The Vintage Catholic Collector

St Barbara, Protect Us In Storms

2011-05-23T20:48:00.004-04:00

I gave this vintage St Barbara medal to my daughter, who is a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, after she made it home after the devastating tornadoes there. She went to the basement of the library, so she was fine, but my heart breaks today for the people of Joplin, MO and everyone who lost loved ones in Tuscaloosa.

Hence, here's St Barbara - patron of those who need protection in storms. St Barbara was imprisoned in a tower by her father for her disobedience. While in the tower, she was converted to Christianity. When her father found out, he dragged her from the tower and killed her. In a moment of divine retribution, he was immediately struck by a bolt of lightning and killed himself! The avenging of her death by lightning led to her association with storms and protecting those who are endangered by them.

Have a Blessed Easter!

2011-04-24T18:08:00.002-04:00

I found this beautiful old holy card in a local antique shop on Saturday. It was the only thing I could afford in there, so I think it was just meant to be!
I hope that my readers (all 3 of you) have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

A Micro Mosaic Cross

2011-03-30T15:38:00.002-04:00

Micro mosaic pieces have been around since the 16th century, and the technique has been used to replicate many beautiful pieces of art in the Vatican. As a matter of fact, BK and I went to a really lovely exhibition of Vatican micro mosaics at the old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans a few years ago. You really couldn't believe that these works of art were done in stone!

Well, this cross has probably been done in mosaic tiles made of glass rather than stone. The maker would fabricate long "canes" of glass and then snip off small pieces to us in mosaic work. These things were very popular during the late 19th century when so many people were making the "grand tour" of Europe. A micro mosaic piece showing a Roman ruin or piece of art was one of the best ways to show everyone where you had been without saying "HEY EVERYONE! I was rich enough to make a grand tour of Europe and I even went to ROME!"

This micro mosaic cross is really interesting because it also has a tinted photo of Pope Pius XII in the center! I think it was probably made to commemorate the jubilee year of 1950. I have a similar one showing Pope Pius XI that was done for the jubilee year of 1933. It was clearly made in Rome because the word "ROMA" is spelled out in tiles on the lower arm of the cross.

The framework for the mosaic work is brass twisted wires on the front. The pieces of mosaic glass were carefull set into heavy duty glue and the piece was left to dry. The back of this cross is also brass and the sides have a pretty little dotted detail.

Micro mosaic pieces are fun to collect and some of them can go for thousands of dollars depending on size and the amount of tiles per square inch. The more tiles and the more closely they are set, the better the piece.

I'm back and I've brought Joan of Arc with me!

2011-03-21T18:00:00.003-04:00

Hello world!

I am refreshed and renewed after a weekend retreat called Christ Renews His Parish. What a wonderful gift to my parish community! I met lots of great women there who I know to love and know better over the coming months. One of these great women was the never-met-a-stranger Sarah who writes the blog Catholic Drinkie - and no, she's not an alcoholic, just a girl who totally respects and enjoys a refreshing adult beverage on occasion and combines her faith with fun!

So, anyway, I was talking with her and she inspired me to re-start my little blog attempt over here. I won't be blogging every day ~ maybe every week if we're lucky! But I've decided that it's OK. I'll do it as much as the Lord allows and follow his lead in this endeavor.

The cool catholic collector item I want to share with you today is a vintage hair barette. That's right ~ a hair clip, like a ponytail holder, or almost. This beautiful clip has a medallion of St Joan of Arc set in the center of some lovely scrollwork. I'm sure it must have been silverplated at one time because you can still see traces of the silver on the front and all over the back. And the fact that the silver is missing tells me that this barette was used and loved for a long time. Maybe it was used for a child's first communion?

It came from France, and Joan of Arc is the patron saint of that nation and very popular with girls since she died at the young age of 19. I'm reading a great book about St Joan right now called Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint by Donald Spoto. I'm really enjoying it because I was looking for a book that told the real story of St Joan - not the hollywood version and not the romanticized version. The book is very well-researched and easy to read. It even shows Joan's letters and quotes from her trial. All I can say is - you go girl! St Joan was awesome and amazing and I love her that much more after learning more about her.

This blog is moving!

2010-10-04T14:46:00.001-04:00

Hi everyone!

I've decided to consolidate my blog with my website "Collecting Vintage Catholic Medals" at http://vintagemedals.webs.com/. I think you'll find that the information is easier to access and is more organized. I have tons of new information on the site, so please click on the link and visit!

