102444 | UNITED STATES. Cotton States and Int'l Expo gilt bronze Award Medal.

102444  |  UNITED STATES & ITALY. Cotton States and International Exposition gilt bronze Award Medal. Engraved and awarded in 1895 to G. B. Valera & Ricci for the expo held in Atlanta (57mm, 124.67 g, 12h). By P. Martiny for Gorham.

 

ATLANTA GEORGIA / USA, Columbia standing left, holding cornucopia; putti below, holding panel inscribed INDUSTRY; winged wheel to lower left; facade of expo building in background to left // Eagle facing, with head left and wings spread; below, COTTON STATES / AND INTERNATIONAL / EXPOSITION / AWARDED TO / "G. B. VALERA & RICCI" / ATLANTA / GEORGIA / USA; all within wreath of palm frond and cotton branch with bolls. Edge: Some scattered scuffs and marks, otherwise plain.

 

Marqusee 258; Baxter 92. Mint State Details. Vibrant gilt surfaces, with immense relief and brilliance; some scattered hairlines on the obverse are noted, indicating a subtle prior cleaning. Nevertheless, a great and rare Beaux-Arts style medal.

 

The G. B. Valera & Ricci company was founded following the death of Giovanni Battista Valera in 1880, a hat maker whose widow later married Carlo Ricci, a former employee of Valera. The manufacturer continued the production of its previous incarnation, that of making men's hats, for which it won this award medal at the Cotton States Exposition held in Atlanta in 1895.

 

Upload: 3 July 2023.

 

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