MCA Advisory, March 2009

2009·1.4 MB·English

by  Medal Collectors of America

TheNewsletter ofMedal Collectors ofAmerica
Volume12Number 3 March2009
From the Editor 3
Board Members
JohnW.Adams,President
JohnSallay,VicePresident,[email protected]
MCA Launches Medal Interviews
BarryD.Tayman,Treasurer
DavidT.Alexander,[email protected] As Oral History on Its Web Site
RobertF.Fritsch,[email protected]
3
(byD.WayneJohnson)
DavidMenchell,[email protected]
ScottMiller,[email protected]
IraRezak,[email protected] National Commemorative Medals are
DonaldScarinci,[email protected]
aCategory of United States Mint
MichaelTurrini,[email protected]
BenjaminWeiss,Webmaster Medals (byDonaldScarinci) 7
JohnW.Adams,Editor Ron Dutton Receives 2009 Saltus
99HighStreet,11th floor
Award 9
(byDonaldScarinci)
Boston,MA02110
[email protected]
Eureka! The Horse’s Mouth
BarryTayman,Treasurer
3115NestlingPineCourt (byKatieJaeger) 12
EllicottCity,MD21042
[email protected]
Letters to the Editor 13
BenjaminWeiss,Webmaster
[email protected]
Website: medalcollectors.org
Calendar
EditorofCollectors’Guide, DickJohnson
([email protected]) Annual MeetingAugust7,2009Los Angeles
Dues: $20.00/Year$35.00/2years
What’s New on OurWebsite!
CHECKOUTOURWEBSITEEVERYMONTH
1
2
From the Editor AlongsidetheentryforthedeFleurymedal,
thecollectornotes: “gold—Robt L.Stuart.” As was
Charles Bushnell was apassionatecollector notedinCOMITIAAMERICANAbyAdams and
ofAmericana. Most ofus arefamiliarwiththeman
Bentley,Fleuryrequestedthat,inadditiontothe
andthe1882saleofhis monumental collectionvia silvermedal awardedbyCongress,healso wanteda
anauctioncataloguewrittenbytheChapman specimeningold. Hehaddepositedmoneywith
Brothers. Onlyreaders ofGeorgeKolbe’s January theengraver(DuVivier)tofundtherequest.
salewill befamiliarwithanotherveryspecial Theauthors ofCOMITIAconcludedthat it
Bushnell landmark.
was veryunlikelythat Franklinhadcountenanceda
Thefirst twostudies ofUnitedStates medals goldmedal. Now,alongcomes Bushnell’s notation
wereauthoredbyJames Mease,M.D.(1834)and makingit highlylikely,inouropinion,that sucha
Francis J.Fisher(1837). Bushnell clippedthese piecewas indeedmade. Thepoint is this: if
twolistings out ofthecollections ofthe someoneoffers youadeFleuryingold,don’t raise
Massachusetts Historical Society. Thenhebound
youreyebrows but reachforyourwallet.
them together,suitablyornamented,addingin
pencil hisownholdings, thenames ofengravers and
otheruseful information.
MCA Launches Medal Interviews
As Oral History on Its Web Site;
Actual Voices of Medal Authorities
Can Be Accessed by Anyone on Web
MCAMEMBERS INVITEDTOCONDUCT
OWNINTERVIEWS,GOALIS TOCOMPILE
RESEARCHDATA,PRESERVEVOICES.
BYD.WAYNEJOHNSON
B
oston(March2009)—Inwhat mayprovetobe
oneofthemost important services oftheMedal
Collectors ofAmerica,thenational collector
organizationhas officiallylaunchedinterviews of
prominent peopleinthemedal fieldandplacedthis
audioonits website. Theconcept forsuchafeatureoriginated
Aftermorethansixmonths planning– amongMCAboardmembers inthesummerof
choosingaconferencecall serviceproviderand 2008.Boardmembers BobFritschandJohnSallay
earlytesting–thefirst full-lengthinterviewhas favoredtheideaandagreedtopursueit further.
beenconductedwithAlanM. Stahl,curator,author, “Theideageneratedimmediatesupport”
andmedal organizationofficial.Hewas interviewed wroteSallayinanearlyreport.“It tookonanew
byDickJohnson onNovember21st. urgencywiththerecent passingofafewvery
prominent long-timecollectors andmedalists.”
