Medal - Nestorian Expedition to Xi'an

Frits Vilhelm Holm (1881-1930) was a journalist and a Danish artifact dealer by profession. He became known for his attempt in 1907 to take the famous Nestorian Stele, an ancient Christian monument from Xi'an in north-eastern China, to Europe and sell it to a western museum. After the authorities learned of the "Holm-Nestorian Expedition to Xi'an", they moved the monument from its external location on the western outskirts of the city to the Stele Forest Museum. In order not to have to leave China empty-handed, the disappointed Holm had an exact copy of the stele made in Xi'an. He had it transported via the Yellow River and the Zhengzhou train station to the large Yangtze River port of Hankou, and finally shipped it to New York. A sale to the Metropolitan Museum there failed, but his stele was exhibited there on loan for 10 years. Finally, in 1917, the wealthy New Yorker Julia May Leary bought the replica and sent it to Rome as a gift to the Pope.

- Stephen Album Rare Coins