God bless,

Susan

Jesus in the Eucharist Holy Card and Craft

2010-08-17T11:20:00.007-04:00

This is one of my favorite holy cards of all time. And "Why?", you might ask? Well, lets take a look at it. It has beautiful engraving and it's in perfect condition - not a rip or even a crease in the delicate paper lace around the edges.

I also love the fact that the original owner wrote her name and the occasion she received it on the back. "Souvenir of my reception into the Children of Mary, the 21st of Aug. 1902. M.C. Dupont"

It shows a girl leaning against the altar before the tabernacle. In front of her is a shining chalice, and over her head is .... maybe the biggest host ever! I saw several of this style of holy card before I realized that it has a secret.

When you hold it up to the light, there is Jesus in the Eucharist watching over her! What a wonderful way to convey the fact to a child that Jesus himself is hidden under the auspice of the host in Holy Communion!

The symbolism is also wonderful. You only see Jesus when you hold the card up to the light. Just as we only see Jesus in the light of faith. How many times a day do we encounter him without seeing him? How many more times would we find him if we only took a moment to let the light of faith shine through our day?

The title engraved on the card echoes this sentiment. The top reads "The Secret of the Altar". Under the picture it says, "See that I am with you always, even to the end the age" (Mat 28:20)

Here's a craft idea that you can do to convey this message to your children:

You need one picture of Jesus. It can be a sticker, an image printed off the internet, or cut from a magazine, and 3 sheets of construction paper: one yellow, one white, and one for the background paper, which can be any color you like.

2. Print out the template for the 1/2 of a chalice and host that is shown on the right. Make sure your picture of Jesus will fit inside the host! (If you just cut and past the template onto a blank sheet in Microsoft Word you can enlarge or reduce it as you like before printing it.)
Fold the yellow paper in half and put the chalice template on the folded edge. Outline and cut it out. When you open it, you will have a complete chalice. Glue it onto your background paper and let your child decorate it with crayons, markers and plastic jewels or sequins. You can also stick tin foil on it to make it shiny!
Fold the white paper in half and put the flat side of the host template on the folded edge of the paper. Outline and cut it out. You will now have an almost circular piece of white paper that opens like a door.
Glue the above the chalice, making sure the "door" opens the right way. Now open the host and glue your picture of Jesus inside. You child can draw a cross on the outside of the host if you would like so it looks more special.
And there you have it! Your picture should show the host above a beautiful chalice. When it's shut, your child can't see Jesus, but open it and, surprise! There is Jesus in the Eucharist just as he is in the real host during mass!

What is a Black Madonna?

2010-08-10T19:55:00.003-04:00

Black Madonna Statues

The first time I saw a Black Madonna medal, my reaction was 'Our Lady of ....what?' The names and locations of many of the Black Madonna representations are not familiar to us; however, they represent a unique and intensely spiritual time in the life of the Catholic church. Collecting this type of medal is both challenging and fun since they can prove to be difficult to find. First, let me attempt to answer a few questions ~

What is a Black Madonna?

Black Madonnas are statues representing the Blessed Virgin Mary and Christ Child with dark skin. They frequently date back to the middle ages and are typically associated with a history of miracles. There are an estimated 450 to 500 Black Madonna statues
known in the world today. Typically petite, measuring only about 3 feet high, these statues have European features that contrast with the darkness of their skin tone. Usually they are made of wood, but some are made of stone.

Why are they black?

This is the $64,000 dollar question. There are several suggestions for the darkness of these Madonna's skin.
The features have been darkened over the centuries with grime and candle soot, leaving them very black in color. However, this down not explain those Madonna statues that are recorded as having always been black.

Some of these images were certainly brought back to Europe by soldiers returning from the crusades in the Holy Land. They were crafted by and for the darker skinned people of that area of the world. Knowing that these statues came from the actual area that was home to Jesus and Mary reinforced and made acceptable the idea that the Madonna and Child should be represented with dark skin, influencing European craftsmen in their work. This idea probably was reinforced by the scriptural passage from the Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verse 5, 'I am black, but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem...'. The female elements of this book of poetry were typically thought during the middle ages to represent the Virgin Mary, so the connection between Mary and dark skin could have been easily made.

Black Madonnas represent some link with pre-Christian eart goddess traditions or early representations of the goddess Isis with her son Horus. Their blackness shows a connection with this goddess and the darkness of the earth.

