102731 | GERMANY. Baptism silver Medal.

102731  |  GERMANY. Baptism silver Medal. Issued circa 1875-1900 (38mm, 16.32 g, 12h). By "L.W. & C."

 

DIESER IST MEIN LIEBER SOHN (this is my dear son, —apated from Luke (9:35), Christ standing right in the River Jordan, with head lowered and hands crossed on chest, being baptized by John the Baptist standing left, holding dish and long cross; mountainscape in background, radiant dive above // DURCH DIE AUFLEGUNG IHRER HANBE EMPFINGEN SIE DEN HEILIGEN GEIST (the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, —adapted from Acts 8:18), radiant dove within elaborate border. Edge: Plain.

 

GPH –. PCGS SP-64. Extremely lustrous and lightly toned. The only such example of the type in the PCGS census.

 

While one may now purchase a silver round, usually struck to the weight of one ounce and with a variety of religions-themed designs, as a gift for a child upon said child's baptism or confirmation, the practice is in no way modern. In 18th and 19th century Germany in particular, the practice was commonplace, with mints in Nürnberg and, later on, the Loos workshop in Berlin, striking countless tokens and medals to be used as baptismal gifts. While the Nürnberg issues tended to verge upon actual coinage, such as the multiple and fractional gold ducat agnus Dei—or Lamb of God—issues, or billon kerzendreier that had more of an ecclesiastic token status, those later from the Loos workshop were fully in the medallic realm, with the firm mixing and matching various obverse and reverse dies with numerous Biblical scenes—many of which dealt with the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Even beyond the production of baptismal-related medals, the Loos workshop was heavily active in other religious-themed medals, with many touching upon parables throughout the Bible. This medal, though not by the Loos workshop, was produced in a similar vein by a still unknown workshop, "L.W. & C."

 

Upload: 1 August 2024.