I’d like to see more medal designers take on the “3/4 profile” that some ancient coins display. It’s an attractive look and I haven’t seen it done too often.
At $160ea I don't think many will sell. But being a low mintage does not make it rare, just look at the spouses. All the political comments only prove that even on coin forums the country has a long long road to travel to achieve unity. For even here art work cannot be appreciated without condemning the subject.
I suspect if one undertakes an effort to look, the 1945 FDR inaugural might be found in the same price range as the OP medal. One has a chiseled look of the highest craftmanship which adds depth, feeling and radiates a sense of accomplishment... not just in design and artistic merit. The OP medal shares nothing in common other than a portrait of another man that also served as President of the United States.
In 1941 President Roosevelt sent British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a poem to encourage Britain in the war against Nazi Germany. The poem in part reads:
“Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O union, strong and great!
And this was featured on the reverse of the 1945 Inaugural medal. The reverse represents the Ship of State (i.e. a Nation) which is an old and longstanding metaphor used over the centuries generally in conjunction with the idea of steering or guiding the ship (i.e., nation) by means of diplomacy or domestic policy. FDR was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Wilson Administration so the Ship of State metaphor was appropriate. The 1933 Inaugural also features a ship on the reverse.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Like all the modern US mint medals for the last couple of decades, this seems pretty plain to me. These end up being more a mirror to reflect one's political beliefs.
Whatever you are, be a good one. ---- Abraham Lincoln
I'm still hung up on the 4x price increase.
These things were poor sellers before, so the Mint jacks the price UP that much?
Typical government agency logic.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
@3stars said:
What’s with the sailing ship on the FDR reverse? Is that from his time as a searcher on Oak Island?😂
Roosevelt's First Inaugural Medal in 1933 had shown a somewhat boring side view of the U.S.S. Constitution and the same quote from Longfellow, at Roosevelt's request. FDR had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War One, and he always loved sailing, which may explain his preference for "Old Ironsides."
As the sculptor who had done Roosevelt's Third Inaugural Medal in 1941 was sketching FDR for the Fourth Inaugural Medal in December of 1944, FDR told him to use the ship and quote again. The result was spectacular.
TD
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
@DCW said:
I'm still hung up on the 4x price increase.
These things were poor sellers before, so the Mint jacks the price UP that much?
Typical government agency logic.
Well, there's not a lot of point selling more at a number that represents a loss.
@DCW said:
I'm still hung up on the 4x price increase.
These things were poor sellers before, so the Mint jacks the price UP that much?
Typical government agency logic.
Well, there's not a lot of point selling more at a number that represents a loss.
Do you think they are going to somehow sell more at four times the price? Or even 25% of what they were selling at the lower price?
Honest question here 🤔
Makes zero sense to me, but admittedly I wasn't buying these things before.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
@DCW said:
I'm still hung up on the 4x price increase.
These things were poor sellers before, so the Mint jacks the price UP that much?
Typical government agency logic.
Well, there's not a lot of point selling more at a number that represents a loss.
Do you think they are going to somehow sell more at four times the price? Or even 25% of what they were selling at the lower price?
Honest question here 🤔
Makes zero sense to me, but admittedly I wasn't buying these things before.
It isn’t clear what the Mint’s intentions are in raising prices so dramatically.
That said, people do not make rational choices, especially when shopping. At times, raising the price of an item will actually trigger increased sales.
@DCW said:
I'm still hung up on the 4x price increase.
These things were poor sellers before, so the Mint jacks the price UP that much?
Typical government agency logic.
Well, there's not a lot of point selling more at a number that represents a loss.
Do you think they are going to somehow sell more at four times the price? Or even 25% of what they were selling at the lower price?
Honest question here 🤔
Makes zero sense to me, but admittedly I wasn't buying these things before.
It isn’t clear what the Mint’s intentions are in raising prices so dramatically.
That said, people do not make rational choices, especially when shopping. At times, raising the price of an item will actually trigger increased sales.
