on the Dollar. It is very possible that the live model for both the coin and medal was Francisci's wife Teresa. The sculptor's initials "AF" are present in the small oval to the right of the far right sun ray.
The early medals are silvered bronze. The later issues are gold plated. The bottom edge is marked "MEDALLIC ART CO, NY". They measure 67mm wide by 89mm tall (and about 4mm thick). Once each year, a medal was produced by preparing a special die with the recipient's name and year, and then that die was used to over-strike an area of the larger medal on the lower reverse.
Comments
Very interesting and rare piece.
Wow!! Thanks for showing that piece. Very nice art work. Cheers, RickO
Really cool piece! I like the peace dollar sun rays!
Medallic Art Company existed much earlier than I knew:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medallic_Art_Company
A beautiful plaque!
I like how they doubled these letters.
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
Curious if you can post photos of any others from different years?
And they mis-spelt "INSTITVTE!!!"
Definitely the Peace Dollar rays on there. Probably not the same mountains.
The photos piqued my curiosity and i searched images of the medal and am now a bit skeptical about the authenticity of yours…The porosity especially but also details, particularly the details of the young lady’s facial features….
The actual medal is in the Medals Collection of Columbia University, Engineering School:
"American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers' William Lawrence Saunders Medal given to Walter Hull Aldridge (EM 1887, ScD honorary 1929), 1933
R: raised image of a figure hoisting a chunk of rock. The William Lawrence Saunders Award. V: Awarded by American Institute of Mning and Metallurgical Engineers for Achievement in Mining. To Walter Hull Aldridge 1933. Gold medal is housed in a blue presentation case embossed with the name "Walter Hull Aldridge" in gold lettering. Inside, the medal sits in a royal blue velvet frame. A NYT newspaper clipping about the presentation is also in the presentation case."
Curiouser and curiouser
Beautiful pickup dcarr, but
Dang, OAKSTAR, I didn't even notice that until your post, now all I see is:
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
A plaster cast of the original is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Perhaps it was used to produce this replica? If a mold was taken off the original, I'm sure Columbia would have a record of it.
Well, that is interesting. It might explain why it was indicated on a couple web sites that the medals, as awarded, were gold (plated). But I have seen a few pictures of silver-colored medals and a bronze version.
I have no doubt that the one I obtained is genuine, although it has had some environmental degradation and cleaning. The small edge marking is pretty clear (it would not be as clear if that part was cast).
There was only one recipient of the award per year (some years saw no medal awarded). So my theory is that only the one awarded medal would be gold in color (gold plated), but a very limited number of additional medals in bronze or silvered bronze may have also be given to the recipient.
This is a very cool award! The sun's rays are certainly very reminiscent of his designs.
Here's a photo of the 1933 Walter Hull Aldridge award found at medallicartcollector.com:
http://medallicartcollector.com/anthony-de-francisci_medals.html
This is mentioned on the Columbia University webpage here:
https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-ua/ldpd_12954047/dsc/1
It's neat that the Columbia Engineering School was formerly known as the School of Mines.
A very cool thing about this award is that it is still being awarded with the 2023 recipient already named as Richard J. Lambert.
See lists of awardees here:
I am A Novice but your goodie seems not as issued detailed, Sorry I think you got screwed. No details = counterfeit. Why no details ? Counterfeit boo boo purchase Chinese are counterfeiting everything. Sad
It's a copy and not a very good one.
There is no reason to believe this is fake. Take a look at the pre-conservation photos on eBay. It appears that originally it was a silver-plated medal, possibly with some original antiquing done by Medallic Art Co., which had since acquired some environmental damage.
Regardless, medals are not always like coins. Medals often have a surface finish applied after striking (especially Medallic Art Co. products from the early 20th century). This process can include sand-blasting, brushing and/or the application of chemicals. These medals can sometimes lose details or even appear to have been “cleaned” by coin collectors.
This particular medal is not original, but it is also not fake.
I did not say it was a fake. It is obviously not the original medal and the multiple casting idea is self justification fantasy. Someone made a copy for whatever reason. Someone bought it. Without concrete verification otherwise, that's all there is to it.
Apparently, some folks don't like it. That is fine. I bought it for my own collection and not to "flip" because I wanted an example of this medal. Even though the condition is far from perfect, I have never seen another one offered for sale.
I could only find a record for one other that has ever sold in the past, a 1962 version in bronze (not plated).
I do not have a WorthPoint account, so I can't see the price realized or the sale date, but here is the rest of the information about it:
https://worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1962-william-lawrence-saunders-award-1812256138
PS:
Here is an original press photo of the 1928 medal awarded to Herbert Hoover:
https://worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1928-press-photo-william-lawrence-1853892754
According to this document (which is not dated), it appears that at some point the SME switched the medal from the original Francisci design to one that is "bearing the likeness of William Lawrence Saunders, along with a suitable plaque or certificate that is engraved or embossed with the name of the award, the recipient’s name, award citation, and year of award."
https://smemi.personifycloud.com/AwardFiles/3265361/Saunders_GuidelinesProcedures_18.pdf
Or maybe the original-style plaque is still awarded along with a newer medal with an image of Saunders on it ?
Not everyone is going to like everything.
I, for one, do like the award, both the one you picked up and the other one. It's great to see more works by Anthony de Francisci and see the relationships between the pieces. It's also great to try and understand what specimens were created and how they survived over time. I like how this award is has the awardee's name is raised letters. I wonder if this was done.
That is interesting. More so since both lists of awardees last updated for 2023 and 2022 recipients show the de Francisci:
Got me looking through The Medallic Art Company Archives (1926-009-002). Good stuff! https://numismatics.org/maco-specimen-archive/
I wonder if someone at Stanford University (Hoover Institution) would know the whereabouts of his medal...
Pacific Northwest Numismatic Association
Reminiscent of 'TRVST' on the peace dollar. Same device for 'METALLVRGICA'. Why would it not have been used for 'HULL' because it's a personal name?
A really neat piece. I'd be thrilled to have even a good reproduction, hint @dcarr.
Hmmm. I suspect that the copyright ran out long ago. Would be nice to have a struck copy.
First of all I must say that I know nothing about this piece.
That said, I wonder if the recipient got a gold one for the honor and a base metal one for display on a wall or a shelf in his office? You wouldn't want to leave something like this in gold in an unattended office.
That is my theory, which needs confirmation.
Although it is called a "Gold Medal", I have not determined if the main awarded medals were ever solid gold or only plated.
I know that Medal of Honor recipients get a second, replica medal to bring to "show and tell" and other public appearances where they don't want to risk loss of the original.
Also, there is an award in the entertainment/advertising industry called the "Telly" where the winners have to pay for the award statue, and they can order extra statuettes for other team members and clients.