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The Newsletter of Medal Collectors of America

Volume 12 Number 5 May 2009

Board MembersJohn W. Adams, PresidentJohn Sallay, Vice President, jsallay@comcast.netBarry D. Tayman, TreasurerDavid T. Alexander, davida@stacks.comRobert F. Fritsch, bobfritsch@earthlink.netDavid Menchell, dmenchell@aol.comScott Miller, wheatabix@comcast.netIra Rezak, ira.rezak@med.va.govDonald Scarinci, dscarinci1@aol.comMichael Turrini, emperori@juno.comBenjamin Weiss, Webmaster

John W. Adams, Editor99 High Street, 11th floorBoston, MA 02110john.adams@canaccordadams.com

Barry Tayman, Treasurer3115 Nestling Pine CourtEllicott City, MD 21042bdtayman@verizon.net

Benjamin Weiss, Webmasterbenweiss.org@comcast.net

Website: medalcollectors.org

Editor of Collectors’ Guide, Dick Johnson(dick.johnson@snet.net)

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From the Editor 3

U.S. Mint Medal Finishes 1860’s—2008 (by Ray Herz) 4

Three Exhibits at Medialia Rack &Hamper Gallery Provide Somethingfor Everyone (by Donald Scarinci) 7

The First Indian Medal (by Tony Lopez) 9

More on the Maryland Medal 14

Letters to the Editor 15

CalendarAnnual Meeting August 7, 2009 at 3:30 p.m.Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA

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From the EditorYe editor’s calendar has vacation

coming up, added to which he is in the finalsprint to complete his book on the Vernonmedals. Thus, the June and July issues will becombined into one. As my wife is wont to say:“You can’t do it all.”

Returning to Admiral Vernon, five ofthe fourteen authors who have publishedextensively on this subject heretofore havebeen Spanish speaking. Naturally, the Spanishspeaking writers tend to view the underlyingevents differently than have English speakingwriters. My co-author, Dr. Fernando Chao (h),has been a tremendous help in bridging the gap.In addition, he brings a deep knowledge of thenumismatic content that includes a longfriendship with Dr. Jorge Ferrari, originally thedeepest thinker of any of the prior authors.

Medallic Illustrations of AdmiralVernon, subtitled “Medals Sometimes Lie,”will be an old-fashioned hardcover book.However, it will be a product of the cyberworld, in that the book has been enabled byvoluminous digital correspondence between meand Dr. Chao as well as copious digitalcorrespondence with our collaborators, AnneBentley and Spencer Peck. Between the four ofus, we bring a fair amount of firepower to bearon the subject. Hopefully, members will beable to judge for themselves before year end.

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US Mint Medal Finishes 1860’s–2008 (by Ray Herz)

The United States Mint has been offeringmedals for public sale on a regular basis since theearly 1860’s. While coinage production methodshave been revolutionized during the nearly 150years, medal production techniques has beenrelatively conservative. As late as the 1890’s themint was still using a screw press to produce highrelief medals. Today, while business strike coins areproduced on horizontal presses capable of 700 ormore strikes per minute, the large medals are stillproduced on older, higher force presses.This essay will examine the various finishes of USmint medals over the last 150 years using a singledesign: George Morgan’s 1886 Abraham LincolnPresidential/Memorial medal.

19thCentury Finish:

Though it may not be apparent in the photo the 19thcentury US Mint medals had very glossy to nearproof-like surfaces when in mint condition. Thestrikes were VERY sharp, letters had totallysquared up edges. The predominant color would bea milk chocolate brown but many survivors are darkchocolate to mahogany and some are a verypleasing cherry wood color. The operative wordhere is DARK. If you come across a golden coloredmedal is it NOT a 19thcentury strike. This finishwould be seen on medals from the 19thcenturyuntil the turn of the 20thcentury – probably until

about 1910. Medals of the early 20th century werestill produced in a reddish-bronze mixture.

Early 20th Century Finish:

During the early 20th century the US Mint switchedto a more golden bronze mixture. The surfaces weremore glossy, and not proof-like. The strikes werestill very sharp. The change was apparent by thefirst term Woodrow Wilson Presidential medal, anissue that is virtually unknown to moderncollectors. The glossy finish medals tend to have arich tan tone as they age. Most of these were issuedin the 1910’s-1920’s as few people could afford tobuy medals during the Great Depression.

