Description
GERMANY 1917 The Real Entente World War I Propaganda Medal.
Cast Æ Medal 70.8mm, 145.50 grams by Hans Harders for Robert Ball Nachfolger.
Obverse: Allegorical representations of Allies right, holding pistols and daggers ЄNTЄNTЄ in exergue; H. HARDERS 1917
Reverse: John Bull personification of Great Britain sitting facing cross-legged on stepped podium inscribed ENGLAND/UND SEINE/KNECHTE in three lines, wearing money bag on head marked £ and holding heads of Allies, each on leash.
Edge: ROB - BALL NCHF.
There is another variation of this medal where the countries are named on the reverse, and the obverse has BALL BERLIN in the top left. The countries going clockwise after John Bull are RUSS/LAND, RUMA/NIEN, SER/BIEN, MONT/NEGRO, ITAL/IEN, JAP/AN, PORTU/GAL, BEL/GIEN, FRANK/REICH. There are very few online auction records for both medals. The only other example that I have seen from this mould was offered by the Munich firm of Gorny & Mosch in 2008. It was listed as being silver and sold for €1300 plus the auction fees. The same specimen was offered by Westfälische Auktionsgesellschaft (WAG) in September 2016 where it was listed as silvered bronze and sold for €360 plus the fees. ($Cdn641.62)
Hans Harders (Born 1875 in Mörel (Holstein); Died 1955 in Berlin) was a German sculptor and medallist. Harders studied at the Berlin Art Academy and the Dresden Art Academy. The artist worked in Berlin and made statuettes and porcelain sculptures in the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. He was particularly prolific in the areas of WWI and WWII wartime art.
Robert Ball was a coin dealer in Berlin first located at Andreasstraße 19 and later Wilhelmstraße 138. He founded his company in 1887, and published a catalogue entitled Nummus. His own collection, dedicated to Medicina in Nummis, was sold in October 1905. The company was then taken over in 1913 by Johanna Grünthal, who continued the business as Robert Ball Nachfahren, and started organising auctions ( ten were held between 1917 and 1934), and struck numerous medals during WWI. The firm closed in 1941.
