Five anti-Semitic "Korn Jude" medals. Germany, 1694-1772.
1-2. Two medals by Christian Wermuth, 1694.
Obverse: Jew holding a stick and carrying a sack of grain on his back; above him is a demon emptying the sack of its contents. Surrounding the image are the legends "Du Korn Iude" [The corn Jew / the grain Jew] and "Theure Zeit 1694" [time of famine, 1694]. Reverse: a grain sieve whose sides are inscribed with the verse, "Wer Korn Innehalt Dem Fluchen Die Leute Aber Segen Komt ?ber Den Der Es Verkauft" ["He that withholds grain, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it". Proverbs 11, 26].
Diameter: 35 mm. Suspension loop on one of the medals.
3. Medal from 1772, with a design similar to items 1-2. Diameter: 36 mm.
4. Medal by Johann Christian Reich, [1772].
Obverse: Jew holding a stick, on his back is a sack of grain and above him a demon is emptying the sack of its contents (in a different design from that of the previous medals), and the legends "Korn Iude", "Theure Zeit", and more. Reverse: list of food items and their prices. Diameter: 29 mm. Worn on margins. Reverse engraved upside-down.
5. Medal struck by Johann Christina Reich, 1772.
Obverse: identical to no. 4. Reverse: a sieve with the legend "Wer Korn Innehalt Dem Fluchen Die Leute Aber Segen Komt ?ber Den Der Es Verkauft" ["He that withholds grain, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that sells it". Proverbs 11, 26]. Above it is the legend "F?rchte Gott" and beneath it is the legend "Sp. Sal. II V. 26 / Reich". Diameter: 30 mm.
"Korn Jude" medals were issued in Germany in the years 1694-1773. Their aim was to portray Jews as the culprits of the rise in food prices or the famine raging in Germany at the time.
For additional medals designed by Johann Christian Reich, see next item.
See:
1. Jewish Medals, from the Renaissance to the Fall of Napoleon (1503-1815), by Daniel M. Friedenberg. New York, 1970. Pp. 3-8.
2. Deutshe Spottmedaillen auf Juden, by Bruno Kirschner. Munich and Jerusalem, 1968. Pp. 54-58. Items 18, 21, 23, 24.
Provenance: collection of Bruno Kirschner.