Jewish American Hall of Fame .999 Silver Medal Emma Lazarus Stat of Liberty Poet

Description: The Jewish American Hall of Fame medal series was begun in 1969 at the Judah Magnes Museum in Berkely, CA, by founder Mel Wacks. Bronze, silver and gold medals were issued one per year, honoring Americans of the Jewish faith that greatly contributed to America and the world in the sciences, medicine, law, the various arts and sports. The series continues to this day. 1983 was the 15th issue in the series, and the honoree was the poet Emma Lazarus. She is known primarily for her 1883 sonnet 'The New Colossus', written specifically about the Statue of Liberty. She donated the work to raise funds to build the statue's pedestal. She did so much more than that, though. She was an advocate for Jewish causes and immigrants, primarily Russian Jews who were being displaced by the pogroms in the 1880s. She wrote poetry, articles and earlier in her career did translation of other writers, including some of the great novelists of the mid-19th century. Her poem fell into obscurity once the Statue of Liberty project was completed, and sadly, she did not live to see the lines from her poem placed on the plaque Liberty carries today inside her pedestal. She died at just age 38 in 1887. It took the urging of others to bring renewed interest in her poem. After her death, one of her friends, with others, pushed for recognition of her contribution and its meaning. It took until 1903, but now those closing lines of the sonnet, 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses...yearning to breathe free', are well-known...but maybe not as meaningful to some Americans as they once were. Reading the full sonnet might force some soul-searching - and perhaps that was Lazarus' intent. She is honored beautifully on this solid .999 fine silver medal with a rounded trapezoidal shape, the signature design of this series. Sculptor Gerta Wiener, whose name appears on the reverse, captures Lazarus' likeness on the front, surrounded by some of the famous lines, and the reverse image is that of newly-arriving immigrants, some gazing at Liberty in the harbor, welcoming them to their new home, with the New York skyline in the distance. The medal weighs approximately 2.5 grams and measures 1 3/4: high by 1 7/8" at the widest point, and is approximately 3/16" thick. The edge is engraved one side with '999 F.S. 69'. The other side reads 'Manges Museum Berkeley, Calif'. Low mintage numbers on this medal. The Jewish American Hall of Fame reports just 235 silver were issued. All of the medals were individually serial-numbered, so this one is #69/235. Beautiful medal. This was part of a vintage collection I acquired a few years ago. Most of the piece in the lot were bought from a stamp company, and based upon the prices written on the cards the plastic holders are stapled to, many, many years ago. I scanned front and reverse of the medal out of the sleeve, and the edges, and both sides as packaged. It will arrive as packaged. Tracked and insured shipping is free.

Price: 199.99 USD

Location: Rochester, New York

End Time: 2024-10-17T17:30:05.000Z

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