SallaycontactedMarkSchellphorst at the
suggestionofJohnson. Mark–arecent MCA
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member--is activeinthehigh-tech fieldand MCAis billedforonlytheactual timeofthe
immediatelyknewwhat was needed.Heagreedto recording.Anaveragehourofsuchrecordedvoices
sourceaconferenceservice.Afterathoroughsearch is about $6.MCAPresident JohnAdams andother
heidentifiedAccuConferenceas theideal provider. boardmembers consideredthis afavorablecost to
document suchvital datainthemedallicfield.
Collectors, dealers, curators, artists, medal
Author-CuratorAlan M.Stahl manufacturers, medal issuers andperhaps evenU.S.
FirstToHaveBeen Interviewed. Mint personnel will beconsideredforinterviewing.
All arepotential subjects toprovideinsight anddata
Theinterviewerserves as theconference inthemedallicfieldthat might otherwisenot be
moderator.Bothheandtheperson tobeinter- savedforpresent orfutureuse.Thegoal is toobtain
viewedcall aphonenumberandlogontoMCA’s informationinwhichthepartyinterviewedhas
exclusiveaccount.Bothparties’telephoneconver- intimateknowledge.
sationis recordeddigitally.Themoderatorcontrols
whenthevoicerecordingstarts andstops.
AccuConferencehas aterm forthis process
ofoneinterviewerandonepersoninterviewed.
Theycall suchanexchange“ConferenceLite.”
Oral history conference in Boston: MCA boardmemberJohnSallay(left)discussesplanningfortheprojectedrecordingof
medalexpertswithMarkSchlepphorst(center),whowilladministertheprojectandwriterDickJohnson,an experiencedinterviewerof
authoritiesinthepast,hasagreedtoconductseveralinterviewsforMCA.
Thosepotential interviewees whoaresenior medal collection.Topical collectorinterests will be
inage,orlong-timeactiveinthefield,will bethe exploredas well as historical andtechnical content,
first tobeinterviewed,as Sallaysuggested. howmedals aremade,forexample.
However,anyMCAmembermayconduct an Thelengthofaninterviewis immaterial.It
interview,orsuggest someonetobeinterviewed. canrangefrom adozenquestions, answeredin,say,
Thegoal is torecordanddocument every twentytothirtyminutes, tointerviews lastingmore
aspect ofthemedallicfield,from artists’original thantwohours, perhaps evenmultipleinterviews of
creations tothehousing,storingandarrangingofa
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thesameauthority.Longinterviews, however,can
best beofferedinshortersegments.
This is incontrast tootherfields. For
exampleart biographerPaul Cummings once
interviewedmodernartist RoyGussow–he
preparedonemedallicobject inourmedal field–
foreight hours at onetimeinFebruary1968.This
was fortheArchives ofAmericanArt,whosetapes
arenowintheSmithsonianInstitution,availablefor
scholarlystudy.
Theadvantageoftheconferencecall
recordingprogram is that therearenotapes ortape
recorders tocontendwith.It is all digitallystored
andplacedontheorganization’s website.
MCA’s websiteis managedbyBenWeiss,
BenWeiss,MCAWebmaster
aretirededucator,whostates “this novel project
will constituteanimportant newadditiontoour Forthepresent,Markretains all thesigned
bodyofknowledgeoftheHistoryoftheMedallic releases. Eachintervieweesigns areleaseassigning
Field.Theinternet is uniquelysuitedforthis project all rights toMCA.At sometimeinthefuturethese
forit allows rapidandreadilyaccessible interviews will betranscribedandplacedinMCA
disseminationofinformation.” archives forfutureresearchers. Forthepresent,
Weiss is along-timemedal collectorwho however,anyonecanlistentotherecordingonthe
has catalogedhis collectionandhas placedover400 web.
