103114 | UNITED STATES. Columbus/Italo-American Expo aluminum Medal.

103114  |  UNITED STATES, ITALY & GERMANY. Christopher Columbus/Italian-American Expo aluminum Souvenir Medal. Issued 1892 for the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America and for the expo held in Genova (90mm, 80.88 g, 12h). By Wilhelm Mayer in Stuttgart.

 

CRISTOFORO COLOMBO / NATO 1456 - MORTO 1506, half-length bust of Columbus facing slightly left, holding charts; star to left and right // 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: Plain.

 

Eglit 582 (this piece illustrated); cf. Eglit 261 (for seemingly a duplicate entry of the type); Starlust ST-eg-582; cf. Starlust ST-eg-261 (same); Rulau B5A; cf. Bernd Kaiser V, 126 (bronze). Choice Mint State. Highly lustrous and brilliant. An exceptionally impressive specimen, especially given its advanced state of preservation and unrivaled pedigree, as it even served as the plated example in Eglit's self-published 1965 reference.

 

Ex Nathan Eglit Collection (Presidential Coin & Antique 52, 27 June 1992), lot 269, where Joe Levine described it as "Unc, even gray color, near perfect" and a "massive 3 1/2 inch medallic beauty!"

 

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. In the case of this wondrous medal, the Italian-American Expo held in 1892 in Genova—the home of Columbus. This same general design would be used by Wilhelm Mayer the following year for related types associated with the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago.

 

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Upload: 1 April 2025.