Mid-Late 20thCentury Finish:

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During WWII the US Mint started producingmedals with a matte or “sandblast” finish. This isfairly literal as the medals appear to have all ofthe finer details sandblasted away. On a very highrelief medal such as the Lincoln medal shownabove the degradation is moderate. The problemcomes with many medals produced during thevery early 20th century Art Nouveau era such asthe 1909 Wright Brothers’ Congressional Awardmedal/plaquette and the 1907 TheodoreRoosevelt/Sailing of the Atlantic Fleet Plaquette.The sandblasting finish made most of the finerdetails almost indistinguishable on the later re-strikes. Early 20th century examples of these twomedals are VERY rare so much of their originaldetails are lost to modern collectors.

When these medals tone they have amottled appearance and can look dark. Closeinspection will reveal the sandblasting pits andthe lack of finer detail.

The sandblast finish had the longestlifespan of US mint medals, almost 60 years.During this time sales flourished and the mattefinish medals are by far the most common for allUS medal series produced from 1940-1985 whenmost of the 19th and early 20th century designswere discontinued.21st Century Finish:

As a test I decided to purchase a new Lincolnmedal from the US mint in 2008 to see if thefinish was different and I was pleasantly

surprised to find that a new day of quality hadfinally dawned. The modern medals have a moregolden (almost gilt in appearance) tone and havea satin finish. Also the sandblasting has beeneliminated and the strikes are again sharp. Thischange is apparent on medals starting in the late1990’s. The Charles Shultz medal is a goodexample.

Unfortunately in the last fiscal year themint greatly curtailed their catalog. Of thepresidential series, all presidents prior to GeorgeBush (the younger) except Washington andLincoln and all other series more than about fiveyears old have been discontinued.

Mid-Late 20th Century Unfinished example:

I was fortunate to come across an “error” late20th century version of the Lincoln Medal thatwas NOT sandblasted. It has a brassy yellowcolor and VERY sharp features. To date I’ve seenone each of the Nixon, Ford, and Carter medalswith same unfinished look. These were probablyall produced in the 1970’s when production washigh and quality control was low.

PACKAGING:To further help in dating when a medal wasproduced it is helpful if you can find one in itsoriginal packaging. During the 1930’s until fiscalyear 1963-64 the mint packaged medals in plainbrown boxes.

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Mid-20th Century Brown Box:

Late-20thCentury White Box:

Late-20thCentury Blue Treasury Box:

As the Bicentennial approached in the early1970’s the Mint started packing the Presidentialmedals in nicer Blue Treasury boxes that would

later incorporate a felt interior with a recess tosecurely hold the medal. These boxes underwentsome minor modification and are still in usetoday.

Polybag Packaging:Final note on packaging. Some time after

WWII the mint started sealing all medals in polybags (baggies). Until the mid 1960’s the plastic wasvery thin, hardly heavier than food wrap and didlittle to protect the medal from being knockedabout.

During the 1960’s the Mint switched to asubstantially heavier plastic, about 4 times thickerthan “Saran Wrap” and this is still in use today.

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Three Exhibits at Medialia Rack& Hamper Gallery ProvideSomething for Everyone(by Donald Scarinci)

Medialia Rack & Hamper Gallery,located in New York City at 335 West 38thStreet is host to three concurrent exhibits ofmedallic art: USA FIDEM 2007 opened therein March. This exhibit includes the UnitedStates delegation medals displayed at FIDEM2007 in Colorado Springs. It appears atMedialia Gallery in New York after beingexhibited at the American Philatelic Society inBellefonte, Pennsylvania.

The exhibit includes work by many ofAmerica’s most important artists along withpieces by some new talent, displayedinternationally at FIDEM 2007 for the firsttime. Mashiko, the gallery owner and artist,has assembled this display with a nice mix ofnew pieces by these artists such as JeannieStevens Sollman’s, You Light Up My Life, 2008and Heather Blume’s, The Burka, 2008.This approach to a traveling exhibit of oldermedals originally grouped together at FIDEM2007 allows people who have seem thembefore to experience them side by side the morerecent work of these artists. For people whohave not yet seen the FIDEM 2007 medals, thisis likely to be the last opportunity to do so in agallery. After this they can be seen only asphotographs or in the private collections theyare destined to end up.