They should try $240 in a couple of weeks
m
Walker Proof Digital Album Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
What I find interesting is that the US Mint obverse design is not original. It is the same design that Medal Craft mint published when announcing it would make the “official” medal celebrating the president’s inauguration.
This is the US Mint design:
And this is the design published by the Medal Craft Mint in 2017:
I haven’t followed these closely, but I’m not sure whether they actually executed the design, but they may have ended up issuing something simpler:
Regardless, of all of the higher quality Medallic productions celebrating the inauguration/presidency, they are all forward facing portraits. I wonder if that is a perspective that Trump prefers?
@jwitten said:
Scary to think of, but think the mint will make any new civil war tokens or medals one day? Eeek. Let's hope not.
By new civil war tokens and medals, do you mean ones they struck before?
The Paris Mint is regularly issuing new Libertas Americana medals, along with Intaglio Mint / Limited Mintage and others, all to collector acclaim, so why not the US Mint?
@GoldenEgg said:
What I find interesting is that the US Mint obverse design is not original. It is the same design that Medal Craft mint published when announcing it would make the “official” medal celebrating the president’s inauguration.
An interesting catch which convinces me even more that the U.S. Mint is all out of ideas.
I wonder if they made a deal with Medal Craft.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Regardless, of all of the higher quality Medallic productions celebrating the inauguration/presidency, they are all forward facing portraits. I wonder if that is a perspective that Trump prefers?
For those in search of a medal... Jo Davidson captures so much that places this Inaugural Medal in a class by itself.
Fantastic artistry. But don't think for a moment that FDR was universally admired at the time.
“Universally” is a strong word. No president has ever been admired “universally.” FDR was certainly one of the most popular presidents.
Just to make the distinction. This medal was the official 1945 inaugural medal, which is different from the mint presidential medals. The inaugural medals are only issued during the inaugural period. The mint’s presidential medals were issued for as long as the mint leadership decided to sell them. Therefore, the inaugural medals are scarcer and more valuable.
I know this is confusing to the casual collector. The situation is harder to figure out because the reference books on inaugural medals are not generally available.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
For those in search of a medal... Jo Davidson captures so much that places this Inaugural Medal in a class by itself.
Fantastic artistry. But don't think for a moment that FDR was universally admired at the time.
“Universally” is a strong word. No president has ever been admired “universally.” FDR was certainly one of the most popular presidents.
I might well be wrong, but I believe that some of FDR's popularity came later.
For example, in the 1940 election his opponent got just under 45% of the vote, and in 1944 it was just under 46%. Those were solid victories for FDR but there was a substantial part of the electorate which voted for someone else.
In his first two elections (in the middle of the Great Depression) his opponents didn't break 40%, so he was drifting downward in popularity in his 3rd and 4th terms.
There is some great exonumia and ephemera from that era on both sides of the issue. FDR's run for a third term, for example, was more than a little controversial.
History sometimes has a way of enhancing a president's popularity.
At $160 the era of high relief art medals from the U.S. Mint is going to come at an end. It probably costs a lot of money to make these medals. They must be struck two or three times with an annealing step in between. The question is does the U.S. Mint want to end the art mint medal tradition for the United States? It has existed since the earliest days of the mint. At the $160 price, that might be the case. If the mint has to charge more, they need to supply more with better surfaces, like those from the 1800s.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
@BillJones said:
At $160 the era of high relief art medals from the U.S. Mint is going to come at an end. It probably costs a lot of money to make these medals. They must be struck two or three times with an annealing step in between. The question is does the U.S. Mint want to end the art mint medal tradition for the United States? It has existed since the earliest days of the mint. At the $160 price, that might be the case. If the mint has to charge more, they need to supply more with better surfaces, like those from the 1800s.
The Mint should focus on medallic art that people want to buy so it can be a money making operation.
There are lots of ultra high-relief silver art rounds now that are popular which they can look at.
I have purchased a few of the small mint medals in the past and always thought about getting a 3" one.
With the coming price increase I figured it was now or never and the it is a nice likeness of #45 so I bought a few.
