103048 | GERMANY. Praise the Lord silver Medal.

103048  |  GERMANY. Praise the Lord silver Medal. Issued circa 1750 (31mm, 9.26 g, 12h). By Johann Leonhard Oexlein in Nürnberg.

 

DAS GESCHLECHT DER FROMMEN WIRD GESEGNET SEIN • PS • CXII (the descendants of the pious shall be blessed, –adapted from Psalms 112), draped figure of Charity seated facing, head lowered, holding open book and instructing three children around her; above, radiant manus Dei emptying flowers from overturned cornucopiae; Ö (for Oexlein) to lower right // DIE FORCHT DES HERRN IST DER WEISHEIT ANFANG • PS • CXI • (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, –adapted from Psalms 111), scholar seated right at table, being admonished by veiled figure of the Church, holding long cross and pointing upward at radiant יהוה (tetragrammaton) above; compass, globe, and measuring stick on ground below. Edge: Plain.

 

GPH –; Plato –. PCGS MS-63. Extremely lustrous and flashy, with some elegant toning throughout as well. A scarce and impressive religious issue.

 

Biblical themes were a very popular topic in German medallic art from the 17th-19th centuries, with parabolical medals–those that presented a Biblical lesson or recounted a passage from the Bible–a large portion of such medals. Figures from the Bible, baptisms, weddings, and the Ten Commandments are examples of the various themes that these medals would cover. 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: 2 September 2025.