Medals and Decorations
Society of Medalists Medal
Danbury, CT
1990.38.1
The Medals Department at the ANS features over 50,000 medals, decorations, and related objects. It is strong in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century medals from England, Germany, Netherlands, and Italy. It has a strong collection of the medals of the Beaux-Arts era, particularly from France and Austria, and a definitive collection of the twentieth-century German medalist Karl Goetz. And it is in the area of American medals that the ANS holdings are clearly unsurpassed. The collections of Indian Peace Medals, political Americana, American medallic art series, and the works of prominent American medalists such as Victor D. Brenner and Adolph A. Weinman are among the many highlights. The ANS also has an exceptionally strong collection of American decorations, including military awards and the insignia of private societies. In 2017, the ANS also purchased the archives of the Medallic Art Company (1907–2016), one of the largest and most important private producers of medallic art in the United States, portions of which are being incorporated into the ANS Medals Department.