20 JOMSA

part of the ribbon. On the left hand swallow tail appears the inscription NOV 9 and on the right tail 1914, these representing the date of the Sydney/Emden action. Sitting on top of the main ribbon and centered between the swallow tails is the Imperial State Crown. The suspender is struck in one piece and includes a ring at the top of the crown, through which a second ring is passed to allow for hanging or suspension of the medal.

The reverse of the suspender is blank except for the maker’s mark, which consists of the name W.KERR above SYDNEY and which appears at the reverse left-hand side between the 10 and 11 o’clock positions of the coin (Figure 9).

A feature of the 8 real is that the obverse and reverse are opposed, that is, if one is looking at the obverse with the design in normal reading position, the reverse of the coin is upside down. For this reason, since the obverse of the coin is used as the obverse of the medal and is viewed “right side up,” the reverse of the medal is upside down, with the liberty cap pointing down and the upside down inscription of the coin at the top instead of the bottom.

Prior to 1905, when all currency production in Mexico was centralized in the Federal Mint in Mexico City, there were 13 government mints in Mexico, each of which produced the 8 real coin and each of which had their own mint mark on the reverse of the coin. The mints and their marks were:

Alamos - A and As

Culiacan - C and Cn

Chihuahua - Ch

Real de Catorce - CE

Durango - D and Do

Estado de Mexico - EoMo Guadalajara - Ga

Guanajuato - Go

Hermosillo - Ho

Mexico City - Mo (see below)Oaxaca - O and Oa

San Luis Potosi - Pi

Zacatecas - Zs

The Mexico City Mint mark actually has the ‘o’ set above

the “M” thus:

I have seen specimens of the Sydney/Emden medal that bear the mint marks for Alamos, Culiacan, Durango, Guanajuato, Mexico City and Zacatecas and have seen mintage dates of 1863, 1875, 1876, 1878, 1880, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1890, 1896 and 1897. This is not to say that other mint marks and dates do not occur on the coins used for the medals, in fact, it is almost certain that they do; however, these are the marks and dates that I have personally noted. The medal in my collection bears the date 1896 and the mark for the Mexico City Mint. The assayer’s initials A.M. are those of Adolfo Medina.

Medals were issued (either by presentation or by sale) in a box of imitation blue leather with gilt trim. The box measures 90 x 75 mm and is 18 mm deep at its highest point (the center of the lid). In the base of the box is a royal-blue velvet inlay on which the medal is laid; the inlay includes a small hook at the top over which the loose suspension ring is passed to secure the medal in the box. The interior of the lid is padded with a white satin pillow lining which has the inscription WATCHMAKER AND JEWELLER. W.KERR 542-4 GEORGE ST SYDNEY.

Although the medals were issued as commemoratives only, it is not uncommon to find them mounted for wear (Figure 10) either on the right as an “unofficial” medal or at the end of officially issued medals. The medal shown at Figure 6 is almost certainly not one of those presented to crew members of HMAS Sydney, as all sources state that these medals had the rank, name and official number (for ratings) of the recipient engraved on the reverse of the suspender. I say “almost certainly not;” however, as I have seen medals mounted for wear with officially is-sued campaign stars and medals that are unquestionably the medals of men who were aboard the Sydney during its fight with Emden, but whose Sydney/Emden Medals are unnamed.

The only really sure way to confirm the provenance of an Emden/Sydney “Mexican Dollar” is if the item is ac-companied by the letter, signed by Captain Glossop, that

Figure 9: The reverse of the suspension of the medal.

Vol. 64, No. 6 (November-December 2013) 21

was included with every medal or coin presented or sold.

All items illustrated are from the author’s personal col-lection, with the exception of Figure 10, which is taken from the website of the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au).

Endnotes:1. These consisted of the Queensland Maritime Defence Force; New

South Wales Naval Brigade; Victorian Naval Forces; and South Australian Naval Service. Western Australia did not have a naval service but did have a part-time harbour defence unit in the militia, the Fremantle Naval Artillery. Likewise Tasmania did not have a navy as such, however, the torpedo-boat destroyer TB1 was oper-ated (barely and irregularly) by the Tasmanian Volunteer Engineer and Torpedo Corps.

2. Neither of these two vessels survived World War 1. AE1 was lost with all hands under unknown circumstances off the coast of Ger-man New Guinea in September 1914 and AE2 was lost in action in the Sea of Marmara in April 1915.

3. Recruiting efforts in those first days had been so good that in ad-dition to the 1st Australian Division (1st, 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades) and the 1st Light Horse Brigade (1st, 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Regiments), plus divisional troops and an allotment of army and corps level troops the British had requested that Australia raise, the military authorities were able to raise the 4th Infantry Brigade, which would serve at Gallipoli as part of the New Zealand and Australian Division and then on the Western Front with the 2nd Australian Division, and the independent 4th Light Horse Regiment, which was originally allotted as the divisional cavalry regiment for the 1st Division and then went on to serve in the Middle East Campaign as part of the 4th Light Horse Brigade.

