101710 | UNITED STATES. Henry Ford/Ford Motor Company bronze Medal.

101710  |  UNITED STATES. Henry Ford/Ford Motor Company bronze Medal. Issued 1929 (70mm, 155.42 g, 12h). By A. de Francisci for the Medallic Art Co. in New York.

 

Bust left; HENRY / FORD over caduceus to right / Tractor and two vehicles left, with airplane soaring above; two factories in background; in two lines in exergue, FORD MOTOR / COMPANY. Edge: MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y.

 

Joos b.1026; MACO 1929-082. About Uncirculated details. Mottled yellow-brown surfaces, with some old, light scratches between the plane and one of the vehicles on the reverse. Very rare and highly interesting.

 

Clyde C. Trees acquired the Medallic Art Company in 1927 and, just two years later, eager to boost sales and promote something of note, attained the services of Anthony de Francisci (famous for his design of the still-circulating and in-production "Peace" dollar) for a medal idea. Trees had the concept of a medal celebrating automaker Henry Ford, with the hope that such a medal could see a wide circulation given Ford's popularity and the rise of the automobile. Trees offered the medals to a marketing company based in Detroit, who would then market it to dealers around the nation as a paper weight. Given the extreme rarity of the medal within the marketplace, it would appear the idea was a flop, and few actually survived.

 

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