Watch List notes:

France: Narcisse Leven 50th Anniversary of Alliance Israelite Universelle, 1910; struck in bronze; by Jewish medalist Emmanuel Hannaux; weight: 94.25g; size: 59mm. Obverse depicts detailed left facing bust of Leven with French legend around edge "Narcisse Leven Pt. [President] De L'Alliance Israelite Universelle"; on reverse an allegorical image of female artist set against a castle and a canvas with Tablets of the 10 Commandments, two hands shaking and the Hebrew word "[the] Other", with the Alliance's name and dates of the jubilee (1960-1910) around the edge. In AU with nice toning; some surface residue from holder; two light manufacturing impressions on the top rim on obverse; JMM-60. Narcisse Levin (1833-1915) together with Adolphe Cremieux and 15 other young French Jews established the Alliance in 1860 to protect both Jewish and non-Jewish minority rights, on the basis of Judaic principles and the ideals of the French revolution (1789). The AIU promotes the ideals of Jewish self-sufficieny and defense through education and profressional development, and its motto is the Rabbinic injunction "All of Israel is responsible for each other". The AIU embarked on a "civilizing mission" to advance the progress of Jews in the Middle East on the basis of French education and culture, and - from a numismatic angle - in this framework, in 1879 produced the AIU tokens of the Mikveh Israel Jewish agricultural school in Palestine. Leven was the AIU's general secretary from 1863 to 1883, its vice president from 1883 to 1898, and its president from 1898.