by Michael E. Marotta
© Copyright 1999 by Michael E. Marotta
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by Michael E. Marotta
© Copyright 1999 by Michael E. Marotta
Numimatics is commonly called "coin collecting." It is more formally defined as the science and art that studies the forms and uses of money. In addition to coins, tokens, banknotes, another currencies, numismatists also study medals.
Medals and coins have a lot in common. The first coins were invented about 650 BC in Lydia. They probably began as military medals, being bonus payments to mercenaries for a successful campaign. Coins quickly became a medium of exchange, a form of indirect barter, to make trade easier. However something of their medallic nature was called up when cities and emperors issued commemorative coins. However, this was not medallic art as we know it.
Medals in the modern sense were invented by Antonio Vittore Pisano, a Renaissance artist. He chose to model a lifelike and complimentary portrait in metal rather than on canvas. Die- cutting had been a fine art of high style to the Greeks and Romans. During the Middle Ages, the fine art of cutting dies for striking coins had lapsed.
Pisano started from scratch, reinventing the art. First, he made a model in clay. The model was the master for a mold. Pisano then worked the casting from the mold with tools to complete the image. His first medal was in honor of John VIII Paleologus, the emperor of Constantinople who had come to Italy to implore the western Church for help against the Turks. The year was 1438. The place was Verona.
The idea of medals caught on quickly. Political leaders paid great artists to commemorate their deeds.
Glorifying an individual was one of the exciting new traditions of the Renaissance. The Renaissance itself was launched a hundred years earlier, by Petrarch and Dante. They visited monastaries, copying old Latin manuscripts in a quest to rediscover the glories of the past. As a result of their work, the world of Rome and Greece was the foundation for wholly new traditions in painting, music, clothing, and language. New lands were discovered and new foods came into vogue. Ideas about beauty changed. People slimmed down by giving up beer and wine for new drinks like coffee, tea, and cocoa. But you could still get fat on new foods like spaghetti in tomato sauce.
The Renaissance was the rebirth of the individual. No longer satisfied with anonymity and humility, people sought to make their names known. Medals were an important medium in self- aggrandizement. Pisano (usually called "Pisanello") created two medals for Alfonso of Naples, who liked to be called "Alfonso the Magnanimous." On the front is Alfonso. On the reverse is an Eagle amid a group of lesser birds.
Medallic art quickly spread throughout Europe. Popes, kings and nobles in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and England commissioned commemoratives in their own honor. Special medals were struck and distributed for state occasions. Medals were awarded to generals for their victories and to the soldiers whose bravery made the success possible. Medals had come full circle.
In our time, designers of America's finest coins also worked on medals. Anthony di Francisci, who designed the Peace Dollar, also created the famous "Ruptured Duck" service medal given out by the millions to anyone who served in World War I or World War II. James E. Fraser (the husband of medalist Laura Gardin who designed the Grant Memorial commemoratives), Adolph A. Weinman, and Hermon MacNeil also created medals for the US War Department, and Congress.
Medals are close cousins to coins. They share the same medium and tools. They are usually about the same shape. Unlike coins, medals are not meant to be passed from hand to hand on a daily basis. And medals are usually created in small numbers, sometimes being unique. Unlike coins, which typically come from governments, medals can be issued by anyone. The American Numismatic Association awards medals at its annual convention to honor those who have served the hobby.
Also, unlike coins, medals have an intangible value. The artwork is worth more than the material. Of greatest value are the deeds that the medals commemorate.