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Medallions by Karl Goetz
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Goetz Medallion in Bronze (Item GOETZ MEDS 1-1) |
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| DESCRIPTION: Here is a rare Goetz medal that the master commemorative medallion maker Karl Goetz struck around 1921. The Medallion On the obverse: The German eagle lies helplessly on its back trying to remove with its beak the shackles which bind its feet. The inscription reads: “GANZ DEUTSCHLAND LAG IN SCHMACH UND SCHMERZ-MIT IHM SEIN LAND TIROL” (“All of Germany lay in disgrace and pain—so did her land, Tyrol!"). On the reverse side: Two Italian soldiers tug at a huge arm holding a Tyrolian cap. Inscription, “ABSTIMMUNG AN’S REICH!” (“Vote the Reich”) and is dated 20 April 1921. The artist’s “K G” is beneath the right soldier. The Tyrolians voted heavily in favor of Germany in the plebiscite. Nevertheless, the German district of South-Tyrol was given to Italy. (The secret Treaty of London on April 26, 1915, played an important part in this action.) The medal measures a little under 2½ inches in diameter and is in excellent condition. PRICE: $250.00 |
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 KG = Karl Goetz |
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Lusitania Medal (Item GOETZ MEDS 1-2) |
DESCRIPTION: The original design of this medal was originally created by the famous German medalist Karl Goetz and was later copied by the British for propaganda purposes during WW I. The medal on the obverse shows the Lusitania slipping below the waves and with obvious war contraband on her deck. Cannon, war planes armaments with the admonishment above which translates to “no contraband goods!” And below it says the liner Lusitania sunk by German U-boat May 5, 1915. This is Goetz’ first obverse which bore the incorrect date of May 5, 1915 an error he later attributed to a flawed newspaper account and that error is what made this such a controversial piece. In the 2nd obverse, Goetz corrected the date to May 7th. The actual date of the sinking of the Lusitania. The reverse has a skeleton representing death selling Passage in the Cunard Line ticket office. Along the top of the medal are the German words for business overall mocking the Cunard Line for willingly placing passenger’s lives at stake. At the left is a man reading a paper on which are the German words for U-Boat Danger, while behind him is the German Ambassador Count Von Bernstoff wagging a wagging finger as a reminder that the Germans had placed a warning advertisement in the same newspaper as the Cunard Line sailing schedule. The Controversy: Like all Allied propaganda, the actual Lusitania story is quite different than the one told by the British. Winston Churchill once said “history will be kind to me for I will write the history”. There are write ups to be found on the web that directly blame Churchill himself for the tragedy of the great ship. We will leave it to the potential buyer to determine the rest of the story with a bit of research on line. All we can say at this point is that it has been established reliably that the Lusitania was indeed carrying live munitions and under the rules of war that would have made the liner a legitimate target as the Germans maintained at the time. It is also known that the British Navy attempted to destroy the wreck in the 1950’s to conceal its military cargo. The one we offer is one of the 300,000 reproduced in 1916 by Gordon Selfridge at the request of Captain of British Naval Intelligence for propaganda purposes. It is struck in iron and plated bronze. It is a reproduction (an old repro) from England but still a valuable historical item. 2 ¼ inches in diameter and in great condition. PRICE: SOLD |
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Art Medal of Graf von Spee by Karl Goetz (Item GOETZ MEDS 1-3) |
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| DESCRIPTION: All have heard of the ill-fated magnificent Panzershiffe (battleship) Graf Spee. This was the flagship of the German Navy. It was launched in October 1932 and scuttled on December 17, 1939 in Uruguayan waters after seeing action with British Navy. The man for whom the ship was named is Vice Admiral Graf v. Spee, 1861-1914. He was famous for his defeat of the British commander Admiral Craddock at the start of WWI; however, the brave seaman was defeated by Sir Frederick Studee near the Falkland Islands in December of 1914, and he went down the his ship. The incident became famous in German naval tradition. It should be noted that the hunting down of Spee’s squadron was an act of revenge by the Brits, who were embarrassed by earlier defeats by the German admiral. Six German ships including Spee’s own flagship, Scharnhorst, were sunk with 2,200 sailors drowned, among them, Admiral Spee. Interesting, but horrible, that s per usual, the British command literally watched those sailors drown. (British ferocity evidenced through the ages!).The medal is by the most famous medalist of the Imperial and N.S. period, Karl Goetz. The front has the words ‘Maximilian Graf von Spee Vizeadmiral.” The reverse has the proud German eagle standing rampant upon a sea monster (Britain) with the date ‘1914,’ and the legend says” ‘Seeschlacht bei Santa Maria 1 Nov.. At the bottom are the initials ‘KG’ for Karl Goetz. It’s oval in shape 2 1/2 x 1 3/4 inches. It has a beautiful patina and beautiful condition.
PRICE: SOLD |
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Please refer to item designator in parentheses in all correspondence.
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