For those in search of a medal... Jo Davidson captures so much that places this Inaugural Medal in a class by itself.
Fantastic artistry. But don't think for a moment that FDR was universally admired at the time.
“Universally” is a strong word. No president has ever been admired “universally.” FDR was certainly one of the most popular presidents.
I might well be wrong, but I believe that some of FDR's popularity came later.
For example, in the 1940 election his opponent got just under 45% of the vote, and in 1944 it was just under 46%. Those were solid victories for FDR but there was a substantial part of the electorate which voted for someone else.
In his first two elections (in the middle of the Great Depression) his opponents didn't break 40%, so he was drifting downward in popularity in his 3rd and 4th terms.
There is some great exonumia and ephemera from that era on both sides of the issue. FDR's run for a third term, for example, was more than a little controversial.
History sometimes has a way of enhancing a president's popularity.
“Universally” says everyone agreed with FDR. Clearly that was not the case. He was tremendously popular, but there were those who disliked him, which makes “universally” invalid.
This is like the argument between the “universe” and the solar system. The universe means everything, not some part of it.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Just to make the distinction. This medal was the official 1945 inaugural medal, which is different from the mint presidential medals. The inaugural medals are only issued during the inaugural period. The mint’s presidential medals were issued for as long as the mint leadership decided to sell them. Therefore, the inaugural medals are scarcer and more valuable.
I know this is confusing to the casual collector. The situation is harder to figure out because the reference books on inaugural medals are not generally available.
Thanks for the distinction on the presidential medal types. Between the official inaugural medals, the mint-issued presidential medals, and all the private issue medals in between and after, it can be confusing for sure.
I believe the 1945 Inaugural medal was struck at the Mint in a limited production run of about 3500. Other Inaugural medals have been struck by different entities such as Medallic Art Co and even the Franklin Mint. The first 50 of the 1933 Inaugural medals were struck by Medallic Art and the rest of the production went to the Mint.
The distinction made by Bill Jones is correct in that the 1945 Inaugural I posted was not part of the ongoing US Mint medal offerings...some of which are still available today.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
For those in search of a medal... Jo Davidson captures so much that places this Inaugural Medal in a class by itself.
Fantastic artistry. But don't think for a moment that FDR was universally admired at the time.
“Universally” is a strong word. No president has ever been admired “universally.” FDR was certainly one of the most popular presidents.
I might well be wrong, but I believe that some of FDR's popularity came later.
For example, in the 1940 election his opponent got just under 45% of the vote, and in 1944 it was just under 46%. Those were solid victories for FDR but there was a substantial part of the electorate which voted for someone else.
In his first two elections (in the middle of the Great Depression) his opponents didn't break 40%, so he was drifting downward in popularity in his 3rd and 4th terms.
There is some great exonumia and ephemera from that era on both sides of the issue. FDR's run for a third term, for example, was more than a little controversial.
History sometimes has a way of enhancing a president's popularity.
“Universally” says everyone agreed with FDR. Clearly that was not the case. He was tremendously popular, but there were those who disliked him, which makes “universally” invalid.
This is like the argument between the “universe” and the solar system. The universe means everything, not some part of it.
Now we have a new description: "tremendously popular". If 55% of the vote represents "tremendously popular" that's fine, but I guess it's also possible to be "tremendously unpopular" at the same time. The subject of the medal in the OP probably earns both designations, for example.
I still maintain that the lense of history has redefined FDR's popularity. He is more popular today than he was then.
The ephemera and exonumia I have are reminders of the debates that were actually occurring at the time. That is one of the reasons I like collecting - these artifacts are a time capsule that preserve bits of history that sometimes get lost as time advances.
I knew a very conservative economics professor in undergraduate school who bragged, “I had four chances to vote for Roosevelt, and I missed every one of them!”
