A Continuing Thread ~ Post Your Tokens, Medals, Exonumia Acquisitions

Remington Revisited! 5 New Ones!

I bought a duplicate of the "Coming Through the Rye" medal today.
Here I posted about it on an earlier thread.
http://goccf.com/t/301479&whichpage=19#2635565

This is
My second one of these medals

Shannon J. Hatfield wrote:

This 1902 bronze was described by the artist as "four cowboys on running horses.men shooting pistols and shouting." In selecting the subject of his eighth bronze, Remington revisited an image he had twice earlier depicted in an illustration published in Century Magazine and several others around that time. The illustration vividly depicted recklessly spirited cowhands coming into town for a weekend of revel rousing and fun.
This was a fine example of a three dimensional study of western sculpture. Remington's technical virtuoso was truly demonstrated in this piece more than any to date, with only six of the sixteen hooves touching the ground.
This sculpture has remained one of the most popular and sought after pieces to date, both in the eyes of the public and private collectors alike.




Shannon J. Hatfield wrote:

"The Norther" is the fifth in Remington's bronzes it can be thought of as a cowboy on horse back in a frigid snow storm. There are very fierce winds blowing from the backside of the cowboy. The half frozen figure is not shown as a man that has overcome the fierceness of nature, but one rendered vulnerable by the drastic elements.

The Norther was in Remington's mind potentially unpopular to the public. He thought that not very many would want a sculpture of a lone soldier on his horse caught dead in the in their tracks in a chilly, snow wind. It was probably this that urged Remington to only have three original castings produced.


"The Cheyenne"

Shannon J. Hatfield wrote:

In 1901 Remington suffered a serious fall from his horse. This fall landed him on crutches, his leg in a splint and foot elevated for several weeks. In spite of the bad situation the artist had been presented with, he continued to diligently pursue his current project, The Cheyenne.
The Cheyenne was an accomplishment of complete fluidity and grace that far surpassed any of Remington's prior attempts to portray a horse in natural light. The Cheyenne was inspired after a photo that a high speed photographer captured. The photo was that of a sequence of galloping horses. This left no doubt in Remington's mind that the horses were indeed airborne in the sequence of each stride. Remington sought to accurately portray as much as possible the natural fluidity of which he knew well as an observer and rider.
This bronze was the first of Remington's works to be entirely cast in one piece. He designed it so that the sculpture would be suspended in mid air, completely supported by the trailing buffalo hide robe.



"Bronco Buster"

The rugged Western frontier character portrayed in Remington's 1895 sculpture, won the hearts of the American people for both the subject matter and its dynamic composition.
The Broncho Buster was the first, and most popular of Frederic Remington's sculpture designs and remains so to date.

The Broncho Buster is also one of the most widely recognized of Remington's sculpture portrayals; this is partly due to the publicity surrounding President Theodore Roosevelt and the "Rough Riders" to whom Remington presented it as a gift. This casting now resides in the White House oval office as a center piece and permanent element of the collection.



"The Outlaw"

Shannon J. Hatfield wrote:

The Outlaw is one of Remington's later pieces. This 1906 piece, The Outlaw was known as the real companion to The Broncho Buster. It is the teeter to The Broncho Buster's totter, what comes up in one comes down in the other. Giant jolts of endless energy were what this cowboy was feeling as the horse would rear up putting full force on all fronts.

The Outlaw's rider seems to bestow a great amount of fluidity and control. However, this cowboy is not going to win any points by resting his hand on the side of his horse. Yet, on a safer side he stands a chance of not getting his coccyx dislocated. This cowboy was a first class bronco-buster or flash rider. These riders would receive high wages, wages that were well deserved, because this was one of the most dangerous jobs there were and no man could ever hope to grow old.

The idea for this casting was taken from that of an old sketch that Remington had done years before called the "Sun Fisher." In this sketch the rigorous life of a flash rider was shown. This cowboy was trying to beat the odds to stay on the bronc.


