103269 | UNITED STATES. Christopher Columbus/"The Journey" aluminum Medal.

103269  |  UNITED STATES, ITALY & GERMANY. Christopher Columbus/"The Journey" aluminum Medal. Issued 1892 for the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America and the Italian-American Exposition in Genova (50mm, 13.10 g, 12h). By Mayer & Wilhelm in Stuttgart.

 

CHRISTOFORO COLOMBO / NATO 1456 MORTO 1506, half-length bust of Columbus facing slightly left, holding charts; all within wreath // RICORDO DELL' ESPOSIZIONE ITALO–AMERICANA, GENOVA / 1892, two female allegories (Italia and America) to right, one seated and one standing, pointing at a distance to left over the expo ground; Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria on horizon to left with rising sun; above, crowned Genoese coat-of-arms with two griffins as supporters; in two lines in exergue, 1492–1892 / IV. CENTENNIAL. Edge: Plain.

 

Eglit 273; Starlust ST-eg-273; cf. Rulau B5 (for a larger module issue by Mayer & Wilhelm for the Italian-American Expo) & B6 (for the similar corresponding issue for the Columbian Expo); cf. Bernd Kaiser V, 127 (bronze). PCGS SP-65. Blast white surfaces, with intense mirroring in the fields.

 

During the lead-up to the quadricentennial of Columbus's initial contact with the New World, numerous medals were designed and struck, both in the United States—in conjunction with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago—and abroad—sometimes for this event or for similar others. In this case, "The Journey" medal was produced commemorating the quatercentenary in Germany by the Stuttgart-based manufacturer, Mayer & Wilhelm, with the obverse depiction of Columbus sometimes being referred to as "elf-like," and with this overall design for the 1892 Italian-American Exposition in Genoa serving as the prototype for the following year's English version for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Of note, while this type is listed in the references as "white metal," which can be a bit of a catch-all for certain "white" metals, this example is undoubtedly aluminum, as its extremely low weight (13.10 g) in comparison to diameter (50mm) conveys.

 

Upload: 19 December 2025.