For those who prefer medallic art with amore historical flavor, Medialia Gallery iscurrently host to MEDALLIC SCULPTUREFROM WORLD WAR 1 currated by ScottMiller. This exhibit includes 7 medals byLudwig Gies along with other importantmedals by German, French, Austrian andBelgian and Dutch artists from some of themost prominent collections in America—DavidFleischmann, Dr. Jay Galst, Scott Miller, Dr.Ira Rezak, Donald Scarinci, David Simpsonand Frederic Withington.

Scott Miller has successfully brought together awide ranging group of medals to tell the storyof World War 1. He sets the stage for the warby selecting medals of the relevant kings,princes and generals whose disputes with eachother led up to it. This is followed by agrouping of medals that depict the horror andsuffering as well as the triumph of importantbattles in the war. The exhibit closes withmedals of the “peace” and the tragic aftermathof that peace which led to the Second WorldWar.

Miller has done a professional job andhe is currently at work on a catalog which issure to sell out quickly. While it may notrepresent the scope of the 1,589 medals listedby M. Frankenhuis in his comprehensiveCatalogue of Medals Relative to the World War1914-1919, it is competitive in the quality ofthe medals selected and in its logicalorganization that tells a story.

New artists are also the focus of THESECOND INTERNATIONAL MEDALLICSCULPTURE COMPETITION FOREMERGING ARTISTS: NEW HORIZONS.Quoting from the press release issued after theMarch, 2008 opening event:

“Keiichi Uryu Grand Prix recipientNicole Vlado was in attendance to receive heraward from noted numismatic historian Dr.Alan Stahl, who selected her work for its tactileand intensely personal approach to the art form.Vlado attended the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology for both undergrad and graduatestudies, focusing in architecture. She currentlylives in Austin, Texas, where she coordinatesthe installation of large-scale sculpture aspublic art for the campus of University ofTexas under the Landmarks Project. As part ofher award in the New Approach Inc. sponsoredSecond Competition, Vlado had a solo spotlightexhibition titled FORE/CASTS and SHADOWS.“Adam Bush received the second place IzumiNiishi Award. FIDEM Vice-Delegate JeanneStevens-Sollman presented the award. Notedlocal collector, patron of medallic art, andardent supporter of New Approach’s work with

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young artists, Frederic and Robin Withingtonpresented John Lynch with the Robin Awardfor his hand carved entries which combinewood and stone. The Withingtons havesponsored and judged The Robin Award forboth international competitions. Medallicsculpture collectors and patrons David andNancy Simpson presented the newly createdSimpson Award, which they sponsor and judge,to Nathaniel Bulter.

“New Approach Inc is a not-for-profitgroup established in 2001 to promote the workof emerging artists and curators, as well as toencourage public awareness of contemporarymedallic art. Among various projects andsponsorships of exhibitions are theInternational Medallic Sculpture Competitionfor Emerging Artists, and the annual travelingNew Ideas in Medallic Sculpture exhibitionseries. The latter will be launching its 12th

annual exhibition in fall 2009.”Medialia Rack and Hamper gallery is

open Wednesday through Saturday from noonto 5pm and by appointment. For moreinformation, take a look at the gallery web site,www.medialiagallery.com

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The First Indian Peace Medal(by Tony Lopez)

A little more than a decade after theirarrival on March 26, 1634, early Englishcolonists in and around the Chesapeake Baysettlement of Saint Mary’s, in the province ofMaryland, faced many hardships anddifficulties. Saint Mary’s (or Saint Maries), ispresent day Saint. Mary’s City, Maryland,located near the confluence of the PotomacRiver and Chesapeake Bay. Saint Mary’s, onlythe fourth British settlement in North America,is considered to be the birthplace of religioustolerance in the Americas.

