Award Program Medallion – Design and Development

The concept and early artwork for the award program's medallion was developed during early 2005 by Capers McDonald at his home in Maryland. To bring the idea to fruition, he then worked closely through April that year with representative Tony Ullman and the team at the Medalcraft Mint in Wisconsin, and through them with talented medallic sculptor Gladys Gunzer, a North Carolinian then working in Arizona. Among other achievements, Ms. Gunzer has the distinction of being the first woman chosen to sculpt an official U.S. Presidential Inauguration Medal.

The central image on the obverse (front) of the Mentoring medallion is derived from a developmental sketch by the great European Renaissance designer, engineer, inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci. This depicts an elder advisor and engaged youth. In adaptation for our contemporary award, the younger person was made to appear androgynous, neither particularly male nor female.

This unique artwork is based upon an original, red chalk study by Leonardo that he or a supervised student sketched in about 1495. It is found among those of his drawings currently located in the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy. At that time, Leonardo was developing early ideas for what became perhaps his best-know fresco, the Last Supper, which he completed in 1498. The images found in this study are not identically those used in the final painting, however, and are not intended to represent historical figures. The flowing garments are thought to be appropriate for recognizing the timeless virtues of mentoring and advising, particularly for academic and global learning-oriented settings.

The medallion was developed and minted at Medalcraft Mint in Wisconsin, a private mint with great success as high-relief die striking specialists. Since their founding in 1948, the Medalcraft Mint's craftsmanship and quality have been recognized by industry experts with an unprecedented 20 first-place Gold Awards for metal striking excellence through 2005. Among other projects, they have been responsible for official U.S. presidential inaugural medals as well as medallions for universities, hospitals, governmental agencies, and many companies worldwide. Their team includes creative design and execution artisans as well as reliable business partners.

The Mentoring Award medallions are die struck from solid commercial bronze, a copper-zinc alloy designated either as Bronze 220 or C22000, and selected for this purpose based on metallic composition. In this case, that makeup is 89% to 91% copper, with a maximum of 0.5% lead and 0.05% iron, and the balance being approximately 10% zinc.

Prior to the minting process, computer-maintained original artwork was created and used by our medal sculptress to initiate production of the obverse and reverse dies. A talented and experienced artisan, she hand carved the obverse die in three-dimensional "bas relief," employing a painstaking, multi-step process to ensure accuracy. The reverse design also was developed with care and a pantograph machine used by a skilled craftsman to cut that multilevel, two-dimensional die. Using the same hand tools and techniques employed by metal craftsmen through the centuries, an engraver added depth and detail to make the reverse images “come to life.” Both plaster and lead proofs were reviewed and approved by the McDonalds prior to the striking process.

The approved dies were hardened by heat treating, each being subjected to temperatures above 1,700 °F for up to eight hours. A Gauge 2 metal blank, previously cut to the desired 3-inch by 0.25-inch (approximately 76 mm by 6.4 mm) round, was placed in a coining press on top of one die. Up to 1,000 tons of pressure was used to “strike” the image into the metal, then excess material was removed in a trimming press. Using the corresponding die, this process was repeated for the other side. The edges were rounded in a lathe, and our unique edge marking was done, including the April 2005 date commemorating the first award and a copyright mark. After cleaning, each freshly minted piece was taken through an extensive hand finishing process, including adding a premium antique finish and light coat of jeweler’s lacquer on both sides to add highlights and protect the product from tarnishing and wear. Each finished medallion weighs over half a pound, about 0.54, which is 8.7 ounces or 247 grams.

Website: http://www.medalcraft.com

CONTACT: Tony R. Ullman, The Medalcraft Mint, Inc., 2660 W. Mason Street, Green Bay, WI 54303; Email: tullman@medalcraft.com, Voice: 920-499-4249, FAX: 920-499-7092

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PAGE IMAGES:

Top Row: (L) Award program medallion, obverse. (C) View of upper page in one of Leonardo da Vinci's folios, showing original sketch upon which the Mentoring Award's central image is based. (R) Award medallion on full-length Tau Beta Pi neck ribbon.

Second Row: (L) Award program medallion, reverse. (R) Award medallions with colorful ribbons for the six program institutions. Left to right: ASME, Harvard University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, MIT and Tau Beta Pi.

Sidebar: (1) Self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. (2) Signature of Leonardo as usually written, right to left, since the artist was left handed and by this approach avoided smearing. Some say he also adopted the approach to obscure his ideas in progress. (3) An early alternative candidate for the medallion image from among Leonardo da Vinci's folio sketches. (4) Intermediate plaster cast of the obverse (front) of the Mentoring Award medallion in development. (5) Hardening of dies by heat treating at Medalcraft Mint. (6) Press "striking" of a medallion. (7) Finished medallion in one type of display case.

This Web site and all images it contains are being used for limited and noncommercial purposes, principally teaching and personal mentorship. Several images © 2005-2007 The Medalcraft Mint, Inc. McDonald Mentoring Award medallion art © 2005 Capers W. McDonald.

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