illustrations anddataonhis ownweb site.It canbe Mark’s editingcantakeout unwanted
foundatwww.historicalartmedals.com/ sounds–acough,orthedroppingofabook–oran
MCA’s website–wheretheoral interviews extralongpause; it cannot addnewsound. Oreither
areavailable–is full ofinformationforthemedal partycanchoosetoeliminateanunwanted
collector.Basicinformationplus advanceddatafor statement.
themedal specialist andall inattractive On thepages belowcanbefoundtheactual
arrangement bywebmasterWeiss. questions askedofAlanStahl duringthis first
TheMCAoral historyprogram is interview.Also addedis theinterviewer’s notes–
administered,at least forits earlyphases, byMark whyheaskedaquestion,thetypeofquestion,or
Schlepphorst.Hecoordinates all interviews, edits whyheomittedthat preparedquestion.
thesound recordingandpasses thefinal versionto This is donewiththethought that it might
Weiss whoplaces it onMCA’s website. serveas aguideforanyonewhois preparingforan
interview. Preparingquestions inadvanceis
mandatory.Theinterviewermust havealist
preparedaheadoftime,it is difficult tothinkofa
next questionwhilelisteningtoananswerthe
intervieweeis giving.
Anyattempt toimproviseduringthecall
results inconversation,ratherthaninfact-gathering
results.
Forsomeonecompilingpotential questions,
thinkofwhat informationyouwouldliketoknow,
orwhat datatheperson possesses. Personal experi-
ences areexcellent questions, as areobservations.
Beas specificas possible.Youaregatheringfacts.
5
Don’t interject yourselftoofrequently.“I boardoftheNational SculptureSociety,
am awareyou…”is permittedatimeortwo.But predominatelycomposedoffigurativesculptors,
don’t trytoimpress theintervieweewithyour manyofwhom havepreparedmedallicart.
knowledge.Rememberyouaregatheringhis As aninstructorofbothundergraduateand
knowledge,his experiences. universitygraduatelevel,Stahl is accustomedto
Ifyouwant toimpress theinterviewee,doit speakingwithout notes. Hehas writtenextensively
withwell-researchedandwell-wordedquestions. forthirtyyears inthenumismaticfield,witheleven
Usecorrect medallicterms andpronouncethem books and79 articles tohis credit.
correctly. “It was anideal telephoneinterview,”
Ifyouwouldliketoemulateanexperienced accordingtoJohnson. “Ididnot havetoprompt
interviewer,afavoriteoftheauthor’s is James Alanat anytime,”Hecantalkat lengthonmost
LiptonontheTVprogramInsidethe Actors Studio everysubject ofmedal interest.Werecordedan
oncable’s Bravo.Stayawayfrom theCharlie hourandfiftyminutes. “It was adream tointerview
Rose’s oranyofthe“gotcha”interviewers. We him.Iwouldliketodoasecondinterviewwith
aregatheringfacts amongfriends, not providing him.”
contentious entertainment. It is hopedthesamecanbeexperiencedby
otherMCAmembers as theychoosesomemedal
Therearesomeguidelines intelephone expert theywouldliketointerview.It is as easyas
inter-viewing.Bothparties shouldbeinaquiet talkingonthetelephone.
room,telephones pickupextraneous noise.Use Rememberthis: Everyoneis anexpert on
landlines not cell phones. Don’t worryabout themselves andtheirworkortheircollecting.All
misstatements orlongpauses; thesecanbeedited youhavetodois ask them totell you.
out. Now youareinfor araretreat.TheStahl
ThechoiceofAlanM. Stahl forthefirst interview is infour segments of about 30minutes
interviewwas morethanbeneficial.Hehas been each.Thequestionsarelistedbelow.Kindlylogon
activeinthemedallicfieldsince1982whenhewas toMCAwebsiteat:www.medalcollectors.org/
namedcuratorofmedals inadditiontobeingnamed clickonOralHistory thenlistentoaudioof
curatorofmedieval numismatics at NewYork’s AlanStahl’s four interviews withauthenticand
AmericanNumismaticSociety. knowledgeablereplies. As amedalenthusiast I
Heservedas president forfouryears of learnedalot fromhis comments, Iamcertainyou
themedallicartists group,AmericanMedallic will too.