I think it's safe to say that, whatever their origins, the typical worshipper of the middle ages primarily saw the beauty of the Mother of God cradling her infant son, Jesus, in each of these unique statues. Each one showed a connection to the divine to which even the most humble peasant could relate. Often the madonnas were part of a pilgrimage route to the shrine of a saint or were noted for miraculous healings and protection. They represent a simple and profound faith that shaped the lives of everyone who came in contact with them.

Many black madonnas are very old, even ancient, but modern artists still make icons, statues, and paintings showing the Virgin Mary with black or dark skin. These modern representations are no less black madonnas than the ancient, but more famous, statues that are found on religious medals. Black madonnas still carry a potent, even defiant, message to the world. Just read the popular novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd to see how powerful this image still is today!

What about Ancient Madonnas Statues?

Similar to black madonnas, "ancient" madonnas (as I call them) are very old, small statues of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child found throughout the world. These representations have been venerated and invoked for assistance and protection for hundreds, sometimes over a thousand, years. The main difference between these statues and black madonna statues is that ancient madonnas lack the dark skin tones of black madonnas and they are always very, very old. Black madonnas are frequently also very old, but not always - Our Lady of Guadalupe is considered by some to be a "newer" black madonna! Occasionally a black madonna statue has been cleaned to reveal a lighter toned ancient madonna ~ in one case, the residents of the town insisted on retinting this statue back to it's original black tone!

What does this teach me?

I think that the lesson we can learn from all these representations of the Virgin Mary is that since she is our mother, mother of the world, mother of all peoples of the world, she must look like all of her children. What child does not look like his or her mother in some way? Even my friend's adopted children look like their adoptive mothers in expression, tone of voice, or mannerism. So, of course, our representations of our mother will also look like ourselves.

I teach preschool, and frequently children will draw pictures of their mothers. Do these pictures actually look like their mothers? Not really! But I've never seen a mother not love a picture that her child has made of her. And this is the important thing to remember when learning about all representations of the Blessed Mother - what was in the heart of the creator of that image? If it was love for his or her heavenly mother, then that image is beautiful and truly shows what our mother looks like.

I'll be featuring more on black and ancient madonnas on this blog and I hope you'll enjoy it!

Congregation of the Children of Mary Medal

2010-07-20T22:25:00.006-04:00

This beautiful 19th century medal would have been worn by a member of the group "The Congregation of the Children of Mary". It's sterling silver - you can tell because that little dent or ding at the top of the medal is actually a French sterling silver guarantee mark in the shape of a boar's head...a very, very, very tiny boar's head.

The front of the medal shows the Blessed Virgin Mary in the same pose that she has on the Miraculous Medal: standing on a snake with a halo of stars around her head. (I've added a picture of a Miraculous Medal right below the Children of Mary medal) The Miraculous Medal was struck at the request of the Virgin Mary during a series of visions that were experienced by St Catherine Laboure beginning in 1830. In 1835 St Catherine told her confessor of a request the Blessed Mother had made to her during on of these visions:

"It is the Blessed Virgin's wish that you should found a Confraternity of the Children of MARY. She will give them many graces. The month of May will be kept with great splendour and MARY will bestow abundant blessings upon them."

And so the seed was planted for the beginning of The Congregation of the Children of Mary. The group was first opened to girls who were students or orphans in the care of the The Sisters of Charity (St Catherine Laboure's religious order), and later welcomed girls not associated with the order as well. Girls and young women in the society were encouraged to live holy and devout lives in the everyday world by embracing the virtues of sacrifice, prayer, and works of charity.

But....you couldn't just show up and say "Hey! I'm ready to be a child of Mary!" A girl had to
request to join, then wait six months during which time she practiced the virtues of the group and prepared to live its values. When a girl finally entered the group, she was given a beautiful silver medal, like the one above, which she could wear on a blue ribbon. I've even heard that they sometimes wore little blue capes as well!

The wording around the edge of the medal reads "Monstra Te Esse Matrem" which is Latin for "Show thyself a mother". These words come from a line in the ancient Marian hymn "Ave Stella Maris" or "Hail Star of The Sea".

When you flip the medal over, you see an emblem featuring two stems of lilies curving around a radiant star. I think that the star must also represent Mary as "The Star of the Sea", and the lily symbolizes purity, which was an important virtue for Children of Mary.

The wording around the edge is in French and translates as "Congregation of the Children of Mary", but the group was also known as the "Sodality of the Children of Mary". At the bottom is a small area that could be used to engrave the child's name or the date of her entry into the society. You can see that this medal was worn by a girl with the initials "G. G.", and she entered the congregation on December 16, 1893 - my mother's birthday! (Dec. 16, not 1893....)

