102969 | GERMANY. Johannes Kepler silver Medal.

102969  |  GERMANY. Johannes Kepler silver Medal. Issued 1930 for the 300th anniversary of the death of the famous astronomer and mathematician (36mm, 12h). By Karl Goetz at the München mint.

 

JOHANNES KEPLER, bust facing slightly left, wearing ruffled collar // MENSVS ERAM CŒLOS / NVNC TERRÆ METIOR / VMBRAS MENS CŒLISTIS / ERAT CORPORIS VMBRA JACET / MDCXXX MCMXXX in five lines; below, representation of the Earth with clouds and compass; all within border of star and zodiacal signs.

 

Optica et Visio in Nummis IV.37; Kienast 454. PCGS SP-63. Mostly pale gray throughout, with some delightful amber toning spread throughout, along with a charming matte nature.

 

Galst and Van Alfen, in Optica et Visio in Nummis, provide a brief bio of Kepler and his scientific importance, especially within the field of optics, writing that "...while Kepler's contributions to the study of mathematics and astronomy -e.g., his work on logarithms and the three laws of planetary motion-tend to receive the most attention, his contributions to ophthalmology and optics, expounded in Ad vitellionem paralipomena (1604) and Dioptrice (1611), were equally groundbreaking. In the former, Kepler for the first time offered a correct physiological explanation for the defects in sight, showing that the image is formed on the retina, and that the lens serves as a refracting device; here too he coined the modern usages of lens, prism, and meniscus. In Dioptrice, Kepler presented a new design for a telescope (the modern 'astronomical scope'), one using two convex lenses, which provide an inverted final image."

 

Upload: 15 November 2024.

 

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