or Yankee Gathering XI in 2006, NEMCA issued a medallion and a pocket mirror honoring Reginald Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, first published in 1584, one of the first English language books to describe conjuring secrets.  As witch hunts swept Europe in the 16th century, Scot wrote Discoverie in an effort to bring rationality and stop the persecution of innocents.  A portion of the text is devoted to performance magic, and became the basis for many conjuring books published years and centuries later.  The first edition is very rare, and is perhaps the most prized of antiquarian conjuring books.

The Discoverie medallion is the second in a series of Yankee Gathering medallions beginning with the John Henry Anderson replica issued at Yankee Gathering X (which is still available), and is die struck in the same large size as the Anderson.  One side of the Discoverie medallion depicts the woodcut of the John the Baptist decapitation illusion that appears in Scot's book, along with the book title, author, year of first publication, and a quote from the title page.  The other side is the NEMCA logo for Yankee Gathering XI, which was held in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, November 2-4, 2006.

These Discoverie medallions are available in the three different metals.  All of them are 2 inches (50mm) in diameter and 1/4 inch thick, one of the largest and heaviest magic tokens ever made.  The metals, edition sizes, weights, and pricing are as follows:

*Weights for all coins above are expressed both in troy ounces (ozt.), which is the standard weight system for precious metals (like silver and gold), and standard (avoirdupois) ounces (oz.), the normal weight system (ounces, pounds, etc.) used in the U.S. for general purposes.

All three of the metals for this Discoverie medallion are limited edition.  No more of these medallions will be made.  Each medallion has a serial number stamped on its smooth edge (e.g., "100 017" means #17 out of 100).  Please note that the relatively high price of the solid .999 fine silver and 24K gold-plated .999 fine silver medallions is due to the substantial amount of silver in these large coins, weighing more than four times as much as most silver tokens (which are usually just one troy ounce).

All of the medallions include an attractive, signed certificate of authenticity and are enclosed in a clear acrylic Air-Tite capsule (which can be opened) for display and protection.  In addition, the bronze and silver medallions include an attractive, blue leatherette display case, and the gold-plated silver medallions are in a cherrywood case with a brass plaque.

NEMCA has also issued a Discoverie of Witchcraft pocket mirror for Yankee Gathering XI, depicted below.  It is a limited edition of 100 (but the mirrors do not have serial numbers).  The mirror is in color, and is the same large 3 inch diameter size as the mirror issued for Yankee Gathering X.  The cost of the Discoverie mirror is US$5.

(see larger image)

The Discoverie medallions were originally sold at the Yankee Gathering XI convention itself, and those that remain can now be ordered in the same manner as other NEMCA collectibles.  See the Collectibles page for information on shipping charges, and the address for sending payment.  Discoverie medallions can be combined with any other NEMCA collectibles in the same order, with the same check for payment.