The early Archives of Maryland revealthat the predominantly Catholic settlers dealtfrequently with incursions from violent NativeAmerican Indian tribes. Among the mostinsidious of these were the Susquehannocks,with a strong tradition both as a warrior tribe,and also as traders with the European powers,particularly the Dutch. By the summer of1642, there was a state of War between theProvincial Maryland government at St. Mary’sand the Susquehannocks, requiring thedeclaration and imposition of Martial Law.i

On June 18, 1644, concerned aboutrumors of ongoing negotiations for an alliancebetween the Susquehannock, Piscataway, andother Indian tribes against the settlement,Maryland Provincial Secretary John Lewgerinstructed Captain Henry Fleete to meet withthe Susquehannock agents for the hopefulpurpose of negotiating peace.ii Lewger knewhe could rely upon Fleete’s “skill in the Indianlanguage, & long conversaon & experience inthe Indian affaires & yor prudence, & providentcircumspection otherwise”.iii Fleete was anearly explorer who arrived in Maryland in1621, was well familiar with the Natives andtheir customs and language, and had actuallynegotiated with theYoacomaco tribe for thepurchase of the lands where the St. Mary’ssettlement was established.

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Captain Fleete was directed to arrive with alarge armed contingency: “take vp wth you aconvenient strength of English well armed &pvided, to the number of twenty at the lestt”.iv

Fleete’s instructions for negotiation were fairlyspecific, and in addition to securing a peaceagreement, they included arranging for theexchange and use of hostages as interpreters,and also the recovery of weapons, includingartillery or cannon that had been taken by theIndians: “for restoring as much as you can gettof the armes (arms) & other goods lost or leftin our last march vpon them, at least the twofeild peices.”v

Secretary Lewger was realistic,however, and given the long standing hostilitiesbetween the early Marylanders and theSusquehannocks, left Captain Fleete the optionof resorting to force, and slaughtering theIndians if necessary: “If you shall not thinkbest to treate (treaty) or truce wth them you areto vse all law full & discreet eanes (means) youcan to pillage, or take them, or (if it shallseeme best to kill them; and to break off allleague & treaty betweene them & ourconfederates; and to terrifie our confederates& specially such as you shall note most bold &active that way from leaguing or treating withthe common enemy afore or against our likingor consent, and the pascatowayes without theauthority or consent of their quecne (Queen orChief) residing here.”vi

Captain Fleete was apparentlysuccessful at negotiating with theSusquehannocks, and as a symbol of trust hepresented to the Susquehannocks two importantinstruments of peace; a written “passport” forsafe passage, and an accompanying “Marylandmedal”, suspended from a black and yellowribbon. The passport was signed by DeputyGovernor Giles Brent, with the apparentauthority of Lord Calvert, and read as follows:

“Cecilius &c. to all inhabitants ofProvince &c. I doe hereby signifie & declarevnto you, that I have promised & vndertaken tothe Indian bearer or bearers hereof of thesesquisahanow nation, not exceeding 3. in

number, & repair in good manner from theSesquisahanow ffort to my Leiutent Grall(Lieutenant General) , or some of my Counsellat Kent, or St maries (St. Mary’s) vpon anypublique treaty message safe & free passagetoo & fro through my province without anyharme or molestation of any the English, Andtherefore I require all & every of you vponsight hereof not to doe any thing to theviolating of the said publique faith given vntothem vpon the vtmost pill of such punishmt asby martiall law may be inflicted vpon the con-temnrs or violaters hereof Given at S t mariesthis 18. June 1644. witnesse Giles Brent &c”.vii

Shortly following Fleete’s successfulpilgrimage for peace, John Lewger wascondemned and suspended from his position asSecretary for arranging for peace with theSusquehannock “enemies” without anyapparent or express authority.viii Lewger wasapparently soon forgiven; and afterwardsbecame the Attorney General of the MarylandProvince.

The medal and passport given to theSusquehannocks by Fleete appear to haveretained their important standing, however.Eight years later, on July 5, 1652, a formalpeace treaty was entered into between theSusquehannocks and the Marylanders.ix Underthe Articles of Peace and Friendshipp, Section4, it states “That vpon any occasion of buisnessto the English, or any Messadge or the like, theJndians shall come by Water and not by land,That there shall not be aboue Eight or ten atthe most at one tyme, And that they bring withthem the token given them by the English forthat purpose, by which they may be knowen andentertained.”x

Over two decades later, by 1675, theSusquehannock People had become decimatedby a smallpox epidemic, and attacks by theenemy Seneca tribe. At the same time, thecolonialists in both Maryland and Virginiawere being victimized by roving bands ofattacking Indians. A number of white settlershad been murdered by the Indians, and the

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Susquehannocks had been blamed by theVirginians for the slaughter.xi

