Heritage World Coin Auctions
NYINC Signature Sale 3037 Sess. 2-4 5 January 2015
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Guatemala
Ferdinand VII gold Prize Medal ND AU, Madrid (?) mint, cf. Medina page 235. About Uncirculated and lustrous with faint handling marks, and a small spot at 12 o'clock were the original ring for suspension was removed. Jose Toribio Medina plated a similar medal - "...owned by a collector in Guatemala" - in his classical 1919 reference "Medallas de Proclamaciones y Juras de los Reyes de Espana en America". Clearly influenced by its provenance, he hinted at a Guatemalan origin for the piece and placed it ca. 1808-1810 by quoting contemporary documents dated October 8, 1808, September 9, 1809 and December 10, 1810 that refer to a gold medal with the bust of the king (Ferdinand VII). However, this attribution cannot hold ground since the punches with the proper Ferdinand VII bust only reached Guatemala in 1811. Moreover, the engraving skill of the present piece which shows a truly exquisite rendition of the king's draped bust points instead to a Madrid origin, for a prize medal given to loyal women during the tumultuous period in America that followed the Napoleonic occupation of Spain. The aforementioned example plated in Medina and the present piece represent two different examples since the latter is identifiable by the small flan flaw at 3 o'clock on the obverse. Both are set in a primary outer bezel formed by a wreath. Since said wreath is a perfect match between both examples, it is safe to assume that it was contemporary and an integral part of the medal itself. Whether the outer bezel of the present example is also contemporary is a subject to debate. Nevertheless, the visual effect of the piece is striking: it is indisputably an object of great artistic beauty, obviously historical and a reminder of the tumultuous times faced by Spain during the Napoleonic wars. It was intended to be worn and displayed with great pride, as indicated by the solder spot at 12 o'clock where the original ring is no longer present. One of the most charming medals of the period recalled by the cataloger, truly a jewel in all the meanings of the word. The damaged and seriously impaired ex-Rudman example (since the present specimen confirms, as noted previously, that the wreath bezel was obviously removed from it) hammered at $2,200 (Heritage Auctions 1/2014, lot 24427). We expect a considerably higher price for this obviously original and unflawed example. Extremely rare with 3 confirmed specimens.
Estimate: 10000-12000 USD
Ferdinand VII gold Prize Medal ND AU, Madrid (?) mint, cf. Medina page 235. About Uncirculated and lustrous with faint handling marks, and a small spot at 12 o'clock were the original ring for suspension was removed. Jose Toribio Medina plated a similar medal - "...owned by a collector in Guatemala" - in his classical 1919 reference "Medallas de Proclamaciones y Juras de los Reyes de Espana en America". Clearly influenced by its provenance, he hinted at a Guatemalan origin for the piece and placed it ca. 1808-1810 by quoting contemporary documents dated October 8, 1808, September 9, 1809 and December 10, 1810 that refer to a gold medal with the bust of the king (Ferdinand VII). However, this attribution cannot hold ground since the punches with the proper Ferdinand VII bust only reached Guatemala in 1811. Moreover, the engraving skill of the present piece which shows a truly exquisite rendition of the king's draped bust points instead to a Madrid origin, for a prize medal given to loyal women during the tumultuous period in America that followed the Napoleonic occupation of Spain. The aforementioned example plated in Medina and the present piece represent two different examples since the latter is identifiable by the small flan flaw at 3 o'clock on the obverse. Both are set in a primary outer bezel formed by a wreath. Since said wreath is a perfect match between both examples, it is safe to assume that it was contemporary and an integral part of the medal itself. Whether the outer bezel of the present example is also contemporary is a subject to debate. Nevertheless, the visual effect of the piece is striking: it is indisputably an object of great artistic beauty, obviously historical and a reminder of the tumultuous times faced by Spain during the Napoleonic wars. It was intended to be worn and displayed with great pride, as indicated by the solder spot at 12 o'clock where the original ring is no longer present. One of the most charming medals of the period recalled by the cataloger, truly a jewel in all the meanings of the word. The damaged and seriously impaired ex-Rudman example (since the present specimen confirms, as noted previously, that the wreath bezel was obviously removed from it) hammered at $2,200 (Heritage Auctions 1/2014, lot 24427). We expect a considerably higher price for this obviously original and unflawed example. Extremely rare with 3 confirmed specimens.
Estimate: 10000-12000 USD