1919 Bronze Medal Johnson-33 Peace of Versailles

Coin Details

Auction Record

$212 06-29-2012 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1919 Johnson-33 bronze medal commemorates the Peace of Versailles, the treaty signed on June 28, 1919 that officially ended World War I. The Treaty of Versailles, negotiated at the Paris Peace Conference, imposed severe terms on Germany including territorial losses, military restrictions, and reparations payments that would shape European politics for the next two decades. The medal, cataloged as Johnson-33, belongs to a series of historically significant commemorative pieces documenting major events of the early twentieth century. The obverse features allegorical imagery representing peace or victory, incorporating classical female figures, olive branches, or other traditional symbols of the cessation of hostilities. The reverse carries inscriptions identifying the Peace of Versailles and the 1919 date. The bronze composition and the Johnson catalog number indicate this was produced as a quality commemorative by an established medallist or medal manufacturer. The Treaty of Versailles was controversial from the moment of its signing. While the Allied powers celebrated the end of the devastating conflict that had killed approximately seventeen million people, many observers — including the economist John Maynard Keynes, who published "The Economic Consequences of the Peace" later in 1919 — warned that the punitive terms would sow the seeds of future conflict. The United States Senate ultimately refused to ratify the treaty, dealing a crushing blow to President Wilson's vision of a new international order based on collective security through the League of Nations.

Rarity Notes

Johnson-33 medals were produced in limited quantities as quality commemorative pieces. The Peace of Versailles subject matter gives the piece broad historical appeal beyond the numismatic market.

Cross References

PCGS #606692; Johnson-33; Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919