Joel Benson
New Member
I have uploaded an image of my own Constantine exorcist key-ring as a point of possible interest for this prop discussion. I decided that trying to exactly reproduce the original Constantine prop key ring was less interesting than just going ahead and seeing what I could put together at relatively minimal cost, with an emphasis on obtaining larger medals and correcting some minor flaws in the thinking behind the original collection of medals for the key ring. So, what I have done is definitely not a perfect duplicate. It's just satisfying from the perspective of my own somewhat warped view.
The original Constantine pendant medals were about .75 inch or 1 inch high. This was too small for me as I often like to go bigger, if only to accommodate my less than perfect eyesight. So, for example, the Mater Dolorosa and Our Lady of Perpetual Help medals are about 2 inches in diameter and are each just over 100 years old. They required substantial polishing. I obtained these medals for a few dollars from a dealer in South America just east of Buenos Ares Argentina. I used to hunt dove in Argentina, so I'm somewhat familiar with the area.
The St. Aloysius medal is about 1.5 inches in diameter and is 120 years old, spending most of its life in Spain. Aloysius was an interesting guy as his family was rich, but he was totally committed to the Catholic church and gave up all his wealth to do God's work. He died at the age of 23 while attending people sick with what I assume was probably the plague. His medals all depict him intently looking at the cross to show his devotion and often show an adjacent skull to note his death at an early age.
The Madonna of the Streets medal I put together myself from inexpensive parts. The interesting thing about this medal is it originated as an 1897 painting by Ferruzzi who saw a beautiful 11-year old girl carrying her baby brother through the streets on a cold day and was so moved that he arranged to paint her carrying her brother. The painting was not religious in nature, but it was eventually adopted by the Catholic Church because everyone liked it. The girl in the painting eventually got married, moved to America, had 10 kids and a successful business with her husband until the 1929 stock market crash. Her husband died and she was eventually committed to an insane asylum for the rest of her life. So much for happy, inspiring stories.
The keys are an oddity of the Constantine key ring. The Key1 in my picture was made by the Independent Lock Company (ILCO) to operate a slot machine. The key number is 1055A which is hard to get, so I got a duplicate from the same company with a different number R1055AL. I had to purchase a dozen of these keys, so now I have a useless stock of old ILCO keys. Why would Constantine have an old slot machine key? Don't ask, it's an anomaly. The other key is a Corbin style corrugated key for a steamer trunk that hasn't been popular for over 100 years. The odd thing is the key has no Corbin logo, so it had to originate from a locksmith who made fake blank Corbin keys which are so rare that I think I got the last one. Anyway, I have the keys but I did waste a lot of time getting them.
As a note, I added a metal crucifix with a St Benedict image because he was known as the "demon chaser." I just couldn't leave him off of Constantine's key chain, even though he's on Constantine's cigarette lighter. I also added an Archangel Michael medal because it made no sense to leave him out when the angel Gabriel was ever-present.
The tiny size of the major exorcism medal was so disappointing that I made my own corresponding medal shown with a 2-inch diameter. I also made a separate larger 8-way exorcism medal which for some reason feels really neat in my hand. This baby would definitely burn a large circle on the forehead of any possessed person. I would definitely carry this large medal to any exorcism fight.
Anyway, my last comment is regarding the history of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help which has a really bizarre story attached to it. The original image was made as a painting in the Byzantine style in the late 15th century, around the time Columbus was commissioned to sail to America. The Church adopted the image and claimed it had magical powers. The painter in essence came up with the first science fiction tale involving time travel.
According to the story, the Archangel Michael and the angel Gabriel decided or were told that when ***** was a boy of about 7-years old it was time to tell him about his horrific coming crucifixion when he would be 33 years old. Why it was necessary to burden a small boy with this information is an issue for scripture. So, the angels time-traveled forward to the crucifixion. Michael gathered up the blood-stained cross and Gabriel picked up the crown of thorns, the spear that had pierced *****' side and a mop that was used to soak up his blood. They then traveled back in time and confronted the boy ***** with this information, showing him the bloody relics of his own crucifixion. *****, being a boy, screamed and ran to Mary who picked him up and comforted him while the angels took off with the relics. ***** was so upset that a loose sandal dangled as Mary held him. From all of this, the Church designates the image of Mary, ***** and the angels as indicating that Mary provides perpetual help to comfort ***** and anyone else. So, now we have worldwide medals showing the image for all to see.
