I previously posted about one of the medals issued to commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that was celebrated in 1930. You can read it here:
1930 Massachusetts Bay Colony 300th Anniversary.
This submission takes a look at a medal on the opposite end of the spectrum from the previous 4" medal featuring John Endecott, the first Governor of the MB Colony.
The medal discussed here was sponsored by the Tercentenary Conference of City and Town Committees. The group was one of the two primary private groups that was actively organize commemorative events across Massachusetts; the other group was the Massachusetts Bay Tercentenary, Inc. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts established the Massachusetts Bay Tercentenary Commission.
The small medal is 28 mm in diameter (~1.1 inches). At its center, the obverse depicts a scene featuring the original Pilgrims (right) being greeted by the local Native Americans. Semi-encircling the central scene, at the rim, is "MASSACHUSETTS BAY TERCENTENARY" and below the scene is found the descriptive inscription "PURITAN GOVERNOR WINTHROP, INDIAN CHIEF CHICKATABOT EXCHANGE TOKEN OF GOOD WILL". The anniversary dates - "1630-1930 " - are seen near the bottom rim. Above the scene, just within the inner ring, is seen "1930 T.C.O. C.&T.C. INC." - an abbreviation that identifies the medal's sponsor, the Tercentenary Conference of City and Town Committees, Inc.
The medal's reverse design is essentially a copy of the "1652" Massachusetts Pine Tree Shilling; several towns across the state issued medals that featured the famous colonial coin in addition to the medal shown here. "ROBBINS CO. ATTLEBORO MASS" is found near the rim at the six o'clock position.
The medal was struck in white metal, with a silvered wash, by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, MA; Robbins was/is a leading jewelery manufacturer (pins, rings, awards, etc.). The company was founded in 1892 and, in addition to its many jewelery items, produced medals of outstanding artistic and technical quality - especially in the 1920s through 1950s. Renowned artist/sculptor Julio Kilenyi designed/sculpted a large number of medals struck by Robbins; the designer/modeler of this medal, however, is unidentified. It is estimated that 10,000 of the medals were struck.
The Tercentenary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was the subject of a commemorative half dollar proposal introduced in Congress in 1929. The bill called for 500,000 50-cent pieces "in commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and constitutional government authority." The bill was passed by the House, but failed to achieve Senate approval. Though the coin proposal failed, more than 60 different commemorative medals were privately-struck for the event.
1930 Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Medal - Tercentenary Conference of City and Town Committees
For more of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out:
Commems Collection.
Posted 02/14/2022 11:32 am
