GERMANY. Frankfurt. Medal (Gold, 39 mm, 32.80 g, 12 h), on the wedding of Siegmund Rosenbaum (1860-1942) and Dora Hamburger (1876-1939) in 1898. כשושנה בין החוחים כן דודי בין הבנים יפה את רעיתי כתרצה (Song of Songs 2:2: 'As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters' in Hebrew) around two conjoined coats of arms within a chuppah, clasped hands below. Rev. *✱* ביום חתונתם וביום שמחת לבם יום א׳ ער״ח שבט תרנ״ח לפ״ק שבט תרנ״ח (Song of Songs 3:11: 'On their wedding day and the day of the happiness Rosh Chodesh Shvat' in Hebrew) // FRANKFURT A. M. - MANNHEILM - GREBENSTEIN // UNSERN / KINDERN / SIEGMUND ROSENBAUM / שמשון ('Samson' in Hebrew) / UND DORA HAMBURGER / תרצה ('Tirza' in Hebrew) / ZU IHRER / VERMÄHLUNG / VON K. u. L. H. in nine lines. Joseph/Fellner 2343 var. (silver, bronze and tin). Apparently unique in gold. A magnificent and impressive marriage medal of great significance to both Jewish history in Germany and the history of the coin trade. Small deposits and minor edge faults, otherwise, good extremely fine.



Siegmund Rosenbaum, born in Grebenstein, pursued a successful career in banking and eventually became director of the Mannheim branch of the Pfälzische Bank. In 1898, he married Dora Hamburger, a daughter of Karoline and Leopold Hamburger, the latter one of Frankfurt’s most prominent coin dealers and the founder of the renowned numismatic firm that bore his name.

The marriage thus united an established Jewish banking family with a household closely connected to the flourishing German coin trade of the late 19th century. Siegmund and Dora settled in Mannheim, where they raised three children, Lilly, Else, and Julius, and Siegmund also became involved in the city’s Jewish community. Faced with increasing persecution under the Nazi regime, the couple left Germany in 1938 and emigrated to Palestine, where Dora died the following year and Siegmund in 1941.

The medal commemorating their marriage was commissioned by Dora’s parents, Karoline and Leopold Hamburger, and was produced in several metals (see lots 498 and 499 below). Significantly, the exceptionally meticulous Joseph/Fellner catalog records no example in gold, suggesting that no more than a handful - if indeed more than one - were ever struck in that metal; the piece offered here therefore appears to be the only gold example known today.

Altogether, this remarkable medal stands as an imposing testament to Jewish family life in late 19th-century Germany, uniquely bringing together Jewish tradition, the history of the numismatic trade, and the utmost rarity in a single object.