Presented here is my example of the 1958
American Numismatic Society Centennial medal. It is one of the Society's most popular medals, and, IMO, is one of
Laura Gardin Fraser's finest medallic works.
The
American Numismatic Society (ANS) was founded in 1858 when a teenaged Augustus B. Sage (collector, part-time dealer, teacher and future notable sponsor of medals and tokens) invited interested collectors to his family's home in New York City to discuss the formation of an organization dedicated to the study and collecting of all areas of numismatics. Though it was originally called the "American Numismatic and Archaeological Society," it would later shorten its name to simply the "American Numismatic Society."
From its humble beginnings, the ANS has grown into being one of the premier numismatic organizations in the world with one of the largest collections of coins, medals, tokens, currency and various other forms of financial paper and exonumia - not to mention a world-leading library! Its collection includes over 800,000 items! It is also renowned for its numismatic research and scholarly publications. It is definitely an organization that numismatists should aspire to join! (Be forewarned, it is more "academic" than the American Numismatic Association (
ANA).)
As its 1958 Centennial approached, the ANS commissioned
Laura Gardin Fraser to create a medal to commemorate the event; the leaflet that originally came with the medal (shown below) includes the story of the medal in Laura's own words - no need for me to describe its designs. Fraser received $1,500 for her work on the medal.
The bronze medal was struck for the ANS by the Medallic Art Company (MACO) of New York; MACO struck a number of medals for the ANS over the years. The Centennial medal is 89 millimeters (3.5 inches) in diameter, and weighs 385 grams (13.58 ounces) -- it's big and heavy!
The medal was available directly from the ANS via subscription for $3.50 each; subscriptions closed on April 30, 1958 and medals were struck to order. A total of 620 medals were struck; none are edge-numbered or otherwise serially-numbered.
1958 A N S Centennial Medal
1958 A N S Centennial Medal - Leaflet
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 05/08/2022 10:30 am
