Australia 1990 “Courtship” Art Medal Series by Michael Meszaros

Six medal set designed by Michael Meszaros (son of Andor Meszaros), commissioned and struck by the Royal Australian Mint. 50 millimeter sterling silver medals.

The sets theme is “Courtship” or “Courting” with each medal depicting the same reverse of an apple with two bites taken. The series likened to the story of Adam and Eve. Housed in a silky oak presentation box.

In 1990, John Sharples organized a major show of work by my father and me, with medals from the Melbourne Museum’s collection, giving our work an historical context. This was combined with the launch of the Royal Australian Mint’s only pure art medal venture, my ‘Courtship Series’.

This series drew on my own memories of getting to know girls in my youth, which was not misspent as I would have liked. It shows the first attraction, then dancing as a formal way to show oneself off and to touch, a gift of flowers rewarded with a kiss on the cheek, a tiff where it all goes a bit sour, a gift of jewellery where it is becoming more serious, and finally a kiss. The common reverse is of an apple, bitten by both parties as an expression of the need for both to engage in the relationship in the Biblical sense.

Michael Meszaros, “The Meszaros family medal tradition”. Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia Volume 22, 2011 (2012)

The imaged medals weights:
Attraction 71.54g
Dancing 71.54g
Flower Gift 71.78g
The Tiff 71.23g
Jewellery Gift 71.3g
The Kiss 71.96g

Despite mintage information online to the contrary Michael himself advises me that “the Mint sold a bit over 400 sets of the Courtship series, minted 1200 sets and melted down nearly 800 sets”.
August 2014.

Coin Information

Reference Number:	K00142
Country:	Australia
Year:	1990
Mint:	Royal Australian Mint

Below is the “Medals as Art: Australia and the Meszaros Tradition” book by John P Sharples. This book is also a catalogue for the 1990 Medals as Art exhibition displayed in the Museum Victoria and the Royal Australian Mint in 1990, the event this series was launched at. It’s also a trove of information on Australia’s medallic history.