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Germany: "Rosh HaShana" (Jewish New Years) 'Tashlich' medal, 1816-1817; white metal(?); by Aaron Kohn; size: 21.5mm, weight: 3.05g.
Obverse bears name of the Jewish New Year's prayer (in Hebrew) at top - "Tashlich" - and the prayer (in Hebrew text) continues on the reverse, with Hebrew date at top (5577) and Kohn's name in Latin letters below the prayer.
As the date refers to the Jewish year beginning [September] 1816, the token was probably issued in that year and not in 1817 as is sometimes mentioned in the literature. With reeded edge and beeded rim; medallic strike.
Aaron Kohn was among the first of the German Jewish medalists whose work was entirely of Jewish themes with text engravings in Hebrew; JMM-61. In AU-UNC, and still exhibits some luster.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of leafed rim
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Item Code: 0130938 Price: €350
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Germany, "Rosh HaShana" 'Tashlich' medal with Wayfarer's Prayer, 1817; by Aaron Kohn; silver, 33mm, 13.9g: with Blessing for Traveler ("Tfilat HaDerech") - to protect him on his journey - on obverse, with Kohn's signature beneath, and Jewish New Year's "Tashlich" prayer on reverse; with leaf styled engraving around medal's edge.
Aaron Kohn was among the first of the German Jewish medalists whose work was entirely of Jewish themes with text engravings in Hebrew; JMM-61. In AU-UNC, with a small, light surface scratch on rev.; still exhibits some luster.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of leafed rim
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Item Code: 0130005 Price: SOLD
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Germany: Jewish circumcision ("Brit Mila") medal, 1837-38; silver; by Aaron Kohn; size: 41mm; weight: 23.4g.
Obverse bears 7-line except of Hebrew prayer during the circumcision, with Kohn's name in Hebrew in exergue: "Our Lord and Lord of our forefathers / sustain this child [the childs name would normally be uttered here] / for his father and mother [rosette devices on either side]" and "Happy will be / the father by the progeny of his loins / and rejoyced will be the mother by the fruit of her belly. As is written".
On reverse: 4-lines in Hebrew surrounded by legend in Hebrew, all excerpted from the ceremony prayers: "[text in center] Happy will be / your father and your mother / and rejoyceful your birth [and so be it said] / [text around edge] Just as you entered into a convenant [eg. with the Lord] so shall you partake of the Torah and the Khupa [Jewish wedding ceremonial canopy] and of good deeds"; the Hebrew date "5698" [1837-38] is written in the exergue. 90 degree rotated alignment; catalogue/inventory(?) numbers etched on rim; some signs of cleaning/polishing.
Aaron Kohn was one of the most prominent of Germany's Jewish medalists in the early 19th century (though not considered particularly significant): the uniqueness of his work lies in his exclusive focus on Jewish themes, using Hebrew text, though judging by the odd spacing of his letters and somewhat odd font it is entirely possible that he did not speak the language.
In VF+ with a couple of rim crimps which appear to be from the minter's manufacture; JMM-61.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal, detail of etched numbers on rim
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Item Code: 0130939 Price: €800
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Austria-Hungary (Ukraine), Galicia, Brody (or Vienna); 50th Wedding Anniversary medal of Fischel Landau and Clara neé Kallir, 1899; struck in bronze; by C[arl] M[aria] Schwerdtner (Vienna); weight: 155.05g; size: 69.5mm; thickness: 5mm.
Obverse depicts double portrait of Fischel and his wife, with legend punctuated by Star of David "Fischel Landau * Clara geb. Kallir", and the dates of commemoration (1849-1899) on ornamental ribbon device below.
On reverse 6-line quotation in Hebrew from "Mishlei" (one of the Books of Wisdom of the Bible) separated by stalks of wheat "In a crown of glory which comes by the way will you find rightousness: grandchildren are a crown to grandparents and fathers are a glory to their children", and legend in German around the edge "As a token for your golden anniversary".
One interpretation of this quotation is that the "children of children" [grandchildren] surround the grandparents like a crown and are a sign of honor for them because it is a great undertaking to not only raise children of one's own, but to raise them in such a way that they succeed in raising and educating worthy children of their own.