Sculptures Association,andlaterwas namedtothe
__________________________________________________________________________________
Tips ForConductingInterviews
Belowaretwositeswhichcanbeusefultoaid
anyoneconductinginterviews.ThefirstisfromtheRegional
OralHistoryOfficeattheUCBerkeleyLibrary.Clickon:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/resources/rohotips.html
Thesecondistelephoneconferencecalltips
compiledforconferencecallers.Itisalittlemoregeneral
andsomewhatmorelengthy.ItsGeneralCallEtiquetteis
excellent.You’llfinditat:
http://www.fullcirc.com/community/telephon
efacilitation.html
6
National Commemorative availableinasinglebookupdatedtothe
present.
Medals are a Category of United
Turnerrequires anact ofCongress to
States Mint Medals
(ByDonaldScarinci) giveamedal thestatus ofa national
commemorativemedal. Swogerdoes not,as
Thepublicationoftwobooks onthe longas it was madeafter1874. Turner requires
subject ofnational commemorativemedals that themedal bestruckat theUnitedStates
(NCM),separatelyresearchedandwrittenby Mint,not merelydesignedorengravedthere.
different authors without knowledgeofthe Swogerdoes not,it neednot bestruckat the
other,has createdsomeconfusionanda U.S.Mint but it must beengravedordesigned
misconceptionthat needs tobeclarified. The byU.S.Mint employees. Furthermore,Turner
twobooks presentthreedifferent numbering requires that a national commemorativemedal
systems andtherearesomedifferences inthe must belistedandsoldas suchbythemedals’
medals includedandexcludedinboth. The sponsororat theevent forwhichit was made
central misconceptionis that thesemedals can but “not overthecounterat anyUS Mint
becatalogedseparatelyandindependentlyfrom facility. Swogerdoes not,but Swogercreates
thebodyofUnitedStates Mint Medals, which otherlimitations tothedefinitionof
is what theyare.i “commemorative.”ii
Bothbooks,National Commemorative Swogercites toalawpassedin1874iii
Medals of theUnitedStates Mint,byJohnT. givingauthoritytostrikemedals “ofanational
Dean,publishedprivately,2008andNational character”totheSuperintendent oftheU.S.
CommemorativeMedals of theUnitedStates Mint,subject onlytotheapproval ofthe
Mint Since1873 byWilliam Swoger,published DirectoroftheMint.ivSwogerinterprets this
privately,2008areexcellent pieces of lawas sufficient toconfernational status to
scholarshipandcontainimportant information commemorativemedals that areproducedat
about thiscategoryofUnitedStates Mint thediscretionoftheMint Directorand
medals SecretaryoftheTreasurywithout anact of
Thetwobooks substantiallyconfirm Congress. Healso uses this lawtogrant
eachother’s researchandcontainconsistent support U.S.Mint status formedals not struck
informationwithrespect tomintagefigures, the at theU.S.Mint.
circumstances ofeachmedals issuance,and Swogerthen defines a national
most ofthedetails about eachmedal. commemorativemedal as onethat marks an
However,wherethetwobooks differis far important current event orsignificant
morefundamental andhighlights thecore anniversaryofanevent ofnational
problem: Exactlywhat arenational consequencethat is “struckforalimitedtime.”
commemorativemedals? Heuses this definitiontoselect themedals he
DeanandSwogerdonot agreeonthe includes, but he admits tobendinghis
definitionofanational commemorativemedal. definitioninthelatersections ofhis book.
Deandefers toTurnerforhis definition. His Theselatersectionsincludemedals tohelp
bookisintendedas anupdateofTurner’s raisemoneyforcommemorativeevents,
research. Turner’s informationwas previously maintainmemorials; ortohelpraisemoneyfor
availableonlyinarticles from theNumismatist. privateorganizations.v
Thanks toDeanthis informationis now Thefirst medal listedbyTurneris the
1940Greenwich,Connecticut Tercentennial
7
medal. Thefirst medal listedinSwoger’s book categoryforthesemedals. Julian’s categoryof
is the1875Centennial oftheBattleof commemorativemedal (CM)shouldcontinueto
Lexington,whichis listedinJulianas CN-24. beusedtocatalogthoselate19thCenturyand
Swogeralso lists the1875Mecklenburg 20thcenturycommemorativemedals that donot
Declaration,CN-28,the1876NevadaDollar, havespecific congressional enabling
CN-36; the1882FoundingofPennsylvania, legislation.
