103509 | UNITED STATES. Panama-Pacific Int'l Expo gilt cast lead Medal.

103509  |  UNITED STATES. San Francisco. Panama-Pacific International Exposition gilt cast lead Medal. Issued circa 1915/6 to commemorate the gold medal and award of honor earned by the Cleveland Folding Machine Co. (70mm, 214.20 g, 12h). After John Flanagan.

 

Nude male and female (personifications of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans or eastern and western hemispheres) greeting one another as the sun rises over the Panama Canal in the background; DIVINE DISIVNCTA IVNXIT HOMO (the divine difference unites mankind) // PANAMA–PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION SAN-FRANCISCO / MCMXV, façade of the Tower of Jewels within wreath of palm fronds; "AWARD OF HONOR / AND GOLD MEDAL / THE CLEVELAND / FOLDING MACHINE CO." in four lines in garnished cartouche below. Edge: Plain.

 

Cf. Baxter 114 (for prototype); cf. Marqusee 152 (same). Mint State Details. Fairly brilliant and vibrant, though a few scattered hits and a rim bruise are noted.

 

The Cleveland Folding Machine Company specialized in industrial paper-folding machinery for binderies, with the firm commissioning these medals to mimic their prize medal from the expo. Around the time of the expo, the firm was sold to a rival company—the Dexter Folding Machine Company.

 

Designed by the famous American sculptor John Flanagan (best known in U.S. numismatics as the designer of the Washington quarter), the Panama-Pacific medal was issued as an award for many products and exhibits on display at the expo. Just 2,000 of these were struck and issued in bronze by the U.S. mint at Philadelphia, and are now often encountered with spotting, scuffs, and other blemishes. The elegant design features personifications of the two oceans meeting, with the Panama Canal being at their middle. The expo itself was styled as a celebration of the completion of the canal (its first use was just six months before the opening of the expo), but in a wider sense, the fair gave the world a chance to see the recovery of host city San Francisco following the devastation of the 1906 earthquake.

 

Upload: 3 July 2026.