In September of 1675,xii a Virginiaforce commanded by Colonel John Washington(the great-grandfather of George Washington)joined with a group of Maryland troops underMajor Thomas Truman (reputed to be a relativeof Harry S. Truman) to meet with theSusquehannocks at an old Indian fort insouthern Maryland where the tribe had resettledfollowing all of their difficulties. A group ofSusquehannock Chiefs came out to meet withthe white soldiers and address the accusationsof the Virginians. The Susquehannock Chiefsimplicated the Senecas in the offenses againstthe settlers, and in order to prove theirinnocence, as well as their long standingalliance and friendship with the English,presented the British officers with both theoriginal written passport from GovernorCalvert, and the Maryland medal. The medalwas still attached to its black and yellow ribbonwhich it had when originally presented to themover thirty years earlier.xiii

The Virginians, impassioned andinfuriated by the actions of the Indians, couldnot be controlled. They ignored these symbolsof peace, and the claims of innocence by theSusquehannocks. Seizing five of theSusquehannock Chiefs, they proceeded toslaughter them with their tomahawks. TheSusquehannocks had felt certain of their “safe& free passage too & fro through my provincewithout any harme or molestation of any theEnglish” as promised by the presentation ofthese symbols of peace, and this murderousbreach led to a great distrust - and ultimatelywar between the Susquehannocks and thecolonialists.xiv

Major Truman was impeached, and hisinaction in stopping the murders by theVirginians resulting in his conviction andsuspension for the death of the SusquehannockChiefs.xv The Maryland Assembly eventuallyoverturned the finding.xvi

Following the massacre, the enragedSusquehannocks held steadfast to attacks from

colonial forces, but ultimately were forced tosneak away and abandon their fort. Theyheaded south towards Virginia, creating havocalong the way for any white settlers theyencountered. The mayhem and destruction theIndians sowed as they moved south created anoverall state of disarray, and led to NathanielBacon’s Virginia Rebellion, and the temporaryoverthrow of the Governor of Virginia, WilliamBerkeley. Ultimately, and tragically, theseevents led to the death of the entireSusquehannock Nation, and their extinction asa people.xvii

On November 30, 1675, Cecil Calvert,Lord Baltimore, passed away. His successorwas his son Charles, who was in Maryland atthe time. Charles Calvert soon found itnecessary to travel to England. During thissame period of great unrest, the Piscataway andMattawoman Indians lent assistance to thecolonialists. In retribution they were targetedby the warring Indian tribes, and becamedependent upon the protection of the Englishtroops for their safety.

Maquata, King of the Mattawomantribe, was fearful of reprisals from theircommon enemy, the Matchoaticke tribe, andwas further concerned about the pendingdeparture of Charles Calvert to England. OnJune 16, 1676, Maquata appeared before theCounsel of Maryland to express these concerns.In appreciation of his loyalty and friendship, itwas agreed by the Maryland Counsel thattwenty soldiers would be assigned to protectthe Mattawoman King.xviii

In addition to providing for the safety ofMaquata and the Mattawoman people, theMaryland Archives reveal that on that samedate, “hereupon as a mark of his Lordshipskindness, and a pledge of friendship, his saidLordship gave onto the King of Mattawomana medal, with the effigies of his RightHonorable Cecilius, His Lordship’s fatherlately deceased on the one side, and a map ofMaryland on the other side with a black andyellow ribbon.”xix

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Today, Over 325 years later, if youhappen to be driving along the Crain Highway(MD-301) in Southern Maryland, you willcome across a Historical Marker placed there inthe 1930’s, commemorating this event. Thewhite marker with black lettering mistakenlycontains a1670 (vs. a correct 1676) date, andreads:

MATTAWOMAN RUNCharles and Prince George's Counties

_____________________________________

Named for the Mattawoman Indians thathad a fort and town in this locality. In

1670 Governor Charles Calvertpresented to their king, Maquata, a

medal with the likeness of his father,Cecilius, Second Lord Baltimore, on

one side and a map of Maryland on theother.

In C. Wyllys Betts American ColonialHistory Illustrated by Contemporary Medals,Betts lists three “Maryland Settled” medals,catalogued as Betts 34, 35, and 36.xx All threeof these medals are exceedingly rare, and aregreatly sought by collectors of the Betts medalseries. Now this medal will be added ascertainly the earliest, and perhaps the mostsignificant of the Indian Peace Medals forcollectors and researchers of these historicrelics.