I love imagining how proud she must have been to receive such a beautiful medal. And her family really splurged by purchasing a large medal in sterling silver rather than less expensive one in silver plate or even aluminum. I'm sure that it looked lovely whenever she wore it on a pretty blue ribbon, reminding her to be a good girl and live up to the values of the Children of Mary. She was in good company as well, because St Therese of Lisieux was a member of the group and St Maria Goretti became a member on her deathbed.

Notre Dame du Suc - Our Lady of the Sap

2010-07-13T12:32:00.001-04:00

This is a lovely example of what I call an "ancient madonna" medal. It shows "Notre Dame du Suc" or "Our Lady of the Sap" with the inscription, "Notre Dame du Suc P.P.N." (Priez Pour Nous or Pray For Us). Ancient madonna medals are struck to commemorate a pilgrimage site that features a statue of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child. These statues are similar to black madonnas, but - they're not black. Both black and ancient madonna statues typically have interesting stories attached to their finding, and the story of Notre Dame du Suc is a good example.

In the 8th century, a shepherd named Jacques or Jacobus, found a small transparent stone statue of the Madonna and Child in a tree near Brissac, France. (I think this must be the origin of the statue's unusual title "Our Lady of the Sap or Our Lady of the Juice. Maybe it was a really sappy tree that they found her in.) Nobody knew where the statue came from or who had left it there, so it was considered to be a miracle.

A group of Benedictine monks who had an orphanage in Brissac wanted to build a chapel to this beautiful little madonna in a spot that would be convenient to worshippers. The chose a large vacant area on the path from Brissac to Moulin Neuf for their building site. When the chapel was finished, the statue was placed there with great ceremony; however, the next morning the statue had disappeared from the chapel and was found back in her original tree. This happened every time the statue was moved, so the Benedictines came to the decision that the Madonna wanted to be left where she was.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find out what the Benedictines did next - did they just leave the statue there? In the rain? Did they build a new chapel on the site where the statue was found? (That's what usually happens in these stories.) It's a mystery to me!

Anyway, the story jumps from here to 16th century when Jean de Courdurier, a councilor to King Louis XIV, asked Notre Dame du Suc for the blessing of a child with his wife, Marie Rey de la Croix. A year later she gave birth to a son. In thanksgiving, de Courdurier had the chapel entirely rebuilt and a new statue of the Madonna and Child carved. This statue can be seen in the current church of Notre Dame du Suc which was constructed in 1875.

Notre Dame du Suc is invoked for protection of people in the military. The church of Notre Dame du Suc is still a popular pilgrimage destination. It has a rough and stony path featuring the stations of the cross that rises up the mountain on which the church is situated. At the end of the path, there is a beautiful statue of Notre Dame du Suc along with amazing views of the entire valley.

source: http://nddusuc.free.fr/index.php?lng=fr

A Beautiful Lourdes Medal

2010-07-07T20:57:00.002-04:00

I love this medal. It’s from Lourdes, France, where St Bernadette saw the Blessed Virgin Mary in a series of visions from February 11 to July 16, 1858.

St Bernadette was a poor peasant girl who lived with her family in a hovel that had formerly been the city jail until it was deemed too unhealthy for the prisoners. She was sickly, with asthma, and uneducated. On February 11, 1858, Bernadette went with her sister and a friend to collect firewood. Before crossing a stream, Bernadette paused beside a grotto known as “La Massabeille” (the old rock) to remover her stockings. Her attention was drawn to the grotto by a gust of wind. Here is what she saw, in Bernadette’s own words:

“ As I raised my head to look at the grotto, I saw a Lady dressed in white, wearing a white dress, a blue girdle and a yellow rose on each foot, the same color as the chain of her rosary; the beads of the rosary were white."

"The Lady made a sign for me to approach; but I was seized with fear, and I did not dare, thinking that I was faced with an illusion. I rubbed my eyes, but in vain. I looked again, and I could still see the same Lady. Then I put my hand into my pocket, and took my rosary. I wanted to make the sign of the cross, but in vain; I could not raise my hand to my forehead, it kept on dropping. Then a violent impression took hold of me more strongly, but I did not go."

"The Lady took the rosary that she held in her hands and she made the sign of the cross. Then I commenced not to be afraid. I took my rosary again; I was able to make the sign of the cross; from that moment I felt perfectly undisturbed in mind. I knelt down and said my rosary, seeing this Lady always before my eyes. The Vision slipped the beads of her rosary between her fingers, but she did not move her lips. When I had said my rosary the Lady made a sign for me to approach, but I did not dare. I stayed in the same place. Then, all of a sudden, she disappeared.”

The front of this medal depicts St Bernadette kneeling before the Madonna in the grotto. She’s holding a rosary and a candle because during one of the apparitions, she held her hand over the flame of a candle for at least 15 minutes without burning her skin. This was witnessed by many onlookers, including a doctor who examined her immediately afterwards. The Virgin Mary is depicted just a Bernadette described her. She’s standing in a niche above a rose bush with her hands clasped in prayer. She has a rose on each foot and a rosary hanging from her arm.

You’ll see this depiction of Bernadette and the Virgin Mary on the backs of many medals, usually with Mary on the front. The inscription at the top says “Souvenir of the 50th anniversary” and “1858 to 1908” beneath it. So, dating this medal is pretty easy. We know it was struck in 1908 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes.

What makes this medal really unique is what it says on the back – the words the Virgin Mary said to Bernadette during her apparitions! It's in French of course, but here’s what it says in English,

“Will you do me the kindness to come here every day for fifteen days?
I do not promise to make you happy in this world, but in the next.
I would like for everyone to come to pray for sinners.
Penitence! Penitence! Penitence!
Go drink at the spring and wash there.
Kiss the ground for sinners.
Go to the priests and tell them to build a chapel here where people can come in procession.
The 25th of March the Virgin said: I am the Immaculate Conception”

That’s a lot to fit on a little pendant that only measures 1 1/8 x ¾ inches!

I could go on and on about Lourdes and the miraculous spring and Bernadette’s life, but I think I’ll save that for another medal - this post is quite long enough as it is. So...to be continued…

St Mechtilde - Have you heard of her?

2010-06-29T18:28:00.008-04:00

I originally titled this post "The Efficacious Prayer of the Three Hail Marys". (Yawn...) St Gertrude thinking about death sounded much more intersting, so I used it instead. I found out about St Mechtilde and this special prayer while researching this interesting antique French framed "picture" (for lack of a better word.)

It looks like it's assembled from a cut-up antique holy card. The picture features a gold paper lace archway with three little groupings of cherubs, each with a banner saying "Ave Maria" (Hail Mary). Mary displays her Immaculate Heart which radiates three rays: "Puissance, Misericorde, Sagesse" (Power, Mercy, Wisdom).   Also the frame is really neat because the glass is domed over the picture - not flat.

When I first saw the rays coming from Mary's heart, I thought they looked a little like arrows and might be something related to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary (we can talk about that another time). But when I saw that they had words written on them, I thought something else might be going on. So I began googling.....

And here's what I found ~ The devotion to the three virtues of the Virgin Mary began with St. Mechtilde, who became a nun in Switzerland in 1258. Mechtilde was very holy and had such a beautiful singing voice that she was known as Christ's nightingale; however, she suffered a lot of pain from some ailment. (Just a side note...probably everyone had a lot more pains in 1258. No Tylenol, no aspirin, no anesthesia....It makes me ache to think about it!)

Because of this pain she meditated a lot, thought about death, and was especially devoted to the Virgin Mary. (Thinking about death a lot was not such a morbid preoccupation then as we think of it now. Death was much more common back then. There was the plague and dirty water and no concept of sanitation and lots of other things that we don't have to worry about today. Either you were healthy or you were dead! Many great saints contemplated death by using a "momento mori" - an object that represented death, frequently a skull, that was used to focus their thoughts on the topic. I think stray skulls were much more common back then too - what with all that death....)

Well, the Virgin Mary began to visit her in a series of visions! On one of these visits, she gave St Mechtilde this prayer:

Hail, Mary, full of grace...etc. O Holy Mary! Our sovereign Queen! as God the Father, by his omnipotence, has made thee most powerful, so assist us at the hour of our death, by defending us against all the power that is contrary to thine. Hail, Mary, etc.

O Holy Mary! our sovereign Queen! as God the Son has endowed thee with so much knowledge and splendor, that it enlightens all Heaven, so in the hour of our death, illumine and strengthen our souls with the knowledge of the true faith, that they be not perverted by error or pernicious ignorance. Hail, Mary, etc.

O Holy Mary! our sovereign Queen! as the Holy Ghost has plentifully replenished thee with the love of God, so instill into us at the hour of our death, the sweetness of divine love, that all bitterness at that time may become acceptable and pleasant to us Hail, Mary, etc.

Each paragraph addresses a different gift given to Mary by the trinity.  God the Father gave her power, God the Son gave her wisdom, and God the Holy Spirit gave her Mercy.

During an apparition to St. Gertrude (a close friend and student of St Mechthilde), the Blessed Mother promised, "To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor of beauty so extraordinary that it will fill that soul with heavenly consolation."   Since people knew they could get sick today and die tomorrow, this prayer was a great way of being prepared to meet your Maker at any time!

Actually, the same could be said for us. We just don't want to think about it. So you might copy this little prayer down and keep it handy. You never know when you might need it!

How Can You Tell If a Medal Is Really Vintage?

2010-06-24T17:50:00.002-04:00

Good question! I've been fooled a few times, but now that I've been selling vintage religious medals for a few years, I think I'm wise to the ways of telling if a medal is old or not. Please keep in mind that there are ALWAYS exceptions to everything I'm going to say here! I've found some beautiful vintage medals that are in mint condition and I've found some new medals that look like they've been through the wringer. These are just some basic guidelines that I use when looking for vintage religious medals....

Patina
The first thing to look at is the patina. Is it tarnished? Not necessarily black, but does it look like the surface patina has built up over time? A true old patina will be darker in the crevices and low spots on the medal than it is on the high spots. The words and image on the medal will be lighter than the background because they have been rubbed clean by being touched, while tarnish has been building up in the lower areas without being disturbed.

This newer medal of Pope John Paul II shows the typical lack of patina found on newer medals. No place is really darker than the other. On the St Anthony medal, there is a patina around the figure that gently blends into the background. This type of delicate patina is very hard to duplicate and is typically found in older medals. A patina that has been added to make a medal look old tends to have sharper edges and the raised areals will be shiny where the added patina has been rubbed off. You hardly ever see this, but it could happen.

Artistic Style
What is the artistic style of the image? Early 20th century medals have beautiful, delicate flowing lines and remarkable detail. Medals from the 1930's into the 1940's frequently have an art deco touch. 19th century medals might have images that look a little cruder and less refined. 19th century medals are also sometimes thinner and more delicate than later medals.

Look at St Catherine of Siena on the left, now look at St Agnes on the right. Big difference, yes? St Catherine is depicted in a simpler style and the medal is much thinner. St Agnes is dramatic and detailed and the medal is thicker. And on the left is St Rita done in art deco style which can be recognized by its repeated geometric shapes and patterns.

Wear

Is the image crisp and clear or has it been smoothed over time? An old medal that has been worn will usually have the fine detail rubbed smooth from being handled by previous owners. If it's silver plate, the brass colored base metal might show through the worn places. This is not always the case, and there are ways of casting new medals from molds made with vintage medals, but it's usually a good sign to show that a medal is old.

The image of the Virgin Mary from this 19th century Miraculous Medal has had the detail rubbed off over time. This softened effect really adds to the beauty of vintage medals. The St John the Baptist medal probably dates from the 1960' or 1970's, which still classifies it as vintage, but look how crisp the image is. And no delicate patina again!

Image on both sides?
Is there an image on both the front of the medal and the back? Newer medals almost always only have an image on the front and a smooth or slightly textured surface on the back. Many (but not all!) vintage medals have images on both sides. If the medal shows a saint who was a martyr, the reverse might show a palm branch. If it shows a saint who was known for purity, there may be a spray of lilies on the back. Often there will be saints who are connected in some way on both sides. St John Vianey usually has St Philomena on the reverse because he had a special devotion to St Philomena during his lifetime. St Francis of Assisi will frequently have St Clare on the reverse because they were good friends, and St Clare started a community based on St Francis's religious order.

Here's an example of a medal with St Francis on the front (the "obverse") and St Clare on the back (the "reverse") This medal also shows nice wear with the base metal showing through the silver plate and a good patina.

Shape
What is the shape of the medal? I frequently see oval, base-metal medals of saints being sold as "vintage". And yes, they might be old, but they're not really collectible or considered vintage because they can still be purchased at lots of places today. As my grandmother would say "They're a dime a dozen!"
Vintage medals are frequently circular or oval, but also can have delicate lace-like edges, figural depictions, and other unusual shapes. The rarity of the shape makes it more likely to be a vintage medal.

Here are a few vintage religious medals with unusual shapes - of course there are tons more out there!

Here's and example of one of those oval base-metal medals that are sometimes sold as vintage. It's a fine medal, but not collectable.

Whom are you buying from?

Is it someone who has experience in exonumia? (I'm showing off my vocabulary - exonumia is "numismatic items that that are not coins or paper money." Things like medals, tokens, tags, or badges) (OK, what is a "numismatics"? Numismatics is the study or collection of currency - both coins and paper money.)
What was I saying? Oh, whom are you buying from... If you're buying from the sweet nun who's selling her old, tarnished, and unusual religious medals to raise money for charity, it's a pretty good bet that they're vintage. You know that medal's "provenance" - where it came from and who owned it - it's story. If you're buying from "Crazy Joe's Exonumia" on Ebay - well, I'd take a good look at the photo before I bid. It might be vintage - it might not.

I really don't think many people out there purposely try to pass off new medals for vintage. But I know that there are a lot of people out there who think that they have vintage medals but really don't. It's an honest mistake, and I'm hoping this post will help people know what they really have.

I'm sure that once I post this, I'll think of a couple of other clues that I use to figure out the age of a medal, but this is a good start for any medal collector. Please let me know if you have any questions of suggestions about dating vintage medals. Everyone loves to learn more!

The Holy Maries of the Sea

2010-06-19T13:46:00.002-04:00

This beautiful vintage religious medal is from France (like most of my medals) and shows two women floating in a little boat being rowed by angels. The inscription is "Saintes Maries P.P.N" (Holy Maries Pray For Us). This really unusual and pretty medal was struck to commemorate an ancient devotion to the "Holy Maries of the Sea".

According to legend, after the crucifixion of Jesus, Mary Salome, Mary Jacobe, and Mary Magdalene set sail (or were cast adrift) from Alexandria, Egypt with their uncle Joseph of Arimathea. Either way they arrived off the coast of what is now France, at location now known as Notre-Dame-de-Ratis (Our Lady of the Boat). The name was later changed to Notre-Dame-de-la-Mer, and then in 1838 to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Holy Maries of the Sea).

The town is a pilgrimage destination for Roma (Gypsies), who gather yearly for a religious festival in honor of Saint Sarah. The French believed she was Mary Magdalene's daughter, and she was also known as Sara-la-Kali (Sara the black). Dark-skinned Saint Sara is said to have possibly been the Egyptian servant of the three Marys. (source: Wikipedia)

Some of these medals also show Saint Sarah on the back, but she usually gets the short end of the stick and is portrayed as a woman hidden by about 20 layers of ruffles, so she looks a little bit like a post.

Jan 5, Feast of St Simon Stylites

2009-01-05T15:22:00.004-05:00

Saint Simon Stylites was a man who wanted to get away from it all....up, up, and away, actually. He lived as a monk at the end of the 4th century and engaged in penances so, um, disgusting, that the abbot of his monastery finally told him, "Man, why do you do these things!...Go somewhere else and die away from us!"

So Simon did just that. He went away into the desert and experimented with living in different uncomfortable situations until he finally decided to live alone on the top of a tower. The story goes that the tower was 60 feet high and his living area was a platform that was about 6 feet square.

His choosing to live in this manner was an extreme form of penance that could hardly be found today, but St Simon started a trend among hermits of that time who thought living on the top of a tower could literally bring them closer to God!

St Simon became famous for his preaching, skills at mediation, and gift of healing. He died in 459 and a monastery was built at the site of his tower. The foundation of the tower can still be seen in the monastery's ruins.

Source: http://www.cs.drexel.edu/~gbrandal/Illum_html/Simeon.html

Jan 1, Feast of Mary, the Mother of God

2009-01-01T20:42:00.003-05:00

January 1, the Feast of Mary the Mother of God

Who do you think Jesus is? Today we are very familiar with the idea of his being the second person of the divine Trinity, fully God and fully man, but during the fourth century this was a very new idea.

The feast of Mary, the Mother of God was proclaimed as a way to both honor Mary and make clear exactly who Jesus is ~ not a person who claimed to be divine like the Roman emperors, not a god who just assumed a human "disguise" like the ancient Roman and Greek gods, but that he is God come to earth as man. Fully man and fully God, making Mary the Mother of God.

Today is also a holy day of obligation ~ if you didn't make it to mass today, I'm sure you can find a church that will welcome you tomorrow!

A Patron Saint for Budweiser

2008-06-06T16:19:00.011-04:00

No, I'm not kidding. When you hear that there's a saint for everything - well, there really is! This is a great old holy card from France. It was printed by the Aiguebelle Chocolate Company, and is one of a series that was handed out in their chocolate bars. That's right ~ a series of collector's cards of the saints for kids that was handed out with chocolate!

