This medal was chosen as the twelfth issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1935. The obverse bears hand with flame bracelet holding infant and moon before swirling clouds and lighning. Divided by hand, FIAT - VITA; signed at bottom with large circled © and FRANCISCI ··· around.
The reverse bears streams of plasma, stars, and lightning around cloudy center, suggesting the creation of the cosmos.
De Francisci picked Creation as the theme for this medal and succeeded in creating a beautiful medal that combines both the religious and the scientific approaches in one model. The obverse shows the hand of the creator, on which rests a bold infant, secure in its place in the center of the universe. On the reverse we have a more scientific image of swirling gas clouds, hinting at cosmological processes of creation.
As de Francisci put it in his "Sculptor's Message," which focused on the scientific explanation:
"The advent of life, either in its rudimentary or complex organism, is based on the hypothesis that life could evolve and endure on all planets receiving heat and light from a central orb."
The scalloped edge incorporated the medal as a whole into the design and made it even more special.
Struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York, the medal measures 72mm in diameter and has a reported production quantity of 1,165 in silver-plated bronze and 100 in silver. This medal was re-issued in silver in 1993 as part of a promotion. The mintage of that re-issue is not known.
References: Marqusee 160