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Here is a part of an exhibit that I have tried to show at the FUN show twice. The pandemic has shut it down both times. Since there is interest in Franklin Roosevelt inaugural medals, here they are. There are four major varieties and one sub variety.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933
**
Designer Paul Manship
Diameter 76 mm
Mintages 2 in gold, 4 known in silver,1,500 in yellow bronze, 50 in finished bronze
Notes: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural medal features a “ship of state” on the reverse. Roosevelt admired the metaphor and used it during his administration and on his 1945 medal. The bronze medal appears with two finishes. The much more common “yellow bronze” finish (shown above) was made at the Philadelphia Mint. The Medallic Art Company imparted a rich brown patina on the 50 pieces that it issued. Collectors highly prize the finished bronze pieces.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1937
**
Designer Joseph Anthony Atchison
Diameter 76 mm
Mintages 2 in gold, 2 in silver,1,006 in bronze
Notes: Designer Joseph Atchison raised some eyebrows when he used incuse lettering on this inaugural medal. Some observers still criticize it today. Another unusual touch was to include vice president John Nance Garner’s portrait on the reverse. It was reported that 90 of the bronze medals went unsold and were melted. Despite that, this medal is usually available for hobbyists who wish to add it to their collections.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1941
**
Variety 1
Variety 2
Designer Jo Davidson obverse, John Sinnock reverse
Diameter 42 mm
Mintages Variety #1, 1 in gold, 2 in silver,1,000 in bronze.
Variety #2, 2,000 in bronze.
Notes: There are two minor varieties of the 1941 inaugural medal. After the initial issue of 1,000 bronze pieces was sold out, the Philadelphia Mint struck an additional 2,000 pieces. A small “2” was added to the reverse, at the top of the wreath, on the second issue to distinguish it from the first run of medals. The first issue pieces sell for about $100 more than the second issue medals because of their lower mintage. Most collectors obtain an example of both varieties. Only one gold medal was struck. It was presented the president and is housed in the FDR Library.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1945
**
Designer Jo Davidson
Diameter 45 mm
Mintages 10 in gold, 2 in silver, 3,500 in bronze
Notes: Artist Jo Davidson captured the fatigue on the war weary president’s face on this final FDR inaugural medal. Roosevelt died less than three months after his fourth inauguration. The unprecedented high mintage of 10 gold medals was a reflection of the diplomatic situation during World War II. Gold medals were awarded to Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Stalin aide V. M. Molotov, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia and two American ambassadors.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
We currently have a two party system... there will always be a percentage of the population that will whine and complain no matter what. So there is a point where there can and should be an agreement to disagree and stay topical to what constitutes great craftsmanship, art and design in a medal. One can look at the 1929 Hoover Inaugural medal and easily be impressed. Again and to the point Bill Jones made, the inaugural medal I am referring to is not the typical US Mint medal
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
@keets said:
bsshog40, am I to believe you are in agreement with the OP that this is the Greatest Mint Medal ever?? if not, I have a barf-bag handy for you to use, if yes, I will use it myself.
while the temptation for YOU to think there is somehow a current Political direction in some of the posts may/may not be correct. from a strict Numismatic perspective, this medal is seriously lacking.
rant on, dude.
I don’t think one needs to like the medal, in order to with agree with what bsshog40 posted (copied below).
“It's going to get to a point where pcgs will ban any threads that consist of political medals, tokens or anything else of the sort on these forums because we have a few people here that cannot respond in a numismatic fashion. Can some of you please GROW UP????”
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Here is the text I wrote for the Hoover medal in my exhibit.
Herbert Hoover
1929
Designer Henry K. Bush-Brown
Diameter 70 mm
Mintages 2 in gold, 1,012 in bronze
Notes: Herbert Hoover banned many of the usual inaugural events such as the ball and a military parade, but he did allow a modest issue of inaugural medals to go forward. For that reason, this medal is collectable although it is not as inexpensive as the mintage of over 1,000 pieces might indicate. Designer Bush-Brown depicted aspects of Hoover’s professional life on the lower portion of the reverse. Herbert Hoover was a great mining engineer, and some of the tools of his trade are shown in that area.
