Commemorative Medals

Images of Items 1, 4, 5, 6 and 9 from article on "Commemorative Medals".
Source: Visser & Sprunger: 103 and MB Herald (21 Jan. 1977):23

Commemorative Medals (Dutch gedenkpenningen) are medals made of gold, silver, or other metal to commemorate certain historical events. There are a few memorial medals concerning Mennonite history:

1. A medal in silver and also in pewter engraved in 1736 by Martinus Holtzhey, to celebrate Menno Simons' leaving the Roman Catholic Church in 1536. This medal shows on one side a portrait of Menno and on the other side a poem in the Dutch language.
2. A medal in bronze, issued in 1845 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Mennonite conference in Friesland. This medal, engraved by T. A. Keikes, shows the conference represented as a woman with a cross on her breast. An old man on her right points at a ruin of an old church; at the left a young man and a new church; before her a cornucopia and a vase filled with coins. Legend: 1695 Friesche Doopsgezinde Sociëteit 1845. On the other side the inscription: ter gedagtenis aan III Julij MDCCCXLV.
3. A medal, issued in 1898 for the congregation of Hamburg-Altona for presentation to members who celebrated their silver wedding. The medal contains on one side a portrait of Menno Simons; the other side was intended for an inscription.
4. A medal commemorating the 350th anniversary of Menno Simons' death, engraved in 1909 by Johannes von Langa for the Hamburg-Altona congregation. This medal shows a portrait of Menno Simons and the symbols of the seal of the Hamburg-Altona congregation, that is, two palm trees divided by a body of water, and the all-seeing eye of God (exists in silver and bronze).
5. A medal engraved by Johannes von Langa in 1911 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Conference of German Mennonite congregations. One side shows the portrait of medal 4 (above) and laurel branches, other side an inscription with the names of the board of the Vereinigung der Mennoniten-Gemeinden im Deutschen Reich (exists in silver and in bronze).
6. A medal commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Mennonite congregation of Berlin, Germany, engraved by Johannes von Langa in 1912. One side shows the portrait of Menno (as 4 above, but without laurel), the other side the inscription: Zur Erinnerung a. d. 25-jährige Bestehen der Berliner Mennoniten Gemeinde 1912 (silver and bronze).   (For Nos. 1-6 see Doopsgezinde Bijdragen 1916, 75 f., 95-98.)
7. A medal in bronze, engraved in 1935 by A. Mazotti, commemorating the fall of the Münsterite kingdom of Jan van Leyden, July 1535. The medal shows on one side the city of Münster according to an old picture, with the city coat of arms; the other side has portraits of Jan van Leyden, Knipperdolling, and Krechting.
8. A medal was issued in 1835 to commemorate the centennial of the Amsterdam seminary and the tercentennial of Menno Simons' leaving the Catholic Church. The medal, engraved by van der Kellen, shows the muse of eloquence standing near a pulpit.
9. Two bronze medals struck around 1976 from the 1898 dies of No. 3 (above) held in the Hamburg congregational archives -- one with the face of Menno Simons (50 mm diameter) and one with the facade of the former Mennonite Church in Altona, destroyed by bombs in 1943 (42 mm diameter). On the reverse side of both medallions is the seal of the Mennonite congregation of Hamburg and Altona.

There are also many medals of ca. 1647, often in silver or gold, issued by Dutch Mennonites to commemorate their silver or gold weddings. These medals are also important for Mennonite history.

Bibliography

Doopsgezinde Bijdragen (1916): 75f, 95-98.

Mennonite Brethren Herald (21 Jan 1977): 23.

Mevius Numisbooks International B.V. [commercial website]

Visser, Piet and Mary Sprunger. Menno Simons: places, portraits and progeny. Altona: Friesens, 1995: 102-103.

Author(s)	Nanne van der Zijpp
	Name Alf Redekopp
	Name Victor G Wiebe
Date Published	November 2019

Cite This Article

MLA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der, Name Alf Redekopp and Name Victor G Wiebe. "Commemorative Medals." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2019. Web. 28 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Commemorative_Medals&oldid=166033.

APA style

Zijpp, Nanne van der, Name Alf Redekopp and Name Victor G Wiebe. (November 2019). Commemorative Medals. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 28 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Commemorative_Medals&oldid=166033.

---

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, pp. 648-649; vol. 4, p. 1074. All rights reserved.

©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.