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Peace of Versailles 1919 Medal

Period1919

MediumSilver

Dimensions0.13 × 2.5 in. (0.3 × 6.4 cm)

SignedThe medal includes artist Chester Beach's monogram signature, located in the lower right obverse as "CB." On the reverse, "American Numismatic Society" appears in a banner beneath the year "1919."

ClassificationsThe Robert Hartshorne World War I Collection

Credit LineGift of Mary Minturn Adams in memory of her Hartshorne Ancestors, 2018

Object number2018.10.20.16

DescriptionA circular medal struck in silver, commemorating the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. On the obverse, an allegorical scene depicts the male figure of Justice at left, wearing a helmet and holding aloft a sheathed sword, while at right the partially draped female figure of Peace holds a palm branch in one hand and a laurel wreath in the other. Between the figures is a winged horse upon which a victorious male figure is seated, with his left arm outstretched in salute. The word "Justice" is at left, with a set of scales beneath, and "Peace" at right. A fallen soldier can be glimpsed beneath the horse's hooves. On the reverse, a central image of the Palace of Versailles is depicted beneath a sun disc and rays illuminating the inscription "PEACE OF VERSAILLES." Below the central image is a banner with the year "1919," and a second banner beneath reading "THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY." A stylized laurel wreath borders the edge. The medal is accompanied by its original presentation box of dark green cardboard with an attached lid, opening to reveal a white silk lid lining and a deep purple velvet base. The medal rests in a shallow depression within the velvet.
Curatorial RemarksAlthough the actual combat of World War I ended with the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918, it took six months of negiations in the Paris Peace Conference to culminate in the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. Held at the Palace of Versailles, the Treaty signing took place exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the event that sparked the War's original outbreak. To commemorate the signing, the American Numismatic Society held a competition in which fifteen prominent American sculptors submitted designs. The Society chose the design of American sculptor and medallist Chester Beach. Born in San Francisco in 1881, first studied as a jewelry designer. In 1903 he moved to New York City and the following year traveled to Paris where he studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Artes. He returned to New York in 1907 and opened a studio in Manhattan. Beach specialized in allegorical and historical sculptural work. He was elected to the National Sculpture Society, the Salmagundi Club, and the American Numismatic Society. His first major commission was for three statues for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, for which he was awarded a silver medal. He died in 1956 at his home in Brewster, Putnam County, New York. His Peace of Versailles medal was offered in both silver and bronze, with 113 minted in the former and 318 in the latter metal.NotesThis medal was collected by Robert Hartshorne during his service in the First World War. Hartshorne joined the American Red Cross in 1916. His association with that organization apparently put him in touch with the American Committee for Devastated France, which intended to introduce modern American farming methods in those battlefield areas heavily damaged near Rheims. Hartshorne arrived in France in May of 1918 and returned to the United States at the end of December the same year. Hartshorne collected numerous medals, uniform insignia, and souvenirs commemorating his time abroad. For a more complete biography of Robert Hartshorne, please see the portrait miniature of Robert Hartshorne (accession number 2018.10.9).

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