Posted on 02/27/2005 5:44:00 AM PST by franksolich
Next year, Norway will be celebrating the 2005 centennial of the dissolution with Sweden in 1905. To mark the 100th anniversary of independence, the Norwegian American Foundation has commissioned the Royal Norwegian Mint to issue a commemorative silver medal.
The silver medal comes in a philatelic-numismatic cover / first-edition letter with accompanying stamps and will be offered as a commemorative medal to the Norwegian American community.
The medal features a portrait of HRH Crown Princess Märtha, designed by Ingrid Austlid Riise in close cooperation with Kirsten Kokkin. The reverse side will depict a portrait of the three regents of the period: King Harald V, King Olav and King Haakon VII designed by Grazyna Jolanta Lindau. The medal will be produced in sterling silver 925 Ag and in Proof quality. Diameter is 32 mm. Medals will go on sale October 1, 2004. (Pictures available through the Royal Norwegian Mint banner at www.norway.com.)
A statue of HRH Crown Princess Martha will be presented to Norway's royal family in September 2005 and will be installed outside the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Washington DC. As the wife of the late King Olav and the mother of His Majesty King Harald, Norway's reigning King, HRH Crown Princess Martha will be recognized for her efforts in actively promoting Norway's cause during her WWII exile in the United States.
During her five year living in America, she earned deep respect and admiration from the people of the United States. Sadly, she died in 1954, three years before King Olav ascended to the throne, but the Swedish born princess' legacy and commitment to Norway will always be remembered and are fittingly commemorated with the centennial statue and the commemorative medal from the Royal Norwegian Mint.
This being Sunday morning, no serious news from Norway.
Tomorrow, Monday, the Federal Reserve Bank is releasing the 2005 five-cent pieces, with a bison on the reverse side--if someone can post a picture of that, or of the Indian Head-Bison five-cent piece of 1913-1938, I would appreciate it (too tired from pneumonia to figure it out myself, at the moment).
The Indian Head-Bison five-cent piece (usually erroneously called the "Buffalo nickel") was, in my opinion, one of the most aesthetic coins ever made by the United States mint--but alas like the Standing Liberty quarter-dollar of 1916-1930, the coin seemed to wear quickly, losing all of its fine points.
There is much heated debate here in Nebraska, the Norway of America, about the Nebraska quarter-dollar. While the bigwigs want Chimney Rock or the state capitol, the people want the American Indian Chief Standing Bear.
One hopes the people win out; of course the rock looks nice, but the state capitol unfortunately provokes comments about its similarity with that thing which makes we males, male.
There are scarcely any American Indians in Nebraska, and sure, yeah, we have some jerks here who do not like anybody or anything, but generally, most Nebraskans are aware of, and respectful of, those people who maintained the prairies and bison for us until we showed up.
The proposed "cut" of Chief Standing Bear is remarkable; it is nothing like the cartoon-character on the one-dollar coin. Taken from a photograph, the chief exudes stoic dignity and a fragile fortitude, those things which earn great merit from God.
Okay, I'm headed to bed again. The instructions are to sleep, sleep, sleep, and do nothing else, but I steal five minutes here-and-there, to post the Norway ping list, and to admire and absorb the Eastern European ping list, after which I "fade away" again, and hit the sack.
This is good day for Norway, their skiers won all three medals in 50km distance run in the Nordic World Championships.
Mornin'.
I Googled 'Chief Standing Bear', but found no coin reference. He does seem a wise man that tried to help his people.
Thanks. Go back to bed. You've been working too hard.
Chief Standing Bear was a Sioux, and photographs of him betray a giant of a man--a giant in conscience, in forbearance, in concern, in empathy, in sadness for both the persecuted and the persecutors.
His face, in those old black-and-white photographs, reveals the whole tragic history of the Native Americans in this area--and the proposed coin itself shows much of the detail, unlike the cartoon-character on the one-dollar coin.
If the governor of this state picks the rock, or the organ, for the Nebraska quarter-dollar, instead of Standing Bear, then I will sign any petition for his immediate impeachment, having disregarded the wishes of the people.
I am not sure why the bison was not among the choices; perhaps because of the new five-cent piece that is coming out tomorrow (Monday), or because South Dakota strongly suggested they wish to consider it themselves.....and so of course while Nebraska was a more-pleasant home for the bison, we killed nearly all of ours, while the South Dakotans preserved theirs, and so they have that right.
Thank you, sir; I appreciate it.
That is the favorite design of Nebraskans, as of circa last week, the last week of February.
The rock and the organ don't cut it.
Nice design. Thanks for your work. I'll save this one with the buffalo nickle designs that were posted recently.
....also loved looking at the various sample designs. Especially the kids ideas. Must be a GREAT state.
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