Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society Medal

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RHAS Medal.
RHAS Medal.

The Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society Medal is a silver medal which was issued by the Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, an organization which active in Hawaii in the 1850s. The Society presented the medal annually to the best in each category of a juried exhibition of Hawaiian agricultural products.

The medals were ordered by the Society through the agency of a Mr. Marshall of Massachusetts. At the Society's request, Marshall contacted James Ross Snowden, then the director of the United States Mint, who forwarded the request to the Department of the Treasury. The request was approved with the stipulation that the medals were to be made after regular Mint hours. The number of specimens minted is unknown.

[edit] The medal

The face (obverse) of the medal includes symbols of agricultural enterprise in the Hawaiian Islands - sugar and coffee - and implements and vehicles of trade - the plow and tall ships; the eastern sun is rising in the background, with a palm to the left and royal crown above all. The inscription around the edge reads "Royal Hawaiian Agricultural Society, Established A.D. 1850." The reverse has a wreath surrounded by the inscription "Premium for the best exhibited" with a center field for prize category and awardee's name. Silver and white metal, 64.5 mm, approximately 82 grams, dies engraved by Francis N. Mitchell.

In 2006, three examples with variations on the reverse were presented for auction in New York City:

  • Blank - unissued, from the collection of Samuel Mills Damon.[1]
  • "Imported" inscription - depiction of a fenced-in area containing a wood shed, and in the foreground - a boar feeding at a trough. In the background are three palm trees and a figure, wearing a wide brimmed hat, looking over the fence. In the far background is the profile of Diamond Head. Also from the collection of Samuel Mills Damon.[1]
  • "Syrup TO Brewer Plantation" inscription. Lacquered medal awarded to Brewer Plantation, one of the Big Five plantations, for best syrup.[2]

Obverse.

Blank Reverse.

Imported Reverse.

Brewer Reverse.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Doyle New York, Sale 06SMD0123, March 23, 2006, lot 2681, The Estate of Samuel Mills Damon.
  2. ^ Stack's May 2005 New York Auction, (Session 1 on May 10, 2005, lot 27, John J. Ford, Jr. Collection: Part 9); Ex J.W. Scott's "Hawaiian sale", (December 19, 1981, lot 25, Garrett Collection); Ex Bowers & Ruddy, (March 25, 1981, lot 2098).

[edit] References

  • 1978 catalog, Donald Medcalf & Ronald Russell.
  • Hawaiian Money: Standard Catalog: Includes Tokens, Medals & Royal Orders.
  • Honolulu: Nani Stamp & Coin LTD. ISBN 0-931388-00-7.
  • Werlich, Robert (1965). Orders & Decorations of All Nations: Ancient & Modern, Civil & Military. Quaker Press. ISBN 1-151-37961-1.