Anyway, that's my last word. I must say the collection of Constantine key ring medals was interesting from many perspectives. I certainly learned something about the history of the Catholic Church while finding medals.
The original Constantine pendant medals were about .75 inch or 1 inch high. This was too small for me as I often like to go bigger, if only to accommodate my less than perfect eyesight. So, for example, the Mater Dolorosa and Our Lady of Perpetual Help medals are about 2 inches in diameter and are each just over 100 years old. They required substantial polishing. I obtained these medals for a few dollars from a dealer in South America just east of Buenos Ares Argentina. I used to hunt dove in Argentina, so I'm somewhat familiar with the area.
The St. Aloysius medal is about 1.5 inches in diameter and is 120 years old, spending most of its life in Spain. Aloysius was an interesting guy as his family was rich, but he was totally committed to the Catholic church and gave up all his wealth to do God's work. He died at the age of 23 while attending people sick with what I assume was probably the plague. His medals all depict him intently looking at the cross to show his devotion and often show an adjacent skull to note his death at an early age.
The Madonna of the Streets medal I put together myself from inexpensive parts. The interesting thing about this medal is it originated as an 1897 painting by Ferruzzi who saw a beautiful 11-year old girl carrying her baby brother through the streets on a cold day and was so moved that he arranged to paint her carrying her brother. The painting was not religious in nature, but it was eventually adopted by the Catholic Church because everyone liked it. The girl in the painting eventually got married, moved to America, had 10 kids and a successful business with her husband until the 1929 stock market crash. Her husband died and she was eventually committed to an insane asylum for the rest of her life. So much for happy, inspiring stories.
The keys are an oddity of the Constantine key ring. The Key1 in my picture was made by the Independent Lock Company (ILCO) to operate a slot machine. The key number is 1055A which is hard to get, so I got a duplicate from the same company with a different number R1055AL. I had to purchase a dozen of these keys, so now I have a useless stock of old ILCO keys. Why would Constantine have an old slot machine key? Don't ask, it's an anomaly. The other key is a Corbin style corrugated key for a steamer trunk that hasn't been popular for over 100 years. The odd thing is the key has no Corbin logo, so it had to originate from a locksmith who made fake blank Corbin keys which are so rare that I think I got the last one. Anyway, I have the keys but I did waste a lot of time getting them.
As a note, I added a metal crucifix with a St Benedict image because he was known as the "demon chaser." I just couldn't leave him off of Constantine's key chain, even though he's on Constantine's cigarette lighter. I also added an Archangel Michael medal because it made no sense to leave him out when the angel Gabriel was ever-present.
The tiny size of the major exorcism medal was so disappointing that I made my own corresponding medal shown with a 2-inch diameter. I also made a separate larger 8-way exorcism medal which for some reason feels really neat in my hand. This baby would definitely burn a large circle on the forehead of any possessed person. I would definitely carry this large medal to any exorcism fight.
Anyway, my last comment is regarding the history of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help which has a really bizarre story attached to it. The original image was made as a painting in the Byzantine style in the late 15th century, around the time Columbus was commissioned to sail to America. The Church adopted the image and claimed it had magical powers. The painter in essence came up with the first science fiction tale involving time travel.
According to the story, the Archangel Michael and the angel Gabriel decided or were told that when ***** was a boy of about 7-years old it was time to tell him about his horrific coming crucifixion when he would be 33 years old. Why it was necessary to burden a small boy with this information is an issue for scripture. So, the angels time-traveled forward to the crucifixion. Michael gathered up the blood-stained cross and Gabriel picked up the crown of thorns, the spear that had pierced *****' side and a mop that was used to soak up his blood. They then traveled back in time and confronted the boy ***** with this information, showing him the bloody relics of his own crucifixion. *****, being a boy, screamed and ran to Mary who picked him up and comforted him while the angels took off with the relics. ***** was so upset that a loose sandal dangled as Mary held him. From all of this, the Church designates the image of Mary, ***** and the angels as indicating that Mary provides perpetual help to comfort ***** and anyone else. So, now we have worldwide medals showing the image for all to see.
Anyway, that's my last word. I must say the collection of Constantine key ring medals was interesting from many perspectives. I certainly learned something about the history of the Catholic Church while finding medals.
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