Gold 1920 Smyrna Armenian Orphans Tribute Medal to Mrs. C. Van Etten

Identifier

ANRO-1579

Reference Description

Gold 1920 Smyrna Armenian Orphans Tribute Medal to Mrs. C. Van Etten

Obverse: Incuse legend ARMENIAN ORPHANS GRATEFUL TO MRS. C. VAN-ETTEN, 1920 surrounding her monogram in affixed wreath broken at left.
Reverse: Larger wreath around left, 6-line Armenian inscription.
ԻԶՄԻՐ ՀԱՅ ՈՐԲԸ ԵՐԱԽՏԱԳԷՏ ՏԻԿԻՆ Ք. ՎԱՆԷԹԸՆԻ 1920
Specifications: Gold, 30mm, 14.5g
Artist / Engraver:
Mint:
Edge: Reeded
Mintage:
Reference:
Image shown: Stack's October 2010 Coin Galleries Sale

Hand engraved disc is held in a reeded bezel with fob-type loop. It is somewhat eerie to contemplate an Armenian orphanage in a city that was still officially part of the same Ottoman Empire which had launched the 1915 genocide against the Armenian people. Smyrna may have been under Greek occupation in 1920, building up to the Turkish slaughter of the Greeks there in 1922, a double irony.

Files

ANRO-1579 Gold 1920 Smyrna Armenian Orphans Tribute Medal to Mrs. C. Van Etten.jpg

Collection

Citation

“Gold 1920 Smyrna Armenian Orphans Tribute Medal to Mrs. C. Van Etten,” Armenian Numismatic Research Organization, accessed December 22, 2024, https://armnumres.org/items/show/1579.