102244 | GREECE. Othon (Otto) I bronze Medal. Issued circa 1839. Commemorating the founding and contributors of the University of Athens (44mm, 41.08 g, 12h). By K. Lange at the Vienna mint. ?TO? ??S????S ??S ??????S, mantled bust left / ???S ????G????S ??? ??????S??????, façade of the University of Athens; in three lines in exergue, ?T?????OT? / ??? ? ????? / ?O?T. Edge: Plain. Wurzbach 7024. Gem Mint State. Highly pleasing and attractive brown surfaces; immensely rich and brilliant, with a great lustrous nature in the fields and some hints of iridescence throughout. Very likely one of the finest of the type extant. $595.

Following Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829 and the assassination of its assigned governor, John Capodistria (Ioannis Kapodistrias) in 1831, the three Great Powers (composed of Great Britain, France, and Russia), installed the Bavarian prince, Otto Friedrich Ludwig, as the king in Greece. Ultimately, Otto proved unpopular, and was deposed in 1862 while in the countryside. He would later die in exile in his native Bavaria five years later.

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102292 | JAPAN. Crown Prince Yoshihito & Sadako Kujo bronze Medal. Issued Meiji 33 (1900). Commemorating the royal marriage of the future emperor & empress (Taisho & Teimei) (55mm, 12h). Osaka mint. Two fans over floral arrangement, the fan in the back bearing a design with plum flowers (Yoshihito), the fan in the front being plain (Sadako); the floral arrangement is composed of chrysanthemum and wistaria, representative of the imperial pair; around, border of eight clouds, possibly indicating the sansai (heaven, earth, and man) and go-un (clouds of good augury) / Inscription in five vertical lines of Yamoto wa-sun style, all within recessed cartouche of kakemono style. AJN, Vol. XLIV, No. 4 (October, 1910), pl. 21, II. NGC MS-65 Brown. Rich glossy brown surfaces, with a great deal of lustrous brilliance in the fields; a minor spot in the left field on the reverse is noted for completeness. Quite scarce in such an alluring and elevated state of preservation. $395.

Yoshihito was the son of the Meiji emperor and one of his royal concubines, Yanagiwara Naruko, and would marry Sadako Kujo in 1900 after a careful arrangement by his father. Sadako was a daughter of Duke Michitaka Kujo, head of Kujo branch of the powerful Fujiwara clan. Yoshihito would succeed his father upon the latter's death in 1912, though he himself would only reign until late 1926, being succeeded by his and Sadako's son, Hirohito-posthumously becoming known as the Showa emperor.

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102289 | SWITZERLAND. Bern. Silver Academic Prize Medal or "Gärtnerpfennig". Issued circa 1820 for outstanding pupils in the canton (31mm, 7.44 g, 12h). CULTURA MITESCIT (culture ripens), gardener kneeling right, trimming a sapling; basket of shoots to right; PRÆM DILIG (a prize for diligence) in exergue / RESPUBLICA BERNENSIS, crowned cantonal coat-of-arms of Bern within wreath composed of olive branch and palm frond. Edge: Horizontal leaf reeding. SM 712; Meier & Häusler 173. Gem Mint State. Highly lustrous and prooflike, with a subtle color and great pullaway toning. Fairly rare in this elevated and rather attractive state of preservation. $375.

Quite popular in the canton of Bern during the 18th and early 19th centuries, the so-called of were a special form of scholastic prize given to deserving students for their academic achievements. They featured a kneeling gardener on one side, as the gardener was considered an allegory of diligence.

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102239 | UNITED STATES & SPAIN. Christopher Columbus silvered bronze Medal. Issued 1892. Commemorating the 400th anniversary of his discovery of the New World (37mm, 28.81 g, 12h). By C. Mathey-Doret. CRISTÓBAL COLÓN / IV CENTENARIO, 1492-1892, capped bust left / 3 DE AGOSTO DE 1492 A CASTILLA I A LEÓN / NUEVO MUNDO DIÓ COLÓN 12 DE OCTUBRE DE 1492, coat-of-arms of Columbus as granted by Pope Alexander VI; all over wreath of oak and laurel branches. Edge: Some slight discoloration; otherwise plain. Eglit 282; Storer 170; Rulau B25. Choice Mint State. Lightly toned and highly lustrous. $235.

During the lead-up to the quadricentennial of Columbus's initial contact with the New World, numerous medals were designed and struck, both in the United States-in conjunction with the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago-and abroad, sometimes for this event or for similar others. In the case here, it was for the celebration back in Spain, for whom Columbus sailed. His special coat-of-arms, given to him by Pope Alexander VI (the Spaniard Rodrigo de Borja), contained emblems of Castile y León (lion rampant and castle) and of Columbus (gold islands-indicative of his discoveries-and anchors).

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