Quote from billycgribble on October 11, 2011, 5:51 pm

Some of my favorite medals are the four So Called Dollar qualifying medals from the Richmond, Virginia dedication of the Robert E. Lee Equestrian Monument on May 29th 1890. They are my favorites because they are Southern in nature, the monument is one of the largest and most elaborate in the United States and they honor with full size busts both Robert E Lee and President Jefferson Davis. The four medals are: 1. The Laying of the Cornerstone (Oct 27, 1887). 2. The Official Medal full bust of Lee with full monument. 3. The State of Virginia Medal with Virginia State Seal and full monument. 4. Confederate President Medal with full bust of Jefferson Davis and full monument. 2, 3, 4 were all issued at the unveiling and official dedication May 29, 1890. The monument is located in Richmond, Virginia and is the first monument on their Grand Monument Avenue. Planning was initiated in 1876 by the Lee Monument Association. The statue is modeled after a painting done by artist Adalbert Volck. The land it sits on was donated by wealthy Richmonder Otway Allen. The bronze statue was created by French sculpter Antonin Mercie to give the monuument an international standing. The statue was created in France, displayed in Paris and shipped to Richmond arriving May 4, 1890. It took a crowd of 10,000 people to help drag it from the docks to its pemanent location. Prior to it being created the George Washington Equestrian Statue at Capitol Square was the largest of the equestrian statues. Southerners take great delight that with the erection of the Lee Equestrian Statue it is now the largest. The grand bronze equestrian Lee and horse figure is 21 feet high. It is mounted on an oval-shaped granite pedestal 40 feet high flanked on both sides by two large gray marble columns. I am going to attempt to post medals 1 and 4 the cornerstone laying and the Jefferson Davis pieces. John Raymond on his site has flawless choice BU examples of both medal 2 & 3 and a visit to his site to see them is very worthwhile. Perhaps he will sometime likewise post examples. These four unlisted So Called Dollars definitely need to be listed in the new book.