1896 Olympic Medal Restrike 999.9 Silver
Deerhunter977
Posts: 13 ✭
Hello all! This is my first discussion, and I'm not sure if I'm in the right place. I recently purchased an 1896 Olympic Medal Restrike 999.9 Silver Medal which has the marking "HH" on it. I'm looking for information on who/what the "HH" stands for, where this was minted, how many, etc. Any information that anyone could provide would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
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Welcome, someone will be along shortly to answer the question. Obviously very modern with a cool design.
bob
I do not know the HH, but I found this small bit of info...
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Normally, I'd think HH would be the designer's initials. But this is a restrike, as you say. The originals do not seem to have "HH 999.9" on them. The designer of the originals was Jules Clément Chaplain, per olympics.com. The originals were struck at the Paris mint.
Do you know the origin of the restrikes? The initials HH, for Horst Hahne, appear on some Australian coins. Perhaps he recreated the design for the restrike dies.
Collector of Liberty Seated Half Dimes, including die pairs and die states
Could also be the company hallmark
Thank you for the input! I did check on Horst Hahne from Australia, but his marking has the Hs joined together. I found a similar marking from the Hoffman Mint (formerly Hoffman and Hoffman) and have emailed the company with no response. They are located in Florida.
Also, this medal is 50mm in diameter and weighs 50 grams. I found a similar one online that was sold and had a PCGS certification, and have reached out to them as well.
For a time I thought that "H H" might also be for Handy & Harman (an American company).
But I have seen a number of silver items with "H H" that seem to have been minted in Germany.
They sometimes use the European marking for fine silver which is "1000" or "1000/1000" or "999/1000".
So I think in this case the "H H" is for the German manufacturer. It is probably not the designer's initials.
Here is an "H H" set of silver postage stamp ingots that I have:
Thank you for that! I'll start looking for German mint markings. Hopefully I'll find more info.
I found articles about a German medalist/engraver/sculptor named HEINZ HOYER. If he's the guy (HH) all I need now is to find information associating him with my medal.
The design was already created by someone else, so I assume HH is the producer of the restrike.
Did a search and looking at pictures found this Netherlands company in Schoonhoven. I did not look into it but appears it was a father son (Hendrik and Hermanus - Hartman). But also see these names associated with the company (I think it is the same) which appears to have changed its name (lost the link on that but started with a name and changed) and also maybe other spellings.
Hubertus Hooijkaas or Hooykaas
Herman Hooijkaas or Hooykaas
These links took a long time to load (different pages of the same website). The second one then have to page down to the names above.
Hartman
https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=62187
Hooijkaas
https://www.925-1000.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28590
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_KWVk0XeB9o - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Piece Of My Heart
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
Thanks for the info. Hendrick died in 1888 and Hermanus in 1910. Checked on the silversmith makers marks but no medals, just plates, silverware, etc. My search continues...
Found this on the PCGS website:
So, does that mean it was minted in Greece? I found a website called Numista, and I have created a forum with them as well.
I don't suppose they sell Olympic silver medals on Ebay? I know it's gold that gets all the attention and that's what I should want but...I changed my mind!
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Looks like there is a gold restrike also. Smaller (34) and lighter (15.5) but with the 'same' HH but 999.0 and $1350. Don't see any 'information' on it though.
https://coinwatchco.com/product/1896-greece-olympic-restrike-gold-medal-34mm-15-5-grams/
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_KWVk0XeB9o - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Piece Of My Heart
.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=D0FPxuQv2ns - Ruby Starr (from 'Go Jim Dandy') Maybe I'm Amazed
RLJ 1958 - 2023
Okay folks…I found this while searching:
Token - Landing on the Moon - United States – Numista
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/exonumia211509.html
Coinarchives.com shows the same token as being minted in 1969.
Anyone else agree this looks identical to the markings I'm inquiring about?
From Numista:
HH Hoffman Mint (previously known as Hoffman & Hoffman), Fort Lauderdale, United States
Here's where things get confusing:
The top one is my medal. Middle is a known Hoffman and Hoffman mint mark. 3rd is a known Hoffman Mint mint mark. The letters are slightly slanted toward each other. So, why is my "HH" different?
No idea, but yours matches the astronaut medal.
I do not think the Olympic medal is by Hoffman.
That Olympic medal, and the Apollo medal, do not match the style or "fabric" of any of the tokens shown by Numista that are attributed to Hoffman (& Hoffman) Mint :
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?mi=1344&ct=exonumia&p=1
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I don't know what to think any more. Look at this from Numista:
1 oz Silver (Walking Liberty) - United States – Numista
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/exonumia338317.html
Under the Mint, it shows TWO styles of "HM" for rhe Hoffman mint. I'm curious if the mint mark was modified for 999.9 silver medals.
Also, the moon landing medal is in English, so I'm doubting it was minted in a foreign country.
MY SEARCH CONTINUES...
I wish mine had come with a COA: