102666 | SWEDEN. Pontus Wikner silver Medal.

102666  |  SWEDEN. Pontus Wikner silver Medal. Issued 1938. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of the philosopher and professor of aesthetics (45mm, 44.43 g, 12h). By E. Lindberg at the Royal Swedish mint.

 

PONTUS • WIKNER • NAT • MDCCCXXXVII • OB MDCCCLXXXVIII, bust left; VER • SACRVM / EVOCABAT in two lines in exergue // CARUS PLATO • CARIOR • FILIUS • ILLE • HOMINIS, Christ seated left on plinth, raising hand in benediction and instructing youth kneeling to left. Edge: SILVER 1938.

 

Ehrensvärd 378. Choice Mint State. Gunmetal gray surfaces, with some deeper toning nearer the edges.

 

Pontus Wikner was a Swedish professor of aesthetics who lectured in Oslo, Norway. A rather early and important figure in the discourse of homosexuality, Wikner was instrumental in the homosexual liberation movement in Sweden and wrote of the difficulty of the coming-out process. Quite progressive for the late 19th century, he believed that nothing could be considered bad if it neither injured nor harmed anyone, and begged for all who read his writings to allow the right for same-sex marriage.

 

Upload: 15 May 2024.