CN-40&CN-41andotherlate19th Century Swogeris correct toabandonTurners
andearly20th Centurymedals issuedbythe artificial startingpoint of1940for national
U.S.Mint without specificCongressional commemorativemedals. Turnerbegins his list
enablinglegislation. of“national commemorativemedals”withthe
Swoger’s applicationofthe1874lawto 1940Greenwich,Connecticut Tercentennial
thedefinitionofanational commemorative because,accordingtoDean,heviewedthese
medalcreates aconfusingandunsettled medals as “fillingthegapforspecialty
distinctionbetweenthis newcategoryofthe collectors”followingthediscontinuationof the
nationalcommemorativemedalandthe UnitedStates commemorativecoinageprogram
existingcategorybyJulianof commemorative in1954. Intheprefacetohis book,Swoger
medals. IfSwoger’s logicwerefolloweda relates aconversationhehadwith Turner
persuasiveargument canbemadeformany pointingout that thereareU.S.Mint made
othercommemorativemedals listedinJulianto commemorativemedals authorizedbyspecific
receivethedesignationofnational acts ofCongress beforethe1940Greenwich,
commemorativemedal. Thedistinction Connecticut issueandthat Turnersaidhewas
betweenthetwocategories woulddependona simplyunawareofthem.
subjectivedeterminationwhetheramedal made Whateverreason Turnerhadfor
after1874without specificCongressional choosingtobeginthecategoryofnational
enablinglegislationis ‘Commemorative”or commemorativemedal in1940,that reason
not.Thereis simplynoneedforthis appears tobearbitraryandunjustifiable. If
duplication,debateandconfusion. Turner’s thinkingweretobefollowed,
ThelogicofTurners positionthat a approximately11medal types from the1884
national commemorativemedal (NCM) World’s Industrial &CottonCentennial
requires aspecificact ofCongress tobe Expositiontothe1925NorseAmerican
categorizedas suchis farmorecompelling. Centennial whichotherwisemeet Turners core
Thefact that Congress passes alawwitha criteriaas anational commemorativemedal
majorityvoteofits members andthat lawis wouldnot becatalogedas such.vi
signedbythePresident oftheUnitedStates, is Swogeris also correct toinclude as
defactoproofofthesubject’s “National national commemorativemedalsthose medals
character” Ifthemedal alsocommemorates engravedorcoordinatedbytheUnitedStates
persons places orthings, thenthemedal should Mintpersonnel pursuant totheterms ofthe
becategorizedas anationalcommemorative Congressional enabling legislationeventhough
medal (NCM). thesemedals were struckat aprivatemint.
Clearlythetrendat theU.S.Mint for viiGovernment canandoftenshouldsubcontract
thelast halfcenturyat least has beenagainst its worktoprivateentities that canperform
producingmedals without congressional morecost effectively orproduceaproduct that
authority.Thenational commemorativemedal government might not bebest equippedto
(NCM)is a legitimateandnecessarynew produce. Well patinated,highreliefmedals
8
lendthemselves especiallytosubcontractingby Turner,DeanandSwoger,it shouldbepossible
theMint. Theyarenoless thanfull U.S.Mint tocreateasimple,Julianicnumberingsystem
products becausetheyaresubcontractedany beginningwithNCM-1.
morethantheprintedleaflets andpackaging Auctioncatalogers, gradingservices
theyaresoldwith. andwriters shouldnot beencouragedtouse
Whilerevisions andupdates arealways anyofthecurrent numberingsystems for
needed,it is unnecessarytorevisit Julian’s national commemorativemedals. TheMedal
categories andJulian’s numberingsystem. Collectors ofAmericaneeds toact quicklyto
Theyhavestoodthetest oftimeandmany encourageandeven activelycreateand
collectors areinvestedinthis system. What is coordinatearesearchgroupchargedwiththe
necessaryis acomprehensivecatalogofU.S. missiontodefinethenational commemorative
Mint medals beginningwhereJulian stops, medal; toagreeonthemedals that shouldbe
about 1893.viii includedinthat category; andtoagreeon
Whenthe20thcenturycatalogis numbers forthem. Adialogalso needs to
prepared,Julian’s categories andnumbering beginontheparent project—AComprehensive
system shouldbepreservedandexpanded. In Catalogof Medals of theUnitedStates Mint,
additiontonational commemorativemedals Volume2.
