Silver medal tells story of war hero (Numismatic News)
The following article appeared in Numismatic News on August 5, 2018.
by Numismatic News Staff
World War I war hero and Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Henry Johnson has been honored by a new silver medal that debuted June 27 at the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y.
The .999 fine silver medal issue is limited to 500, and it is priced at $29.95 each.
Both sides of the medal were designed by Chris Costello of Arlington, Mass. He was the winner of a design competition sponsored by the issuing Ferris Coin Co.
Send orders to the firm at 199 Wolf Road in Albany, N.Y., 12205, and see more online at www.FerrisCoin.com.
“We’re thrilled to be working with an artist of Chris Costello’s talent,” said Mike Dozois, Ferris Coin Co. managing partner.
“There were so many excellent designs to choose from, but our panel of judges felt that his artwork best captured the spirit of how our city is trying to inspire people with the story of Sgt. Henry Johnson.”
“Chris Costello autographs the new card holders of the Sgt. Henry Johnson medal at the debut at the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y. He won $2,000 in a design competition conducted by the Ferris Coin Company.”
On June 5, the City of Albany celebrated its second annual Henry Johnson Day. The date is when Johnson enlisted in 1917.
He was a member of the 369th U.S. Regiment, a.k.a. the “Harlem Hellfighters.”
“In May 1918 in the Argonne Forest of Northeast France, Johnson fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple German soldiers and rescuing a fellow soldier before fainting from the 21 wounds.”
Read the full story of his heroism at http://www.wmht.org/henryjohnson/.
This article was originally printed in Numismatic News Express. >> Subscribe today