103270 | UNITED STATES & ITALY. Electrification of Niagara Falls bronze Medal.

103270  |  UNITED STATES & ITALY. Electrification of Niagara Falls bronze Medal. Issued 1904 for the American excursion of the members of the A. E. I. from August to September (59mm, 88.21 g, 12h). By Egidio Boninsegna & Angelo Cappucio for Stefano Johnson in Milano.

 

Seminude female allegory of Electricity standing slightly right, holding up electrified torch which powers electrical poles at a distance; Niagara Falls in background, with small boat upon Niagara River below // Two medallions containing portraits of Alessandro Volta and Benjamin Franklin facing one another; below, decorative cartouche reading "A J. W. LIEB Jr. / IN MEMORIA DELL' A. E. I. / AGOSTO–SETTEMBRE MCMIV" in four line; laurel branch in background. Edge: Plain.

 

150° Johnson 1461; Wolfsonion Coll. #83.1.154; lamoneta.it W-MEITB/58-1. Choice Mint State. Charming olive-brown surfaces, with a matte aspect throughout. An extremely rare issue, especially for those collecting exonumia relating to Franklin and depictions of the Falls.

 

This medal features two pioneers in the field of electricity, with Benjamin Franklin famously conducting an experiment in 1752 that, with the assistance of a kite and a key, proved that storm clouds were electrically charged and that lightning was merely a form of electricity, and with Alessandro Volta creating the first electric battery, which he called the "voltaic pile," in 1800. Nearly a century later, the idea electrifying Niagara Falls, given its vast hydroelectric capacity, was considered, with inventing giant Nikola Tesla consulted on the best manner in which this could be done. By 1904, the final phases of the plan were complete, with the Canadian side able to generate and send electricity across longer distances, and pairing with the American side from nine years prior. This very rare medal was issued the year of the Canadian side's completion, featuring a great Beaux Arts rendition of Electricity as well as the Falls themselves.

 

Upload: 3 November 2025.