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San Francisco Schools Samuel Bridge Medal awarded to Frank O'Donnell in 1895
WillieBoyd2
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I have had this medal for many years and it belonged to my father before me.
The medal was pretty dark and I didn't know it was silver until recently.
I finally got around to researching it.
Samuel Bridge Medal awarded to Frank O'Donnell in 1895
Samuel J. Bridge Medal
GIFT OF SAMUEL J. BRIDGE / MDCCCLXXVIIII (1879)
AWARDED TO / Frank O'Donnell / 1895
Size: 33mm
Weight: 18.74gm
Metal: Silver, darkened over time
The medal has an attached bar and loop
The Samuel Bridge silver medals were awarded to the top male students of San Francisco grammar schools from 1879 to 1915.
A similar medal, the Denman Medal, was awarded to the top female students from 1865 to 1915.
The medals were first struck at the Philadelphia Mint from 1879 to 1890 and afterwards were struck at private medalists in San Francisco, first by Albert Kuner from 1891 to 1906 and then by Robert Schaezlein from 1907 to 1915.
The catalog Medals of the United States Mint: The First Century, 1792-1892 by R. W. Julian, published by the Token and Medal Society, 1977, lists these medals as number SC-52.
The medals were made of silver, 34mm in diameter, weighed 15 to 21 grams, and usually had an attachment or a loop. Planchets of different thickness were used accounting for the varying weights. The award year was punched into the medal and the recipient's name was engraved.
Frank O'Donnell:
Frank O'Donnell was one of my father's uncles. He was born in San Francisco in 1880, lived all of his life in the city, and died in 1958. He worked for various newspapers and then for the State of California as a civil servant.
The San Francisco Call newspaper dated June 8, 1895 listed the graduates of the Washington Evening School, Ninth Grade, including "Bridge medalist" Frank O'Donnell.
Samuel Bridge:
Samuel James Bridge (June 1, 1809 to November 6, 1893)
He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts, a member of a wealthy family there. In 1841 he was an appraiser in the Boston Custom House. In 1856 he was assigned to San Francisco as Appraiser General of the Pacific Coast. He also was the Commissioner in charge of the building of the Customs House and US Mint. He later donated a statue to Harvard University.
Bridge Medal Establishment:
Samuel Bridge established "Bridge Medal Fund for Boys" in 1879.
The Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Schools, City and County of San Francisco, School Year Ending June 30, 1879:
A former resident of San Francisco, for many years holding the office of Appraiser-General under the Federal Government, taking deep interest in the public schools and desirous of emulating the distinguished example of [Benjamin] Franklin in founding medals for worthy public school boys, made a handsome gift to the city, in the last school year, the circumstances and purposes of which are fully explained in the following resolution, adopted by the Board of Supervisors:
Resolution No. 13,550
Whereas, Samuel J. Bridge, of Dresden, County of Lincoln, State of Maine, has donated the sum of $2,000, gold coin, unto the Mayor... to be used for the purchase of silver medals for distribution among the most meritorious boys of the Public Grammar Schools of San Francisco... [to be] an honorable mark of proficiency and distinction - "A Bridge Medal".
Naturally, my uncle's medal is not for sale!
The medal was pretty dark and I didn't know it was silver until recently.
I finally got around to researching it.
Samuel Bridge Medal awarded to Frank O'Donnell in 1895
Samuel J. Bridge Medal
GIFT OF SAMUEL J. BRIDGE / MDCCCLXXVIIII (1879)
AWARDED TO / Frank O'Donnell / 1895
Size: 33mm
Weight: 18.74gm
Metal: Silver, darkened over time
The medal has an attached bar and loop
The Samuel Bridge silver medals were awarded to the top male students of San Francisco grammar schools from 1879 to 1915.
A similar medal, the Denman Medal, was awarded to the top female students from 1865 to 1915.
The medals were first struck at the Philadelphia Mint from 1879 to 1890 and afterwards were struck at private medalists in San Francisco, first by Albert Kuner from 1891 to 1906 and then by Robert Schaezlein from 1907 to 1915.
The catalog Medals of the United States Mint: The First Century, 1792-1892 by R. W. Julian, published by the Token and Medal Society, 1977, lists these medals as number SC-52.
The medals were made of silver, 34mm in diameter, weighed 15 to 21 grams, and usually had an attachment or a loop. Planchets of different thickness were used accounting for the varying weights. The award year was punched into the medal and the recipient's name was engraved.
Frank O'Donnell:
Frank O'Donnell was one of my father's uncles. He was born in San Francisco in 1880, lived all of his life in the city, and died in 1958. He worked for various newspapers and then for the State of California as a civil servant.
The San Francisco Call newspaper dated June 8, 1895 listed the graduates of the Washington Evening School, Ninth Grade, including "Bridge medalist" Frank O'Donnell.
Samuel Bridge:
Samuel James Bridge (June 1, 1809 to November 6, 1893)
He was born and died in Boston, Massachusetts, a member of a wealthy family there. In 1841 he was an appraiser in the Boston Custom House. In 1856 he was assigned to San Francisco as Appraiser General of the Pacific Coast. He also was the Commissioner in charge of the building of the Customs House and US Mint. He later donated a statue to Harvard University.
Bridge Medal Establishment:
Samuel Bridge established "Bridge Medal Fund for Boys" in 1879.
The Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the Superintendent of Public Schools, City and County of San Francisco, School Year Ending June 30, 1879:
A former resident of San Francisco, for many years holding the office of Appraiser-General under the Federal Government, taking deep interest in the public schools and desirous of emulating the distinguished example of [Benjamin] Franklin in founding medals for worthy public school boys, made a handsome gift to the city, in the last school year, the circumstances and purposes of which are fully explained in the following resolution, adopted by the Board of Supervisors:
Resolution No. 13,550
Whereas, Samuel J. Bridge, of Dresden, County of Lincoln, State of Maine, has donated the sum of $2,000, gold coin, unto the Mayor... to be used for the purchase of silver medals for distribution among the most meritorious boys of the Public Grammar Schools of San Francisco... [to be] an honorable mark of proficiency and distinction - "A Bridge Medal".
Naturally, my uncle's medal is not for sale!
https://www.brianrxm.com
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Comments
This one has no family connection, it came from the usual source for odd items:
Samuel J. Bridge Medal awarded to Joseph Clark in 1891
Obverse: Same as the first medal
Reverse: AWARDED TO / Jos. Clark / 1891 (Joseph Clark)
This medal is missing the ribbon attachment loop and is heavily scratched.
It is the same size as the first medal but weighs less, 17.17gm.
The Report of the Superintendent of Common Schools of the City and County of San Francisco
for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1891 lists a "Jos. Clark" as one of the
Bridge Medal Pupils, Eleventh Award, May 1891, at the Hearst Grammar School.
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The reverse design of the OP's medal was somewhat universal, having been also used for the Boston City Schools award medals, the Peabody School award medals and the Cooper Union (N.Y.C.) award medals.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.american-legacy-coins.com
Is that information in the Julian catalog?
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New collectors, please educate yourself before spending money on coins; there are people who believe that using numismatic knowledge to rip the naïve is what this hobby is all about.