Herbert Hoover was a great mining engineer. I have read that the texts that he wrote were still in use until the mid 1960s.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Apparently the $160 price tag wasn't a problem after all. Both medals, large & small are on "back order". Too bad there's no posting of mintages for the bronze medals. Or at least none that I've found. Would be interesting to see if the "back order" turns into a "unavailable". Did they mint low and get wiped out, or mint high and still get wiped out?
Well, if it counts, this is a medal that I consider to be one of my greatest design accomplishments for the United States Mint (my RaM initials are at left). This particular medal has been on display here next to my drawing table for nearly four years, along with other items I cherish.
One of the best aspects of working with the Mint for the past 17 years, in my humble opinion, has been the near total absence of politics involved in our work. We artists focus strictly on the "task at hand" so to speak, regardless of subject matter by setting aside our personal feelings and/or our opinions.
By the way, I also submitted designs for the OP's medal of our current president and approached that assignment exactly with the same objective as this one, to produce the best possible design, since these medals are made for ALL Americans.
@MrSmith said:
Apparently the $160 price tag wasn't a problem after all. Both medals, large & small are on "back order". Too bad there's no posting of mintages for the bronze medals. Or at least none that I've found. Would be interesting to see if the "back order" turns into a "unavailable". Did they mint low and get wiped out, or mint high and still get wiped out?
Current events have likely greatly increased demand for this particular medal.
The artists who were responsible for both the Obama and .................. medal seem to have had a good understanding of the personality of both of these men. Obama looks approachable and friendly while ...............
@FreeThinker said:
Well, if it counts, this is a medal that I consider to be one of my greatest design accomplishments for the United States Mint (my RaM initials are at left). This particular medal has been on display here next to my drawing table for nearly four years, along with other items I cherish.
One of the best aspects of working with the Mint for the past 17 years, in my humble opinion, has been the near total absence of politics involved in our work. We artists focus strictly on the "task at hand" so to speak, regardless of subject matter by setting aside our personal feelings and/or our opinions.
By the way, I also submitted designs for the OP's medal of our current president and approached that assignment exactly with the same objective as this one, to produce the best possible design, since these medals are made for ALL Americans.
Thx for the first hand insight!
Now, I have to ask: did they give you an example of your medal or did they make you buy it.
@MrSmith said:
Apparently the $160 price tag wasn't a problem after all. Both medals, large & small are on "back order". Too bad there's no posting of mintages for the bronze medals. Or at least none that I've found. Would be interesting to see if the "back order" turns into a "unavailable". Did they mint low and get wiped out, or mint high and still get wiped out?
Maybe some people ordered it during the last week of December to avoid the price increase. That’s what I did, and I received it last Monday.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
Now, I have to ask: did they give you an example of your medal or did they make you buy it.
>
>
No freebies or discounts. To acquire examples of what I have designed, I have to purchase them via the Mint's online catalog or from a dealer just like anyone else. To date, my "collection" is complete.
Much prefer the sculpted look of old medals over the computer designed stuff made recently.
It's really missing the touch of an expert artist's hand.
No comment on the subject matter.
Comments
I think they want to recover all the costs associated with the medal issues from sales.
It is very problematic if they are going to make the bronze buyers pay the freight for the Congressional Gold medals.
Plus, their calculations will be blown out of the water when sales dry up due to the price increase. And the govt bean counters will be shocked.
I’d like to see more medal designers take on the “3/4 profile” that some ancient coins display. It’s an attractive look and I haven’t seen it done too often.
It's the inflation that they are telling us doesn't exist.
At $160ea I don't think many will sell. But being a low mintage does not make it rare, just look at the spouses. All the political comments only prove that even on coin forums the country has a long long road to travel to achieve unity. For even here art work cannot be appreciated without condemning the subject.
I suspect if one undertakes an effort to look, the 1945 FDR inaugural might be found in the same price range as the OP medal. One has a chiseled look of the highest craftmanship which adds depth, feeling and radiates a sense of accomplishment... not just in design and artistic merit. The OP medal shares nothing in common other than a portrait of another man that also served as President of the United States.
In 1941 President Roosevelt sent British Prime Minister Winston Churchill a poem to encourage Britain in the war against Nazi Germany. The poem in part reads:
“Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O union, strong and great!
