{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":58441,"auction_id":121,"set_id":155,"lot_number":"77","artist":"\"Laughing Quezon\" Gold Cross\nMeda","title":"Commissioned by the Philippine Government\nca.1948","starting_price":40000,"signed_dated":null,"medium":"Gold Cross Medal, Bearing Quezon’s Profile\ngilt-brass with a brass base finish coated in a\ngold-colored wash or plating; with Quezon’s profile in the\ncenter of an enamelled medallion surrounded\nby a gold cross and 12 rays.\nReverse: Engraved words, “For Gallantry in Action”\nAttached to the original blue grosgrain ribbon issued in\n1948 with three white stripes; with original red box","size":"A.M. Dondero, Washington DC\n1 1/2\" x 1 1/2\" (4 cm x 4 cm)\nweight: 22 grams","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Flaws create unexpected value. One of the most famous examples of this is the 1918 Five-centavo mule. The pairing of the obverse and reverse was wrong and the coin was quickly discontinued. Very few examples thus exist today, which has driven up the auction prices of the coin. <br /><br />Another would be the 1937-ad 3 legged Buffalo Nickel on which one of the legs of the buffalo was accidentally polished away. This resulted in very high value among collectors. <br /><br />The 1906s 1-peso coin was also hurriedly pulled out by the United States when silver prices, when the price of silver went through the roof.” The 1906s coin is now as a result the rarest Philippine coin now among the series. Its most recent sale of which was a world record at 9M, bought by a Filipino. <br /><br />This auction offers a rare opportunity to acquire a highly notable and rare medal variant: the Philippine Gold Cross Medal, also known as the “Laughing Quezon.” This particular medal has a unique and controversial place in Philippine military heraldry history because it was never officially issued or adopted by the Philippine government due to its design flaws and poor craftsmanship. <br /><br /> Following World War II, the Philippine Heraldry Committee, led by Secretary Gilbert Perez, sought to create enough Philippine Gold Cross Medals to honor deserving war veterans. Similar to the U.S. Army's Silver Star, the medal was intended to be a prestigious and honorable award. With Manila's post-war manufacturing capabilities severely damaged, the committee hired A.M. Dondero, a medal maker based in Washington, D.C., to produce a sample. <br /><br />The outcome, however, was a failure. The obverse of the medal shows a confusing mix of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. In a strongly worded letter dated August 12, 1948, Secretary Perez officially warned against using this version to award more medals. Perez called the craftsmanship \"atrocious\" and said the medal \"would discredit the Philippine Government and people.\" His main criticism was of the depiction of the late President Manuel L. Quezon on the medal's obverse, which he described as a \"laughing profile\" and a \"travesty of medallic art.\" This letter, now held by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, confirmed the rejection of the medal. <br /><br />After Perez's condemnation, the A.M. Dondero \"Laughing Quezon\" variant of the Gold Cross Medal was never officially approved or mass-produced. A few of these medals may have been issued in the United States at the time, and some were acquired by notable individuals, including General Carlos P. Romulo, who is known to have owned one for his personal collection, now displayed at the Carlos P. Romulo Museum. (Romulo was living in America at the time which explains his possession of one rare specimen.) However, the medal was never made available for distribution in the Philippines, where the locally produced El Oro variant was considered artistically and qualitatively superior. <br /><br />It never reached the Philippines as it was halted from being distributed here… only sold in the U.S., as the Carlos P. Romulo museum has one, because C.P.R. was living in the U.S. when the medal was made. <br /><br />The rarity of this medal is closely tied to its troubled history. Like the 1906-S U.S.-Philippine Peso coin, its distribution was halted before it could be widely circulated. Only a small number were ever produced by the manufacturer, making it a rare example of a medal that, despite being documented in official records, mostly remains unissued, unofficial, and highly sought after. <br /><br />Despite its simple design and the controversies surrounding it, this Laughing Quezon Gold Cross Medal tells a unique story of resilience and ambition in post-war Philippine society. Collectors and historians value this medal not just for its rarity but also for the insight it provides into the challenges of nation-building and the significance of military honors in shaping collective memory—especially since it is now as rare as hen’s teeth.","lot_group":"OBJET D' ARTS","lot_details_html":"<p><strong>\"Laughing Quezon\" Gold Cross Medal</strong><br />Commissioned by the Philippine Government<br />ca.1948<br />Gold Cross Medal, Bearing Quezon&rsquo;s Profile<br />gilt-brass with a brass base finish coated in a<br />gold-colored wash or plating; with Quezon&rsquo;s profile in the<br />center of an enamelled medallion surrounded<br />by a gold cross and 12 rays.<br />Reverse: Engraved words, &ldquo;For Gallantry in Action&rdquo;<br />Attached to the original blue grosgrain ribbon issued in<br />1948 with three white stripes; with original red box<br />A.M. Dondero, Washington DC<br />1 1/2\" x 1 1/2\" (4 cm x 4 cm)<br />weight: 22 grams</p>","alias":null,"hp":80000,"bp":0.2016,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":80000,"userBid":null,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":0,"hammer_price":96128,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":63701,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/121/155/lot/77.jpg","isFeatured":1},{"id":63969,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/121/155/lot/77b.jpg","isFeatured":0},{"id":63967,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/121/155/lot/77a.jpg","isFeatured":0}]},"increment":[70000,80000,90000,100000,110000,120000,130000,140000,150000,160000,170000,180000,190000,200000,220000,240000,260000,280000,300000,320000,340000,360000,380000,400000,450000,500000,550000,600000,650000,700000,750000,800000,900000,1000000,1100000,1200000,1300000,1400000,1500000,1600000,1700000,1800000,1900000,2000000,2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":76,"next":78,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}