Printing plates for the Greater New York Medal (The Charter Day medal) 1898. Unique item!

Motif designed by Edward Hagaman Hall, 1898, commemorating the consolidation of the municipalities (Queens, Broklyn, Richmond, Bronx and Manhattan) to the city of New York, 1 January 1898. Copper plate, mounted on hardwood base. For printing of the medal in numismatic journal/medal catalogue. Size 64 x 64 mm. Thickness 23 mm. [Reference to the corresponding medal: ANS 1920.147.440]. Unique item!

Picture 1-2:The both printing plates (obverse and reverse) from two different views.
Picture 3:Obverse side, mirrored (with computers help) to make it easier to read it, and understand how the final print looked like.
Picture 4:Reverse side, mirrored.
Picture 5: Notice over "The Charter Day Medal" from the newspaper " Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 20, 1898".

Obverse plate:
Five seated female figures representing the five boroughs; below each is the name of the borough represented. Behind the figures, within an ornamented pediment supported by two columns, is a tablet inscribed NEW YORK / JANUARY 1 / MDCCCXCVIII; in the background is a view of New York harbor, and below is the seal of the Society. Around, COMMEMORATING THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE MUNICIPALITIES ABOUT THE PORT OF NEW YORK.

Reverse plate:
The arms of a Dutch windmill; within the arms are four vignettes depicting (left) Peter Minuit purchasing Manhattan Island from the Indians, (top) Henry Hudson's ship the Halve Maen, (right) the Dutch, led by Peter Stuyvesant, evacuating Fort Amsterdam, and (bottom) a Continental officer reading the Declaration of Independence to American troops. Along the rim, separated by symbols appropriate to the events, are the dates reflected in the vignettes: (tulip) MAY 4 1626 (scallop shell) SEPT. 2 1609 (crown) SEPT. 8 1664 / JULY 9 1776 (eagle).

THE GREATER NEW YORK MEDAL (The Charter Day medal) 1898
The corresponding medal was minted in gold (one single gold medal), silver (unknown number), and bronze (unknown number). The single gold medal was presented to Andrew H. Green, the "Father of Greater New York", on October 6, 1898 (Historical and Memorial Committee 1899); silver and bronze specimens were sold through Tiffany & Co.

According to a report printed in the Brooklyn Eagle on March 20, 1898, bronze medals were to be sent to the crowned heads of Europe, as was done with the Grant medal the preceding year ("The Charter Day Medal," Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 20, 1898). However, there does not seem to be any evidence that this idea was ever acted upon. The gold medal is currently in the collection of an East Coast collector. It is housed in its original leather presentation case and bears the following inscription engraved on the edge: · TO HON. ANDREW H. GREEN, THE FATHER OF GREATER NEW YORK, OCTOBER 6. 1898. A TOKEN OF ESTEEM FROM HIS FELLOW CITIZENS. The cover of the presentation case bears a similar inscription. A second gold medal was originally intended to be struck for presentation to Brooklyn statesman James S. T. Stranahan ("Andrew H. Green Honored," New York Times, October 7, 1898). However, his death on September 3, 1898, obviated the need for a second gold medal.

Green first recommended in 1868 the consolidation of Manhattan with the many municipalities and unincorporated areas of Kings, Queens, Richmond, and southern Westchester Counties. In 1890 he again requested action by the state legislature, which resulted in his appointment as president of the Commission of Inquiry on Consolidation. The Consolidation bill, which Green helped draft, was passed by the legislature in 1897 and took effect on January 1, 1898.

On November 13, 1903, Green was murdered by a man who had mistaken him for another elderly gentleman who had stolen the killer's girlfriend.

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