And this was featured on the reverse of the 1945 Inaugural medal. The reverse represents the Ship of State (i.e. a Nation) which is an old and longstanding metaphor used over the centuries generally in conjunction with the idea of steering or guiding the ship (i.e., nation) by means of diplomacy or domestic policy. FDR was the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Wilson Administration so the Ship of State metaphor was appropriate. The 1933 Inaugural also features a ship on the reverse.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Like all the modern US mint medals for the last couple of decades, this seems pretty plain to me. These end up being more a mirror to reflect one's political beliefs.
Whatever you are, be a good one. ---- Abraham Lincoln
I think Presidential medals are a good idea especially a Trump medal....... it's gonna be hard to erase that history !
I would have to respectfully disagree.
A low mintage does make it rare, but not necessarily valuable.
Scary to think of, but think the mint will make any new civil war tokens or medals one day? Eeek. Let's hope not.
I'm still hung up on the 4x price increase.
These things were poor sellers before, so the Mint jacks the price UP that much?
Typical government agency logic.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Roosevelt's First Inaugural Medal in 1933 had shown a somewhat boring side view of the U.S.S. Constitution and the same quote from Longfellow, at Roosevelt's request. FDR had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War One, and he always loved sailing, which may explain his preference for "Old Ironsides."
As the sculptor who had done Roosevelt's Third Inaugural Medal in 1941 was sketching FDR for the Fourth Inaugural Medal in December of 1944, FDR told him to use the ship and quote again. The result was spectacular.
TD
Well, there's not a lot of point selling more at a number that represents a loss.
Do you think they are going to somehow sell more at four times the price? Or even 25% of what they were selling at the lower price?
Honest question here 🤔
Makes zero sense to me, but admittedly I wasn't buying these things before.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get"
It isn’t clear what the Mint’s intentions are in raising prices so dramatically.
That said, people do not make rational choices, especially when shopping. At times, raising the price of an item will actually trigger increased sales.
They should try $240 in a couple of weeks
m
Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
What I find interesting is that the US Mint obverse design is not original. It is the same design that Medal Craft mint published when announcing it would make the “official” medal celebrating the president’s inauguration.
This is the US Mint design:
And this is the design published by the Medal Craft Mint in 2017:
I haven’t followed these closely, but I’m not sure whether they actually executed the design, but they may have ended up issuing something simpler:
Regardless, of all of the higher quality Medallic productions celebrating the inauguration/presidency, they are all forward facing portraits. I wonder if that is a perspective that Trump prefers?
By new civil war tokens and medals, do you mean ones they struck before?
The Paris Mint is regularly issuing new Libertas Americana medals, along with Intaglio Mint / Limited Mintage and others, all to collector acclaim, so why not the US Mint?
An interesting catch which convinces me even more that the U.S. Mint is all out of ideas.
I wonder if they made a deal with Medal Craft.
Great transactions with oih82w8, JasonGaming, Moose1913.
Looks like Stephen Baldwin.
“Universally” is a strong word. No president has ever been admired “universally.” FDR was certainly one of the most popular presidents.
Just to make the distinction. This medal was the official 1945 inaugural medal, which is different from the mint presidential medals. The inaugural medals are only issued during the inaugural period. The mint’s presidential medals were issued for as long as the mint leadership decided to sell them. Therefore, the inaugural medals are scarcer and more valuable.
I know this is confusing to the casual collector. The situation is harder to figure out because the reference books on inaugural medals are not generally available.
I might well be wrong, but I believe that some of FDR's popularity came later.
For example, in the 1940 election his opponent got just under 45% of the vote, and in 1944 it was just under 46%. Those were solid victories for FDR but there was a substantial part of the electorate which voted for someone else.
In his first two elections (in the middle of the Great Depression) his opponents didn't break 40%, so he was drifting downward in popularity in his 3rd and 4th terms.
There is some great exonumia and ephemera from that era on both sides of the issue. FDR's run for a third term, for example, was more than a little controversial.
