101990 | UNITED STATES & ITALY. Columbian Expo Souvenir aluminum Medal.

101990 | UNITED STATES & ITALY. Christopher Columbus/Columbian Expo Souvenir aluminum Medal. Issued 1892 for the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America and the Italian-American Exposition in Genova (50mm, 12.99 g, 12h). By Mayer & Wilhelm in Stuttgart.

 

CHRISTOFORO COLOMBO / NATO 1456 MORTO 1506, half-length bust of Columbus facing slightly left, holding charts; all within wreath / RICORDO DELL' ESPOSIZIONE ITALO–AMERICANA GENOVA, two female allegories (Italia and America) to right, one seated and one standing, pointing at a distance to left over the expo ground; Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria on horizon to left with rising sun; above, crowned coat-of-arms of Italy with griffins as supporters; in two lines in exergue, 1492–1892 / IV. CENTENARIO. Edge: Some discoloration and deposits, otherwise plain.

 

Eglit 273; cf. Rulau B6B (for the American version from 1893). Mint State. Highly mirrored and prooflike, though some scattered hairlines are noted in the fields. A scarcer version that served as the prototype for the following year and Chicago's Columbian Exposition.

 

During the lead-up to the quadricentennial of Columbus's initial contact with the New World, numerous medals were designed and struck, both in the United States—in conjunction with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago—and abroad, sometimes for this event or for similar others.

 

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