John Lumea of the Emperor Norton Trust writes:

AN ARTIFACTUAL CONUNDRUM OF THE EMPEROR NORTON TREASURE HUNT

Yesterday, in this space, we presented a photograph (which we've shown before) of the front of a medallion which appears to have been produced in connection with theSan Francisco Chronicle's Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt of 1953-62. This photo and a companion photo of the back of the medallion - first two images below - are in the"Sculptures & Fabrications" gallery of our digital Archive of Emperor Norton in Art, Music & Film at
http://emperornortontrust.org/arena/visual-arts/sculptures-and-fabrications .

The star-shaped medallion, dated 1953, was made by Shreve & Co. jewelers, and we long have supposed it to be the first of the medallions buried for the Hunt.

But, a review of a photo gallery that the Chronicle published in 2018 for an historical web feature on the Hunt reveals something different.

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As you can see in the attached photos from the Chronicle's gallery (starting with the third image in the series below), the *buried* star-shaped medallions - alsomade by Shreve and placed in special wood-and-glass display boxes - are fairly large. Based on the photographs, the diameter is as much as 8 inches or more - text on eachmedallion calls it a "plaque."

The buried medallions feature a vignette of the Emperor full-length, hand on his sword, Bummer and Lazarus at his feet.

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The text and the artwork on the medallion shown in our Archive is completely different. It features the "Norton head" that appeared in the Chronicle'spromotions of the Hunt. The text - including the phrases "Grand Order of the West" and "Lady in Waiting" - is somewhat inscrutable and doesn't referencethe Hunt at all.

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Relative to the buried medallions, whose stars have 19 points, the medallion in our Archive - which has 16 points - appears to be a smaller, "handheld" piece.

An educated guess: One photograph in the Chronicle's gallery indicates that the paper threw a special "Emperor Norton dinner" in honor of the winner of theHunt. Perhaps, on this occasion, the winner was given the smaller medallion as a keepsake.

Or, perhaps, induction into the "Grand Order of the West" was an honor the Chronicle accorded to others, but, the paper used this dinner as the occasion topresent the medallion to honorees.

Or the Chronicle had a Grand Order of the West award that had no connection whatsoever to the Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt or to any Hunt-related dinner - the papersimply branded the award with Norton iconography.

Anybody have intel?

To read the complete article, see:
AN ARTIFACTUAL CONUNDRUM OF THE EMPEROR NORTON TREASURE HUNT(https://www.facebook.com/EmperorNortonTrust/posts/2630056607273255)

To read the San Francisco Chronicle article, see:
When the Emperor Norton Treasure Hunt turned San Franciscoupside down (https://www.sfchronicle.com/thetake/article/When-the-Emperor-Norton-Treasure-Hunt-turned-San-12886044.php)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE 1953 EMPEROR NORTON GOLD MEDAL(https://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v17n50.html#article11)