Who came up with this idea? Well, it probably had something to do with the fact that Aiguebelle Choclate was run by a group of monks who hit upon the idea of selling chocolate as a money-maker after the French Revolution. They gave out all kinds of collectors cards: dinosaurs, seashells, "The World of Mammals", crustaceans, famous composers, and on and on. No beanie babies or Hannah Montana toys with your happy meals when the monks are in charge!

But think about it... remember Willy Wonka? He gave out 5 golden tickets in his chocolate bars that allowed the luck winners to tour his amazing candy factory. Getting a saint card in your bar of chocolate and then being inspired to emulate his or her life would be like winning a REAL golden ticket that could help you get into the most wonderful place ever ~ heaven!

But I digress from St. Arnold. Why is St. Arnold the patron saint of brewers? Well, St Arnold lived in the 7th century. A time when people literally drank beer like water! This was because water at that time was really unsafe to drink. If there were people around, you could be pretty sure that they were using the water supply as their privy, washing area, and livestock cooler. Yuck. St Arnold encouraged people to drink beer instead of water because it was healthier. One story claims that he dipped his cross into a vat of beer, blessing it and making it safe to drink, ending an outbreak of illness in the town. Actually, since beer is brewed over heat, the increased temperature killed much of the bacteria that was present in the drink. He brewed beer at his monastery in Metz, France and is suppose to have said "From man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world."

St Arnold is not shown carrying a crozier (bishop's staff) or cross ~ instead he holds a mashing rake, one of the instruments used in the making of beer. Next time you go to the grocery store to buy a six-pack, why not celebrate this great saint by checking to see if they carry beer from the St Arnold Brewing Company! Then lift a glass (in moderation, of course) and drink to the memory of this great saint.

Let's start with the Holy Family....

2008-06-05T14:42:00.001-04:00

Where would we Catholics be without the Holy Family? If there were no Mary and Joseph there would be no home for baby Jesus, no nativity story, no Christmas presents...anyway, you get the idea. So I thought I'd begin my blog with a unique Holy Family medal I discovered.

This medal has the Virgin Mary on one side and Joseph holding baby Jesus on the other. The Mary side has a beautiful detailed depiction of the Blessed Mother as she appears on the Miraculous Medal (a medal that Mary requested to be struck with this image on the front...more about that in another post.) She's shown standing on the globe with her foot crushing the head of a serpent to symbolize her triumph over satan. Rays of light are flowing from her hands and she's surrounded by the inscription in French "O MARIE CONCUE SANS PECHE PRIEZ POUR NOUS QUI AVONS RECOURSE A VOUS" (O Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to you). I just love the turn of Mary's head and the way the artist portrayed the drapery of her robe in this depiction.

Here's the Saint Joseph side. I think this is just about the best looking Saint Joseph I've ever seen on a medal. He looks like the type of man who would take the job of protecting Mary and Jesus pretty seriously and build a few houses on the side to support them all! He's shown as a young man with thick curly hair holding the baby Jesus in his arms. The inscription is in Latin "STE JOSEPH ORA PRO NOBIS" (St Joseph Pray for Us).
And what a cute baby Jesus! All chubby and cute, like I'm sure he was, and actually looking somewhat "baby-ish" as opposed the "mini-adult" which is the way he looks in so many other baby depictions.
Jesus is holding a lilly in his hand to represent St Joseph. The lilly is Joseph's symbol in art for a couple of reasons: one is that the lilly represents purity and Joseph was thought to be very pure since, according to Catholic tradition, Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life. You'll sometimes see him referred to as "Model of Purity" or Mary's "most chaste spouse".
The second reason for the lilly is because of a legend associated with St Joseph. Since Mary was a consecrated virgin, meaning she had taken a religious vow to remain a virgin throughout her life, there were not too many guys pounding down the door to ask for her hand when it was time for her to be married. The available men all put their staffs together and asked for a sign from God to let them know who should be Mary's "most chaste spouse", and Joseph's staff grew a lilly from the tip! A sign from God if ever there was one! So next time you see a depiction of St Joseph holding his staff, take a close look. Frequently you'll see a lilly sprouting from the end of it.
I would guess that this medal dates to the middle of the 19th century. It's detailed, but the depiction is not as detailed as the later 19th century medals of the art nouveau movement. The medal is quite thick and heavy and appears to be solid brass.