Auction 18 Collection of coins, Banknotes, and mean of payment used in Eretz Israel, palestine
By CollecTodo
Jul 23, 2018
Zichron Yaakov, Israel

The auction has ended

LOT 209:

Rare medal "Protestant & Jewish Religious Freedom" commemorating toleration and coexistence of the various ...

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Start price:
$ 60
Buyer's Premium: 19%
VAT: 17% On commission only

Rare medal "Protestant & Jewish Religious Freedom" commemorating toleration and coexistence of the various faiths, 1782 Emperor Joseph II
One of the most important religious liberty medals ever issued!
Condition: Good 
Mint Year: 1782
Medallists: Johann Christian Reich
Denomination: Medal - Remission of the Edict of Tolerance 1782
Material: pewter strike with copper slug
Diameter: 44mm
Weight: 29.61gm
It has been assumed that the medal was struck at the Imperial Mint in Nuremberg.
Obverse: Bust of Joseph II, with the name of the engraver ([Johann Christian] Reich) in the cutoff of the arm.
At the bottom, in scroll: "Tolerantia Imperantis" denoting the new policy of toleration on the part of the ruler.
In the exergue: IOSEPHVS . II . ROM . IMP . SEMP . AG . / TOLERANTIA IMPERANTIS . (" Toleration Ordered ")
Reverse: A Catholic bishop (center), Protestant pastor (left), and Jewish rabbi (right), raise their hands in blessing. The bishop holds a chalice of communion wine. The cross surrounded by rays above it resembles, whether deliberately or not, resembles a monstrance holding the second divine essence in the form of the communion wafer.
The pastor and rabbi each hold their sacred books in the left hand. The toppling architectural remnant to the right is seen as a reference to Joseph's restrictions on the monasteries. Above, the Imperial eagle beneath the triangle of divinity with all-seeing eye of God clutches a banner reading, "In Deo" = " In god´s Name "
The motto around the upper edge reads, "Sub Alis Suis Protegit Omnes" = "Beneath His Wings, He Protects All"
In the exergue: "Ecce Amici" = "Behold These Friends", with the date 1782.


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