102939 | GERMANY & UNITED STATES. Wilson's Successes cast bronze Medal.

102939  |  GERMANY, CHINA, SCANDINAVIA & UNITED STATES. Wilson's Successes cast bronze Medal. Dated 1917. "Wilsons Werbung bei den Neutralen"—on President Wilson's attempts to convince neutrals to declare war upon Germany (57mm, 59.98 g, 12h). By Karl Goetz in München.

 

WERBUNG, Wilson, in the guise of Uncle Sam, standing left, cradling palm frond while pointing to face, and enticing coiled dragon to left (representing China) // WILSON'S ERFOLGE (Wilson's Successes), neutral parties, with their backs facing, sit on bench, as if on the sidelines: Scandinavia (holding newspaper reading "Scandinavian neutrality), the Netherlands (holding tulip), Spain (wearing sombrero), and Switzerland (holding crossbow). Edge: Some filing marks as made, otherwise plain.

 

Kienast 194; Klose 8.35; Art of Devastation –. Mint State. Deep olive-brown surfaces, with some light rub upon the high points and some dusty gray-green in the recesses.

 

Here, Goetz presents American President Woodrow Wilson as Uncle Sam, charming a dragon to left meant to represent the Republic of China. Indeed, China declared war upon Germany in August 1917, though it was of little consequence given the geographical difference. Meanwhile, Wilson's attempts to court other neutrals did not succeed, with Goetz satirizing this aspect on the reverse, with caricatures of the various neutral countries or regions, turning their backs, with their posteriors in full display, to the Americans.

 

Upload: 15 January 2025.