(NCM)other newcategories will benecessary
such as acategoryforCongressional Gold (seeendnotespage20)
Medals (CG),Mint Director medals (MD),
Secretaryof theTreasurymedals (ST),and [This seems likean eminentlyworthy
national series 1—First Spousemedals (NS1), project. Whois willingtohelp out?—Ed.]
allowingforotherNational Series medals inthe
futureas Congress maydetermine.
Thereis acategoryofCommemorative Ron Dutton Receives 2009 Saltus
Medals (CM)createdbyJulianandthat should
Award
(ByDonaldScarinci)
becontinuedalongwithmanyotherofhis
categories—Presidential Medals (PR),
RonDutton,asculptorandprolific
Personal Medals (PE),etc. Ifamedal is
medalist intheUnitedKingdom was awarded
commemorativebut it is not authorizedbyan
theprestigious J.SanfordSaltus awardin
act ofcongress thenit shouldbeplacedin
FebruarybytheAmericanNumismaticSociety
Julian’s categoryas acommemorativemedal
forhis lifetimeofachievement intheart ofthe
(CM)andsequentiallynumberedas suchwith
medal.
its earlierstruckbrethren.
Duttonbecamethe53rd artist toreceive
Thesubject ofanumberingsystem for
theawardsinceit was createdin1919and
UnitedStates Mint medals is not as dauntingas
awardedthat yeartoJames Earl Frazer. Dutton
thetask aheadfortheresearchers workingon
joins ashort list ofthemost important medallic
theso-calleddollarupdate. UnitedStates Mint
artists intheworld,withonly14other
products aredefinableandsubject topublic
international artists receivingtheawardsince
disclosurebylaw. Thereis reason tobelieve
thescopeoftheaward was expanded
that thecurrent DirectoroftheUnitedStates
internationallyin1983.
Mint will welcomeandevenassist ina
catalogingproject. Withtheextensiveresearch
alreadyconductedbythreefinenumismatists,
9
AppleTreeLadder
Duttonis apioneerofcontemporaryart
medals intheUnitedKingdom. Heproduced
Oneofthemedals foundinJohnCook’s
his first medals in1974. Theseearlymedals
personal collection,recentlysoldbyMashikoat
wereexperiments inreliefandexperimentation
theRack&HamperGalleryinNewYorkCity,
withsculptural landscapes. Yet,evenwith
was Dutton’s SheepStorm,(bronze100mm ed.
thesefirst medals, RonDutton‘s medals were
20,1982). LikeJohnCook’s ownwork, the
handheldpoetryinbronzeexpressing
artist’s process is apparent onthis medal as the
otherwisesimpleimages inabstract and
distinctions betweentheobject ofcreationand
profoundways.
thecreatedobject blur. Thesheepandthe
TerranceMullaly,animportant London
storm form thelandscapeandprovokean
art critic,pickedRonDutton’sAppleTree
emotional responsefrom theviewer.
Ladder (unifacebronze,78mm,ed.20,1975)
as oneofthetwenty(20)best medals ofthe
secondhalfofthetwentiethcentury. Hesaid,
“Thepoets ofEnglandareamongherglories,
andinanearlywork,hisAppleTreeLadder,
Duttongaveus amedal that stands withtheir
achievement."--TheMedal,no.36,2000
From 1961to1984,RonDuttontaught
sculptureat SunderlandandWolverhampton
Colleges. Hehas beenafull timeartist since
1985andhas exhibitedextensivelyinsoloand
groupexhibitions intheUKandabroad. He
was oneofthesmall groupofinternational
artists that JohnCookbrought totheimportant
PennsylvaniaStateUniversitymedallicart
workshop in1983whichwasamilestonefor
thedevelopment oftheAmericanart medal.
SheepStorm,obverse
10