Indeed, in this instance the quotation was prophetic: Fischel (died 1920) and Clara (1829-1909) are the grandparents of Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (1881-1973), an Austrian economist and philosopher who had a significant influence on the libertarian economic movement and the Austrian school of economic thought.
The Landau and Kallir families became affluent and influential from their commerical activities in the free trade city of Brody, eventually became ennobled, and in the 1873 elections to the Austro-Hungarian parliament, two of the three Jewish members of parliament from Galicia were from the Landau family.
In AU-UNC, with some surface residue from the medal's holder. The reverse is very similar in style to Samuel Friedrich Beer's commemorative medal for the 2nd Zionist Congress (1898 - see item 0130253), though Forrer praises him particularly for his sculptoral skills (p.439).
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130609 Price: SOLD
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Germany, Berlin; Lina Jaffé and Jacob Alexander marriage token, 1882; struck in gilded bronze; no marker marks; weight: 11.65g; size: 28.25mm.
Obverse bears two city coats of arms (probably representing the hometowns of the bride and groom) - Posen (Posnan) and Hamburg, with Hebrew legend in wreath above, "Mazal Tov" ("Good Luck"), and an abbreviated dedication below, "Gewidmet | v.E. & R.M.".
on reverse an 11-line legend in German announcing the wedding, surrounded by wreath.
No biographies appear for either Jaffe or Alexander, and Lina Jaffe is not / directly related to Pauline Jaffé (1819-1854) who established the Paulinenstift Jewish Girls' orphanage in Hamburg. In UNC with luster; a small dirt mark on obverse rim; Grunwald p.138, Gaedeschens 2229. Oddly, this token is catalogued as a Hamburg piece although it commemorates an event in Berlin.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130611 Price: SOLD
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Germany, Bavaria, Fürth(?); 50th Wedding Jubilee of Dr. Samuel Berlin Hofrath medal, 1891; struck in silver (.990); no maker marks; weight: 22.6g; size: 40.5mm.
Obverse depicts two coats of arms (on left, of Ansbach; on right, of Fürth) with crown above, and legend around rim on matte, coarse surface "Hofrath * Dr: Samuel* und * Zerline * Berlin".
On reverse ornate flowery wreath with pair of hands shaking and legend "Zur Erinnerung an die Goldene Hochzeit 23. Nov. 1841 1891".
The names and association with the mentioned cities suggest that this medal relates to Dr. Derlin (1807-1896), German jurist who was born in Bamberg and died in Furth; was the "Landesrabbiner" (county Rabbi) of Cassel, received his degree in law at the University of Munich and became the first Jewish lawyer in that kingdom.
He later served as the president of the "Gemeindecollegium" (Community College) in Ansbach from 1860 to 1869. Berlin's biography in the Jewish Encyclopedia mentions that he changed/added to his name the name "Hofrath" but does not elaborate why. Hofrath is a Hungarian surname and Berlin may have adopted it as a sign of sympathy with the ethnic minorities who rose up (and were surpressed) in the 1848 revolution. In AU, with near mirror-like surfaces; a few light scratches on the rim; marked "0,990" with silversmith mark on rim.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130613 Price: SOLD
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Germany, Merzig (Saarland), Clara Weiskopf and Moses Schnerb wedding token, 1896; cast(?) in copper; no maker mark; weight: 16.85; size: 33mm.
Obverse depicts Jewish "Khuppa" (wedding canopy) with partially abbreviated 5-line Hebrew legend inside "Day 2 2[sic] of the new month ["Rosh Khodesh"] | [text unclear - "from generation to generation"?] | in the year | of happiness | ["le prat katan" - an abbrevation used in place of using a full Hebrew year]", and transliterated German/Yiddish in Hebrew letters on left and right sides of edge: "Clara Daughter of the Honorable Rabbi, his Honor Shay | Moshe Son of the Honorable Rabbi, his Honor Chaim Gershon, Blessed be the Memory of this Rightous Person".
on reverse 12-line legend in German announcing the wedding of Clara and Moses (of Frankfurt) in the city of Merzig on 10 August 1896.
