Medal - George D. Dean, Tarragindi, Numismatist & Collector, George D. Dean, Tarragindi, 1984

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Summary:: Issued: Tarragindi, Queensland, Australia

Copper vanity medal issued in 1984 inTarragindi, Queensland, by George D. Dean, numismatist and collector. It commemorates his collection of Coles Book Arcade tokens. George Dean wrote a book on the medals of Cole's Book Arcade.

Cole's Book Arcade opened in the Bourke Street Mall in 1883, after earlier operating from other sites. It was a shop like no other, crammed with new and second-hand books and other wares, but with the atmosphere of a circus. Cole enticed customers of all ages with a menagerie and fernery, a band, a clockwork symphonion and other mechanical delights. Readers could sit in comfortable chairs, encouraged by a sign: 'Read for as Long as You Like - Nobody Asked to Buy'. The Arcade's proprietor, Edward William Cole, was optimist and idealist, believing passionately in the power of education and envisaged a world without borders, expounding his views in pamphlets and books. Cole died in 1918, still dreaming of a better future. Cole's Book Arcade, one of the wonders of 'marvellous Melbourne', closed in 1929.
Description:: Unissued copper medal (32 mm diameter) providing details of George Dean's collecting interests and featuring E.W. Cole's tree fern and rainbow.
Acquisition Information:: Donation from George Dean

Discipline:	Numismatics
Weight:	5.523 g (Weight)

Tagged with:	advertising, booksellers, retailing
Themes this item is part of:	Edward William Cole, Bookseller (1832-1918), Cole's Book Arcade Collection, Numismatics & Philately Collection, Public Life & Institutions Collection
Primary Classification:	MEDALS
Secondary Classification:	Commemorative
Tertiary Classification:	numismatics
Series:	Australian Promotional Medals
DateEra:	1984 AD
Obverse Description:	Above rainbow, GEORGE D. DEAN / NUMISMATIST / & / COLLECTOR / 1964 - OF - 1984 / COLES BOOK ARCADE / TOKENS, MEDALS / MEMORABILIA below rainbow, 8 WOOLTIN ST. / TARRAGINDI / QLD. 4121
Reverse Description:	On left side of tree fern, BE GOOD / DO GOOD / AND on right, YOU / WILL BE / HAPPY in small letters below tree fern, A.J.P.
Inscriptions:	Obverse: GEORGE D. DEAN NUMISMATIST & COLLECTOR 1964 - OF - 1984 COLES BOOK ARCADE TOKENS, MEDALS MEMORABILIA 8 WOOLTIN ST. TARRAGINDI QLD. 4121 Reverse: BE GOOD DO GOOD AND YOU WILL BE HAPPY A.J.P.
Shape:	round
Material:	Copper
Issued By:	George Dean, Tarragindi, Queensland, Australia, 1984