102320 | GERMANY. Remagen. Church of St. Apollinaris silvered bronze Medal.

102320  |  GERMANY. Remagen. Church of St. Apollinaris (Apollinariskirche) silvered bronze Medal. Issued 1853. Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe series (60mm, 105.37 g, 12h). By J. Wiener in Brussels and struck at the Geerts mint in Ixelles.

 

ST APOLLINARISKIRCHE BEI REMAGEN AM RHEIN, perspective view of the cathedral; coat-of-arms of Fürstenberg-Stammheim above; in five lines in exergue, GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG AM 22 JULI 1839 DURCH DEN BAUHERRN DER KIRCHE FRANZ EGON GRAFEN VON FÜRSTENBERG-STAMMHEIM / INNERES DER ST APOLLINARIS-KIRCHE EINGERICHTET IM JAHRE 1853 / PLAN UND AUSFÜHRUNG DURCH E. F. ZWINER BAUMEISTER DES KÖLNER DOMES 1839-1844 AUSSCHMÜCKUNG DURCH E. DEEGER F. ITTENBACH A. & C. MÜLLER, ornate perspective interior view of the nave and choir. Edge: A few minor marks of loss of silvering, otherwise plain.

 

Cf. Ross M120 (R2; bronze/silver); cf van Hoydonck 140 (same); cf. Reinecke 31 (same). Mint State details. Mostly argent-gray, with some very light cleaning. Compare to a similar example in Stack's Bowers NYINC auction (19 January 2022), lot 7038 (which sold for a total of $1,140).

 

Michael Ross, noted author of Jacques Wiener's Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe: The Man, Monuments, and Medals, has found no evidence for medals in this series being issued in silvered bronze, only in separate silver and bronze strikings. Given the disparity in price between silver and bronze examples during their time of production, he believes it likely that an enterprising individual or two took bronze examples and silvered them privately, passing them off as the next best thing to the silver specimens. No matter their post-mint silvering, these silvered examples continue to be collected along with their bronze and silver brethren.

 

From what is today eastern Netherlands and western Germany, the Wieners were a Jewish family of exceptional medalists, especially known for numerous numismatic works throughout the Kingdom of Belgium. Eldest brother Jacob, along with younger brothers Leopold and Charles, created some of the finest works of medallic art of the 19th century, and all are particularly noted for their work in the highly detailed and intricate work of architectural renderings.

 

Upload: 1 March 2023.

 

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