Of note, the Schnerb family was a prominent Jewish family from Merzig, Moses's father Gershon was a well known Cantor, and Moses himself eventually conducted the Frankfurt Synagogue choir until his death in 1937. In VF: some pockmarks on rim and surfaces - unclear if from a cast manufacture.
More pictures: obverse of token, reverse of token
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Item Code: 0130610 Price: €235
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Netherlands, Laeken/Rotterdam; Henry Levyssohn and Elizabeth Lavino marriage 50th jubilee medal, 1842; struck in bronze; by Jewish engraver Jacques Wiener (Belgium); weight: 29.65g; size: 38.75mm; thickness: 4mm.
On obverse 6-lined legend in center (with a tiny dot in between) "Aan | Hun Tal Ryk | Bemind | en | Teeder Lievend | Kroost" ["They are rich with many loved and tenderly loving offspring"], with legend around edge "Ter Herinnering Aan Hunne Gouden Bruiloft | Gevierd Te Laeken I January MDCCCXLII" ["In memory of their golden wedding | Celebrated in Laeken January 1842"].
On reverse 4-lined legend in center "Aan God Is | Onze Dankbaarheid, | Deez' Penning | Ons Geslacht Gewyd!" ["Our gratitude to G-d is on this medal"] with Henry and Elizabeth's names the date of the wedding in Rotterdam, 1 January 1792.
Lavino's original surname may have been Levy, and changed later to the Sephardic-sounding name Lavino. Friedenberg considers Jacques Wiener and his brothers to have been "the foremost Jewish medallists of the 19th Century" (JMM-52); of interest here is that this piece is one of Jacques' first works, as he began engraving medals at the end of 1840; Forrer vol. 6 pg. 489 and Polak-28. In AU-UNC with traces of luster; the lettering on reverse is doubled.
More pictures: obverse of medal, reverse of medal
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Item Code: 0130595 Price: SOLD
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Russia: Moses/"Shmah Yisrael" prayer Jewish tallion, circa. late 19th Century; silver; possibly Aleksandr Sergeev Yegorov of Moscow; size: 18.25mm x 27mm; weight: 2.95g.
Oval tallion depicting Moses with rays above his head, holding tablet of the Ten Commandments. On reverse, on 6 lines, in Hebrew, separated by rosette devices, the most important prayer in the Jewish religion, "To the Loyal King: Hear O Israel, the Lord is our G-d, the Lord is One. Blessed is the Name of His Glorious Kingdom for all Eternity".
Tallions of this kind were popular in the late 19th Century in Czarist Russia and may have been given as gifts to Bar or Bat Mitzvah boys and girls. The designs seen on other tallions are almost identical to this one (including the odd diagonal line passing across Moses), though the text of the prayer can vary (omitting the first and third utterances).
However, with regard to the text used, some contain serious incompletions or spelling mistakes (of G-d's name) - perhaps by non-Jewish minters or engravers: here, the prayer is written correctly for a single person (of Ashkenazi tradition) and so opens with "To the Loyal King:" ("El Melech Neeman") - whose first letters in Hebrew are "AMEN" (when praying individually, one does not say "Amen" at the end of the prayer, so this opening substitutes for it); these three words also complete the letter count of the "Shmah Yisrael" prayer: it should have 248 letters to symbolize the 248 organs in a person's body. Here the name "G-d" is correctly written in Hebrew as the 4-lettered word "Yehova" rather than with a double "Yud" letter as is seen on other incorrectly designed tallions.
As the silversmith's marks are stamped on the loop (obverse side), they are hard to discern but appear to be "AE" with the standard Russian silver content "84" (partially clipped) of that time (84/96th pure silver). Yegorov, also spelled (incorrectly) "Egorov" may have been a Jewish silversmith as his name appears on other religious articles of Jewish interest. In F-VF.
More pictures: obverse of tallion, reverse of tallion, detail of maker's mark
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Item Code: 0130919 Price: €175
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