GERMANY. Frankfurt. Medal 1844 (Gold, 49 mm, 87.45 g, 12 h), on the 70th Anniversary of the banker Salomon Mayer Rothschild (1774-1855). By K. Lange. Wien (Vienna). S•M•FREYHERR V•ROTHSCHILD. - GEB•IX•SEPT• MDCCLXXIV. Bare bust of Salomon Mayer Rothschild to left.
Rev. ✱FÜR SEINE FREUNDE ZUR FEYER SEINES SIEBENZIGSTEN GEBURTSFESTES IX•SEPT•MDCCLXXIV• Helmeted and crowned coat of arms, displaying the Hessian lion, the Austrian eagle, and, twice, a hand holding five arrows symbolizing the unity of the brothers; at center, small escutcheon depicting a buckler; below all, ribbon inscribed CONCORDIA INTEGRITAS INDUSTRIA ('harmony integrity diligence' in Latin). Archiv für Frankfurts Geschichte und Kunst (Volume 7, 1855), VI, 5a-b. Hauser -. Joseph/Fellner 1039. An imposing testament to outstanding medallic art and a piece of the highest rarity. Tiny marks, small spots of toning and very minor edge nicks
, otherwise, good extremely fine.
Portrait and commemorative medals had long served a dual purpose in European society: they preserved the likeness and achievements of an individual while also functioning as personal gifts and tangible tokens of remembrance. Such pieces could be presented to relatives, friends, patrons, or close associates and were therefore often produced in relatively small numbers, with precious-metal versions reserved for a particularly select circle. The present medal is an unusually explicit example of this practice. Its reverse states that it was made ‘Für seine Freunde’ (‘for his friends’ in German) on the occasion of Salomon Mayer von Rothschild’s seventieth birthday, and Constantin von Wurzbach later described it specifically as a ‘Freundschafts-Denkmal’, or monument of friendship (C. von Wurzbach: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, Volume 27, Wien 1874, pp. 116f.). While specimens in silver and bronze are known and have occasionally appeared at auction, the gold version is of extraordinary rarity. The present piece may be the only gold specimen of this medal so far offered on the market.
Salomon Mayer von Rothschild, the second of Mayer Amschel Rothschild’s five sons, founded the Austrian branch of the family’s banking dynasty. Having already conducted important financial business with the Habsburg monarchy, he settled in Vienna around 1820-1821 and established the banking house S. M. von Rothschild. He became one of the leading financiers of the Austrian Empire and played an important role in its emerging industrial economy. Most notably, he provided the financial foundation for the ‘Kaiser Ferdinands-Nordbahn,’ Austria’s pioneering steam railway, and acquired the Witkowitz ironworks in Moravia, whose expansion closely complemented his railway interests. His standing was remarkable in a society in which Jews still faced extensive legal restrictions: in 1843 he became an honorary citizen of Vienna, thereby acquiring rights – including the ability to own property in the city – that had previously been denied him.
Rothschild’s economic achievements were accompanied by substantial philanthropy. Wurzbach records that he supported Vienna’s poorer inhabitants, endowed a fund enabling the sons of Viennese citizens to study at the Polytechnic Institute, established a dowry foundation for impoverished young women in Brno, and contributed a large sum toward the creation of a children’s hospital there. Particularly noteworthy is Wurzbach’s statement that Rothschild distributed his charitable gifts without distinction of religion or nationality, placing his philanthropy within a deliberately broader civic sphere.
This medal was created by Konrad Lange (1806-1856) during a high point in his career. Trained under Carl Friedrich Voigt in Munich and employed as Royal Greek coin and medal engraver in Athens from 1834 to 1840, Lange joined the Vienna Mint in 1843. The following year he produced this imposing portrait of Rothschild. Lange was not merely a medalist: he also engraved dies for Greek and Austrian circulating coinage, and his later work included important imperial medals and Austrian coin types. The Rothschild medal thus belongs to the mature Viennese phase of one of the most accomplished official engravers of the mid-nineteenth century.
As a gold presentation piece of the highest rarity, this medal not only commemorates one of the most influential Jewish financiers and philanthropists of the nineteenth century, but also offers a remarkable glimpse into the culture of personal remembrance, friendship, and social prestige within Europe’s Jewish elite.
