101488 | GERMANY. Moses Mendelssohn uniface cast iron Medal.

101488  |  GERMANY. Moses Mendelssohn uniface cast iron Medal. Issued circa 1929. Commemorating the life of the famous philosopher (100mm, 82.94 g). By Sahler for Lauchhammer Bildguß.

 

Bust left, wearing frock coat; to left, skull facing right, with butterfly set upon the top; book with quill pen below / Incuse and reverse of obverse, with Lauchhammer stamp and logo. Edge: Plain.

 

Hintze 552. Choice Mint State. Blackened surfaces. Very rare and interesting.

 

A German-Jewish philosopher who contributed greatly to the "Jewish Enlightenment," Mendelssohn was the author of Phaedon (Phädon oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele) in 1767, in which he defended the concept of the immorality of the soul. He is commemorated on a silver medal from circa 1774 which references this work, though the example here, also offering a skull and butterfly, is far more difficult to encounter—especially so alluring.

 

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