This grab bag of 5 is added to my "The Mountain Man" which is shown here.
http://goccf.com/t/301479&whichpage=19#2634395
This makes 6 different and one duplicate medal from this set. I think there were 10 in the set, and I could have picked up 3 more different ones today but I passed up on a few others. These were the nicest of the bunch and I didn't have to be a hog about it.

I made a post about this medal, but I think it can fit in to this existing one.
I picked this up yesterday at a show.

Absolutely.

BigSilver
Re - Edward VIII 'Prince of Wales' Investiture Medal

NICE one - with only 3,498 struck, and silver content 20.79 grams. Royal Mint Official Issue July 1911

Never come across one. Congrats on the purchase.

Both are very nice.

Molly Pitcher Sterling Silver Medal
1968 Societe Commem de Femmes Celebres - Franklin Mint



Molly Pitcher was a nickname given to a woman said to have fought in the American Battle of Monmouth, who is generally believed to have been Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley. Since various Molly Pitcher tales grew in the telling, many historians regard Molly Pitcher as folklore rather than history, or suggest that Molly Pitcher may be a composite image inspired by the actions of a number of real women. The name itself may have originated as a nickname given to women who carried water to men on the battlefield during War.

At the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, Mary Hays attended to the Revolutionary soldiers by giving them water.
Just before the battle started, she found a spring to serve as her water supply. Two places on the battlefield are currently marked as the "Molly Pitcher Spring."
Mary Hays spent much of the early day carrying water to soldiers and artillerymen, often under heavy fire from British troops.

The weather was hot, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Sometime during the battle, William Hays collapsed, either wounded or suffering from heat exhaustion. It has often been reported that Hays was killed in the battle, but it is known that he survived.
As her husband was carried off the battlefield, Mary Hays took his place at the cannon. For the rest of the day, in the heat of battle, Mary continued to "swab and load" the cannon using her husband's ramrod.
At one point, a British musket ball or cannonball flew between her legs and tore off the bottom of her skirt.
Mary supposedly said something to the effect of ...
"Well, that could have been worse"
and went back to loading the cannon.

Battle of the Little Bighorn
June 25 1876
"Custer's Last Stand"


Initially, General George Armstrong Custer had 208 officers and men under his command, with an additional 142 under Reno, just over 100 under Benteen, 50 soldiers with Captain McDougall's rearguard, and 84 soldiers under 1st Lieutenant Edward Gustave Mathey with the pack train.

The Lakota-Cheyenne coalition may have fielded well over 1,800 warriors, some estimates as high as 3,500.

As the troopers were cut down, the native warriors stripped the dead of their firearms and ammunition, with the result that the return fire from the cavalry steadily decreased, while the fire from the Indians constantly increased. The surviving troopers apparently shot their remaining horses to use as breastworks for a final stand on the knoll at the north end of the ridge.
The warriors closed in for the final attack and killed every man in Custer's command. As a result, the Battle of the Little Bighorn has come to be popularly known as "Custer's Last Stand".

"Hurrah boys, we've got them! We'll finish them up and then go home to our station."
—Famous words reportedly said by General Custer shortly before being killed.



Blame for the disaster at Little Bighorn continues to this day.


While camped at Powder River, Custer refused the support of an additional four companies of the Second Cavalry. Custer stated that he "could whip any Indian village on the Plains" with his own regiment, and that extra troops would simply be a burden.

Custer left behind a battery of Gatling guns, knowing he was facing superior numbers. Before leaving the camp all the troops, including the officers, also boxed their sabers and sent them back with the wagons.

On the day of the battle, Custer divided his 600-man command, despite being faced with vastly superior numbers of Sioux and Cheyenne.

The refusal of an extra battalion reduced the size of his force by at least a sixth, and rejecting the firepower offered by the Gatling guns played into the events of June 25 to the disadvantage of his regiment.

Nice addition with wonderful commentary as usual.