Can anyone tell me about these medals?

Aethelred

I bought this neat copper tube with 19 medals called "Testamental Truths" today. I would guess they were made about 1820-1850, but I am not really sure.

If anyone knows what these are or what they might be worth please LMK.

dcamp78

Neat. They're religious truths to keep you on the right path
AND you can carry them with you! Cool!

I've seen sets of cards like that, but never coins...

Dentuck

If you find out more, these would make a great article in the Token and Medal Society Journal.

newbiecollector

I don't have any information of help but..........

I can tell you I might be interested in a few !!!

dcamp78

Is there a company name or maker's mark on any of the coins or the holder?

Aethelred

<< <i>Is there a company name or maker's mark on any of the coins or the holder? >>



The only maker's info is what is on the cap "THOMASON . DIREX"

Aethelred

<< <i>I don't have any information of help but..........

I can tell you I might be interested in a few !!! >>



I would sell the whole lot, 19 medals and the copper case for $200.

dcamp78

Michael,

Does it look like a full set? 19 seems to be an unusual number for a total set.

I found 2 sites that had Thomason Direx:

This one just mentions the name. It seems like TD was a medal company in Europe in the 1800s.
Site 1

This site is in German and mentions the Testamental Truths. Maybe someone here can translate for us:

Site 2

tychojoe

Any luck on the German site translation?

BullRun

If it would help, you could try the "Site in English" button on the left hand side of the page
It is actualy Friesian not German.

tychojoe

Yeah, I clicked that "Site in English" button - thought it was going to be simple after that. Instead, I only found auction info in English and found files of large catalogs, with tons of listings to browse. There's a lot of medals in the European market!

I was going to run a few words thru an online translator, too, but laziness got the better of me. At least now we know its in Friesian! How'd you know that?

This set is curious, though. Do the pictures here show mostly a lot of wear, or mostly weak strikes of the quotes, or roughly equal doses of both? They seem to have crusty great patina in any event!

Man

I got this from a search on E. Thomason bible coins. They should be 23mm.



<< <i>Great Britain. Thomason's Medallic Bible Quotation Medals, 1835. Group of six medals with Biblical quotes on each side issued by Sir Edward Thomason (1769-1849), a Birmingham eccentric and medalist, who invented the English cork screw. He issued a number of series of medals, including a 60 piece medallic Bible, and medals celebrating the Elgin Marbles, which were taken from Athens' Parthenon to the British Museum in the early nineteenth century. Many of his medals have artistic obverses, and multi-line, almost endless reverse inscriptions. Of equal interest are the old tags that describe five of the pieces in this lot. Collectors of a century ago kept their medals in elaborate wooden cabinets that had velvet-lined circular depressions cut into their drawers. With each of this lot's medals was placed a 23 mm circle of heavy white paper on which the collector described the piece. On these paper circles are various comments, and "Batty" numbers, which refer to the monumental "Batty's Catalogue of the Copper Coinage of Great Britain, Ireland, British Isles and Colonies, Local and Private Tokens, Jetons, etc." published in Manchester between 1868 and 1898. It was the first general catalog of British tokens, but very hard to use as the tokens were not listed in any particular order, but randomly as Batty came upon newly discovered items. Six Thomason medals in the lot with five tags. 23 mm, copper, a couple struck off center and one with a die crack. VF to AU. An interesting example of bygone numismatica. $75.00-85.00+ >>



I think they are the same but here is the link. This is a huge list a word search on Thomason brings you to the description.
SITE

Update: I found a picture of the 45mm version and they do not look like yours.

How odd everything I read online says the obverse were nothing like these.

tychojoe

"Group of six medals with Biblical quotes on each side issued by Sir Edward Thomason (1769-1849)"

...a picture of the 45mm version and they do not look like yours.

How odd everything I read online says the obverse were nothing like these.

Perhaps the Thomason.Direx inscribed on the OP's medals is a nod to Sir Edward from a copycat?

Probably not. "Plain, simple, direct, open, straightforward" is a web translator's translation for "direx", and that sounds like something an 'eccentric' might use to describe himself. "Thomason gives it to you straight -- Bible quotes you can use."

"Many of his medals have artistic obverses... --that looks to apply to the OP's, doesn't it? Not stellar art, but pretty anyway.

...and [...] almost endless reverse inscriptions. Assuming that's not a reference to the kind seen here, that would be funny to see. These don't qualify as really endless to me, but I can imagine ones that do!