Busacca Gallery

A Large America Abundance Commemorative Bronze Metal / On the obverse an ear of corn, with an inscription encircling the top perimeter of the coin reading ABUNDANCE. / DATE 1934 ARTIST Albert Laessle, born Philadelphia, PA 1877-died Miami, FL 1954 / 1934 Albert Laessle America-turkey Abundance-corn 1021 minted. Bronze Medal of the Society of Medalists, issue 10, 1934, by Albert Laessle, an American Turkey, AMERICA, rev head of corn, ABUNDANCE, 73mm. Rare. A proud turkey with outstretched breast strutting gallantly toward an unseen objective. The word AMERICA is displayed in the upper-left quadrant of the coin, while ALBERT-LAESSLE claims the lower-right. Laessle's sculptures can be found at the Carnegie Institute, the Peabody Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The story of Thanksgiving / After arriving in the New World in 1620, the Pilgrims celebrated their first harvest in 1621. The three-day even was attended by 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans that lasted three days. The tradition of giving thanks for successes was a tradition that the Pilgrims brought with them from England. This three-day celebration in 1621 is considered the first Thanksgiving. As President, George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving celebration on November 26, 1789. The only other president to issue a Thanksgiving proclamation was President James Madison. From then, it was up to the individual states to declare a Thanksgiving holiday. As part of his attempt to maintain the union, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that made Thanksgiving Day a national annual event on the last Thursday in November beginning in 1863. While there is an ongoing insistence in the ether of public discourse that Benjamin Franklin himself argued for the turkey to become the national bird instead of the bald eagle, no documented evidence of him arguing for this in legislation actually exists. However, a personal letter that he wrote to his daughter does reveal some of his thoughts on the matter: For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. With all this injustice, he is never in good case but like those among men who live by sharping & robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country… I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on. I myself fell prey to this myth before reading more into it as well. An article from the Smithsonian describes how this misunderstanding was partially fueled by the New Yorker exaggerating Franklin’s position on the matter by printing a cover with a stylized turkey on it as an approximation of what our currency would look like had the Thanksgiving fowl been our national symbol instead. Regardless of our opinions on what would make the best national bird, it is still interesting to see that there are an abundance of coins out there which pay tribute to the nation’s early history.

American Abundance designed by Albert Laessle and issued in 1934 / Recently, Stack’s Bowers held a successful auction at the 2017 Whitman Coins & Collectibles Winter Expo in which over $15.4 million worth of coins and paper money were exchanged. In a rather apropos fashion, Stack’s Bowers provided a bountiful selection of numismatic memorabilia very close to the year’s most bountiful holiday: Thanksgiving. In my own browsing of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, I happened across a relevant gem for the holidays: A 1934 Choice Uncirculated Abundance (silver coin). The coin was designed by Albert Laessle and only 125 of them were ever struck. The striking beauty of the coin immediately swept me off my feet. On the obverse, we are treated to a gorgeous ear of corn reminiscent in style to the French fleur-de-lis, with an inscription encircling the top perimeter of the coin reading ABUNDANCE.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Laessle

Albert Laessle was born on March 28, 1877, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents immigrated to the United States from Württemberg, Germany. Laessle had an older brother, Henry who was supportive of his artistic ambitions, whereas his parents were not.

From 1919 until 1939, Laessle was an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy. He retired due to a heart condition. In 1951, Laessle won the J. Sanford Saltus Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Art of the Medal from the American Numismatic Society. Among the medals he designed and sculpted during his long career was the Gold Medal of Award for the Sesquicentennial International Exposition held in Philadelphia in 1926. He sculpted America–Abundance, the tenth issue of the Society of Medalists in 1934. In 1927 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1932.