102932 | GERMANY. Confirmation silver Medal.

102932  |  GERMANY. Confirmation silver Medal. Issued circa 1850 (32mm, 12h). By Drentwett in Augsburg.

 

DURCH D AUFLEGUNG IHRER HÄNDE (by the imposing of their hands), confirmation scene: Bishop, wearing miter and holding crozier, standing right, confirming youth to right; attendants around; ornate throne in background // EMPFIENGEN SIE DEN HEILIGEN GEIST / APOSTELG 8 v 17 (receive the Holy Spirit, —adapted from Apostles 8:17), radiant dove. Edge: Plain.

 

GPH 4542; Forster –. PCGS SP-64. Quite vibrant and deeply toned, this sparkling, iridescent near gem also displays abundant brilliance in the fields.

 

While one may now purchase a silver round, usually struck to the weight of one ounce and with a variety of religious-themed designs, as a gift for a child upon said child's baptism or confirmation, the practice is in no way modern. In 18th and 19th century Germany in particular, the practice was commonplace, with mints in Nürnberg and, later on, the Loos workshop in Berlin and the Drentwett workshop in Augsburg, striking countless tokens and medals to be used as baptismal (and related) gifts. While the Nürnberg issues tended to verge upon actual coinage, such as the multiple and fractional gold ducat agnus Dei—or Lamb of God—issues, or billon kerzendreier that had more of an ecclesiastic token status, those later from the Loos and Drentwett workshops were fully in the medallic realm, with the firm mixing and matching various obverse and reverse dies with numerous Biblical scenes. One of the leading references for this area of medallic art is Kreß auction 115 from 1960, which presented the combined collections of Marie Luise Goppel and Dr. Plum-Holler, commonly referred to as Goppel-Plum-Holler, or simply GPH.

 

Upload: 1 April 2025.