4. Originally destined for England, during the voyage the AIF found

out that it was to be diverted to Egypt for a variety of reasons, not the least of these being a lack of accommodation at that time in England. From Egypt the AIF would go on to take part in the Dardanelles Campaign from April to December 1915.

5. Although an early member of the Nazi Party after the war, von Mücke quickly became disenchanted with the party’s ideals and aspirations, resigned from the party in 1929 and embraced pacifism. Sent to a concentration camp as a political prisoner for a short period in 1936, he was re-imprisoned at the outbreak of World War 2 on Hitler’s personal orders but quietly released a few months later by sympathetic jailers without the Fuhrer’s knowl-edge. After the war he continued to promote pacifism, opposed the re-armament of West Germany and died of a heart attack in 1957.

6. Formerly Her Majesty’s Colonial Ship Protector, purchased by the South Australian colonial government in 1884 and the pride of (and only ship in) the South Australian Naval Service, Protector was transferred to the Australian naval service at the time of Federation (at which time she was serving in China as part of Britain’s contri-bution to the Boxer Rebellion) to become HMAS Protector. She served the RAN until 1924, when she was sold off and converted to a dumb lighter; requisitioned by the US Army in 1943 for use as a cargo lighter, she was severely damaged in a collision with a tug en route to New Guinea in July 1943 and ended her days as a breakwater off Heron Island, off the Queensland coast (where her remains can be seen to this day at low tide).

SourcesAustralian War Memorial File AWM50 15/1 Emden: Applications for

Salvage or Purchase of; (2) Proposed sale of relics from - Copy of Log; (3) Emden relics (March 1915 - May 1916)

Australian War Memorial File AWM50 15/2 Emden Relics (September 1917 - November 1919)

Australian War Memorial File AWM50 15/3 Emden Dollars: Sale of, July 1918

Australian War Memorial File AWM50 15/4 Distribution of Emden Dollars. Papers containing instructions as to the distribution and disposal of Emden dollars extracted (July 1918 - March 1920)

Buttrey, Theodore V., Jr. and Clyde Hubbard, 1989 A guide book of Mexican coins, 1822 to date, Krause Publications

Jose, Arthur W. The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918 Volume IX The Royal Australian Navy. Sydney: Angus and Robertson Ltd., 1928.

Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler. 1991 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications, 1991.

Mexican Government. The history of coins and bank notes in Mexico. Mexico City, Distrito Federal: Banco de México

National Archives of Australia File MP472/1 5/14/9344 List of Officers on HMAS Sydney at date of sinking of Emden on November 9, 1914.

“For Sale.” The Sydney Morning Herald. January 3, 1920“Souvenirs From the Emden Mexican Dollars for Distribution.” The

Mercury (Hobart, Tasmania), July 6, 1918.“Souvenirs of the Emden.” The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria), July

27, 1918.

Figure 10: The HMAS Sydney-SMS Emden Medal mounted for wear.

PLAN NOW TO ATTENDOMSA 2014

AT IRVINE, CAAUGUST 14-17, 2014

22 JOMSA

By the time you receive this publication the 54th Annual Convention, which was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Milwaukee Airport (Figure 1) has come and gone with all members basking in four days of wheeling and dealing medals, hours of conversations and the sharing of knowledge. After much planning by Nathan Wise and the author, the convention finally got underway with early registration packets being picked up on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The convention goers were met with enthusiasm and……..DARKNESS. The darkness was caused by a power grid failure that put the hotel in a blackout. With flashlights, cell phone lights and a computer screen light, the assigning of tables, distribution out display cases, and the refining the display area were completed in the bourse area. It was with great help from OMSA Members Ray Regnerous and Paul Anderson and his wife Kathy, that the hall was ready to rock and roll for the opening of the convention.

Thursday at 8:00 a.m., there was a line outside the bourse entrance and a similar line in front of the registration table which was flawlessly manned by Laura Hernigle, Carolyn Helg (Figure 2) and Evette Weiss. I cannot thank them enough for the very helpful, cheerful and positive manner that continued over the four days that allowed me to attend to other things that needed attention. The day flew by as tables were manned, deals made and a flury of activity that continued through out the day. At 5:00 p.m. the convention ended for the day

Figure 2: The registration table manned by Laura Hernigle and Carolyn Helg.

and the convention goers headed for the reception area where the dining staff of the hotel had a Wisconsin-themed feast ready. About an hour later, the second annual OMSA auction was underway. With over 118 lots up for auction, auctioneer William Brown and his able assistant, Adam Rohlof, were able to raise $4400.00 that will be used to benefit members at future conventions. Be on the lookout for opportunities to donate material that will be auctioned off at the 2014 Convention in Irvine, California. The evening ended with members heading off to the United States seminars that were hosted by Ron Fisher with Dean Veramakis presenting “Posthumous

OMSA 2013: GREAT TIMES AT MILWAUKEE

GREG HARPER

Figure 1: The Crowne Plaza Hotel at Milwaukee.