HAIL TO DIONYSUS, 1930. Murtha 265; Marqusee 256. 72.2mm. Bronze. Paul Manship, Sc.Uncirculated with an attractive chocolate bronze patina. (MACO). Original descriptive pamphlet. Theobverse bears a head of Dionysus rising from a kylix (a classical Greek drinking cup). The two linelegend reads: HAIL TO DIONYSUS WHO FIRST DISCOVERED/ THE MAGIC OF THE GRAPE.On the reverse, two satyrs dance out the vintage flanked by bunches of grapes.

Struck in the middle of the Prohibition era, this medal did not go unnoticed. According the HarryRand, "The Society of Medalists second issue produced an uproar, caused by the gentlest tempest in anotherwise occupied teacup. Manship's 1930 salute to Bacchus presented the god of wine anddebauchery rather too attractively for some of its viewers. Protests were received from members of theSociety of Medalists and one member threatened to resign if 'any more insults to the Constitution areperpetrated in the name of art'."

Manship stated, "So, on the reverse of the medal, two satyrs aretreading the winepress. Their stupid faces, pointed ears, goat legs and tails, betray the dominance ofanimal instincts which their master Dionysus exemplifies. The medal is not conventional. It is subtlyhumorous, and is symbolic of a present-day attitude toward certain restraints of the times. Thus it iscommemorative of an era." This was the 2nd issue of the Society of Medalists. $250.00