The subject of this article, the firstIndian Peace medal, the Maryland “map”medal, originally presented to theSusquehannocks in 1644, is described andlisted as Betts-35.xxi Close examination of themap of Maryland on the reverse of the medalreveals that the direction north faces to the right– and that the shield on the map is actuallylocated near the colonial settlement of SaintMary’s. xxii Betts and others havemisinterpreted the date of the availability of

maps of this region, such as the 1612 Map ofVirginia by Captain John Smith, and thereforeincorrectly conclude that the medal is of a later1650’s vintage. Smith’s 1612 map also hasnorth facing right, and features a prominent anddetailed engraving of a Susquehannock Warriorin the northern portion of the map.

The closely related Betts 34 and 36“Maryland Settled” medals are deserving oftheir own detailed monographs, outside of thepurview of this article. The Archives ofMaryland do indicate that the Betts 34 Calvert-Arundel portrait medal was used by the officersand leaders of the Maryland Colony as a sign ofprovincial status or office. The Betts 36 medalclosely matches the size, artistic style, andtexture of the Betts 34 medal, with six Indianarrows in a ribbon on the obverse, and a centralblank reverse for engraving. There is only oneknown example, stated by Betts to have been inthe collection of Dir W. Eden, who was an heirof the Calvert Family. That same medal is thenow in the collection of the MarylandHistorical Society. I currently am of the strongopinion and reasonable conclusion that theunique Betts 36 was in fact a discarded patternoriginally designed for use with the Indians inthe Maryland settlement; but thus far amlacking evidence to prove the conjecture.

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An example of Betts-35 was offered asLot # 688 in the January 2006 Stacks Sale ofthe John J. Ford collection, where it realized$69,000.00.xxiii While it is a seemingly heftysum for a historic medal, with this medal nowclearly established as the first Indian PeaceMedal, it becomes a virtually priceless piece ofcolonial American History, a relic of the veryearliest interactions between the Europeans andthe Native Americans in the New World.

An example of Betts-35 is also includedin the collection of the Maryland HistoricalSociety,xxiv along with the other two BettsMaryland medals, all acquired at differenttimes. These medals were all authenticated atthe time of the 2008 Baltimore ANA showwhen I visited the Maryland Historical Societyalong with colonial medal experts, researchers,and authors Dr. George Fuld, Dr. DavidMenchell, and Barry Tayman. The threemedals were subsequently pictured in the MCAAdvisory, and in the April 2009 MCAAdvisory, Dr. George Fuld revealed hisdiscovery of the original receipt for theSociety’s Betts-35 Maryland map medal. Ihave yet not done a census of the examplesextant of the Maryland map Indian Peacemedal, but know of only these two medals. Ifany MCA members are aware of otherexamples, please let me know, as my researchon the medals continues.

The historic legacy of Indian Peacemedals is mixed with blood and treachery. Thefirst Indian Peace medal was presented as asymbol of peace and safe passage only adecade after the establishment of the firstsettlement in Maryland, when there were only afew hundred European inhabitants in the entiregeographical area of modern day Maryland;today populated by almost six-million people.Thirty years later, that same first Indian Peacemedal became a critical element in a series oftragic historic events, eventually leading to thecatastrophic extermination of an entire NativeAmerican people, the Susquehannocks, alongwith their history and culture.

The Indian Peace medals which wouldbe presented to the Native North Americansover the centuries that followed would sharethe heritage and tradition of the very first one; aduplicitous talisman, both Peace medal andWar medal, a symbol of friendship andalliance, and in the end, deceit and betrayal.

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More on the Maryland Medal

In our April issue George Fuldpublished a delightful piece on the MarylandMedal (Betts 35) owned by the Maryland

Historical Society. We neglected to includesome supporting documents and a photo thatnow follows. Those should be read inconjunction with the article by Tony Lopez thatcomes next. The reverse of George’s medalwith Tony’s map.

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Letters to the Editor

John,Here is a picture of the entire Bleau

map of Virginia, in case you think it is worthincluding.

I think the use of trees on the landscapeon both map and medal is an indication that this

map may have been used as a source fordesigning the medal.

Also John Smith made an earlier mapwhere there is an image of a susquehannockwarrior. I will send along an image of that aswell.

