103067 | SWEDEN. Anders Adolph Retzius silver Medal.

103067  |  SWEDEN. Anders Adolph Retzius silver Medal. Issued 1867. Commemorating the life (1796-1860) of the professor of anatomy (31mm, 14.42 g, 12h). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences series. By Lea Ahlborn.

 

A A RETZIUS PROF ET INSP R INST MED CHIR CAROL HOLM / N 1796 O 1860, bare head right // NEC SINIT ESSE MUTA, two skulls set upon draped table along with forceps; in four lines in exergue, SOCIO ANATOM / ET ETHNOGR CELEBERR / R ACAD SCIENT SVEC / MDCCCLXVII. Edge: Plain.

 

Brettauer 966; Hyckert II, p. 147; Olsén p. 183; Granberg 256. Choice About Uncirculated. Some scattered marks and a minor rim bruise, but otherwise pleasingly toned. A rare and popular haunting type. Compare to a similar example that realized a total of $1,440 in the Stack's Bowers Global Showcase Auction (14 August 2023), lot 52621.

 

After studying medicine at Lund University and in Copenhagen, Retzius became a doctor and received a professorship at the Karolinska Institute in 1824. His role would continue to grow there, ultimately becoming a permanent professor and supervisor in 1840. In addition to other parts of the anatomy, he studied the human cranium, and is credited with defining the cephalic index—the ratio of width to length of one's head. Similar to Blumenbach, he studied the skulls of different races, believing them to be from different origins.

 

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Upload: 1 October 2025.

 

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