Best,

Tony Lopez

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Hi John,I’m hoping that someone in the MCA

readership can help me date this medal that justcame to us this week. I’m guessing it’s for the350th anniversary or so, but that’s as far as I’vegotten.

Cipher signature on obverse appears tobe BK or EK…(I’m sending my snapsseparately so you can blow them up to see.)The mayflowers in borders might refer toMayflower Society as publisher, but they may

simply refer to the Pilgrim’s ship. Thanks!

Anne Bentley

Pilgrims Praise God at First Thanksgivingmedal, undated

ObTHE PILGRIMS PRAISE GOD AT FIRSTTHANKSGIVING within raised bordersaround center vignette of Pilgrims and Native

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American Indians around table. Signed [BK]?

under table behind woman standing at far right.

RxNOVEMBER -1621- / "THEY BEGAN NOWTO GA-/ THER IN THE SMALL HARVEST /THEY HAD, AND TO COME IN STORE /OF WATERFOWL AND VENISON…/THUSE THEY FOUND THE LORD TO / BEWITH THEM IN ALL THEIR / WAYS, FORWHICH HIS HOLY / NAME HAVE PRAISEFOREVER." / -GOV. BRADFORD-

Engraver “BK” or “EK”

Medium EdgeSterling silver Incused

“STERLING” top edge and numbered “0507”on bottom edgeSize diameter Weight Pub date32 mm 21.1 grams [1970s? to check]

John,We have just published the proceedings

of our symposium on The Rebirth of Antiquity,which includes several articles on the earlycenturies of numismatic research. I attach aWord file and a PDF of the contents.Though only a couple of the articles dealspecifically with medals, it may be of interestto the readers of the MCA Advisory.

Copies can be purchased for $20 (plus$2.50 for postage) from the Friends ofPrinceton University Library, One WashingtonRoad, Princeton, NJ 08544.Inquiries can made to Linda Oliveira atloliveir@princeton.edu or at (609) 258-3155.

Best wishes

Alan

Alan M. StahlCurator of NumismaticsFirestone Library, RBSCOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544(609) 258-9127astahl@princeton.edu

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i Archives of Maryland, Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1636-1647. Volume 3, Page 103, Page 106.

ii Ibid. Volume 3, Page 148.

iii Ibid. This passage and others in the article are written in their original form as recorded in the Archives of Maryland.Standard forms of spelling were not established until the 19th century beginning with the 1828 publication of NoahWebster’s American Dictionary of the English Language. In the seventeenth century spelling was not conventional andphonetic spelling was commonly used as seen in these records.

iv Ibid.

v Ibid. Volume 3, Page 149

vi Ibid. Volume 3, Page 150.

vii Ibid. [Passport to Indians]. Volume 3, Page 150.

viii Ibid. [Suspension of Lewger]. Volume 3, Page 151.

ix Ibid. Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1648-1655. Volume 3, Page 277.

x Ibid. Volume 3, Page 278.

xi Ibid. Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1671-1681. Volume 15, Preface Page vii.

xii The Archives of Maryland are unclear and contradictory as to the exact date; it may have occurred as early as the springof 1675.

xiii Ibid.

xiv Ibid.

xv Ibid . Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, April 1666-June 1676. Volume 2, Page 475-476 et.al.

xvi Ibid. Volume 2, Page 500-501

xvii Ibid. Page ix.

xviii Ibid. Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1675-1676. Volume 15, Page 90.

xix Ibid. Volume 15, Page 91. The passage has been amended for clarification, and is not written in its exact form.

xx C. Wyllys Betts, American Colonial History Illustrated by Contemporary Medals (Quarterman Publications, Boston,1972. Originally published 1894) Page 20-21.

xxi Ibid.

xxii The detail on the map most closely matches that shown on a 1630 William Blaeu map of the Chesapeake Bay area ofVirginia and Maryland, entitled NOVA VIRGINIÆ TABVLA. On Bleau’s map, north also faces to the right.

xxiii Michel Hodder, John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIII - Betts Medals -Part 1 (Stacks Auction, January 16, 2006) Inthe Description of the Betts 35 Maryland map medal, it inaccurately dates the medal to the 1650’s, and also incorrectlystates that the shield on the medal is placed at the location of Baltimore.

xxiv The Maryland Historical Society’s example measures 32.8 mm X 36.2 mm, and weighs 13.19 Grams.