History sometimes has a way of enhancing a president's popularity.
At $160 the era of high relief art medals from the U.S. Mint is going to come at an end. It probably costs a lot of money to make these medals. They must be struck two or three times with an annealing step in between. The question is does the U.S. Mint want to end the art mint medal tradition for the United States? It has existed since the earliest days of the mint. At the $160 price, that might be the case. If the mint has to charge more, they need to supply more with better surfaces, like those from the 1800s.
The Mint should focus on medallic art that people want to buy so it can be a money making operation.
There are lots of ultra high-relief silver art rounds now that are popular which they can look at.
I have purchased a few of the small mint medals in the past and always thought about getting a 3" one.
With the coming price increase I figured it was now or never and the it is a nice likeness of #45 so I bought a few.
“Universally” says everyone agreed with FDR. Clearly that was not the case. He was tremendously popular, but there were those who disliked him, which makes “universally” invalid.
This is like the argument between the “universe” and the solar system. The universe means everything, not some part of it.
So it now looks as if we got the wrong Baldwin on Saturday Night Live...
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Thanks for the distinction on the presidential medal types. Between the official inaugural medals, the mint-issued presidential medals, and all the private issue medals in between and after, it can be confusing for sure.
I believe the 1945 Inaugural medal was struck at the Mint in a limited production run of about 3500. Other Inaugural medals have been struck by different entities such as Medallic Art Co and even the Franklin Mint. The first 50 of the 1933 Inaugural medals were struck by Medallic Art and the rest of the production went to the Mint.
The distinction made by Bill Jones is correct in that the 1945 Inaugural I posted was not part of the ongoing US Mint medal offerings...some of which are still available today.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
Now we have a new description: "tremendously popular". If 55% of the vote represents "tremendously popular" that's fine, but I guess it's also possible to be "tremendously unpopular" at the same time. The subject of the medal in the OP probably earns both designations, for example.
I still maintain that the lense of history has redefined FDR's popularity. He is more popular today than he was then.
The ephemera and exonumia I have are reminders of the debates that were actually occurring at the time. That is one of the reasons I like collecting - these artifacts are a time capsule that preserve bits of history that sometimes get lost as time advances.
Not universally admired, but respected.
That is a beautiful medal.
My uncle always referred to FDR as "that crippled idiot", so he was not "universally" either liked or respected.
In fact, I would posit that most Presidents rank near the top of both "most admired" AND "most hated" - including and maybe especially #44 and #45.
I knew a very conservative economics professor in undergraduate school who bragged, “I had four chances to vote for Roosevelt, and I missed every one of them!”
Here is a part of an exhibit that I have tried to show at the FUN show twice. The pandemic has shut it down both times. Since there is interest in Franklin Roosevelt inaugural medals, here they are. There are four major varieties and one sub variety.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1933
**
Designer Paul Manship
Diameter 76 mm
Mintages 2 in gold, 4 known in silver,1,500 in yellow bronze, 50 in finished bronze
Notes: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural medal features a “ship of state” on the reverse. Roosevelt admired the metaphor and used it during his administration and on his 1945 medal. The bronze medal appears with two finishes. The much more common “yellow bronze” finish (shown above) was made at the Philadelphia Mint. The Medallic Art Company imparted a rich brown patina on the 50 pieces that it issued. Collectors highly prize the finished bronze pieces.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1937
**
Designer Joseph Anthony Atchison
Diameter 76 mm
Mintages 2 in gold, 2 in silver,1,006 in bronze
Notes: Designer Joseph Atchison raised some eyebrows when he used incuse lettering on this inaugural medal. Some observers still criticize it today. Another unusual touch was to include vice president John Nance Garner’s portrait on the reverse. It was reported that 90 of the bronze medals went unsold and were melted. Despite that, this medal is usually available for hobbyists who wish to add it to their collections.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1941
**
Variety 1
Variety 2
Designer Jo Davidson obverse, John Sinnock reverse
Diameter 42 mm
Mintages Variety #1, 1 in gold, 2 in silver,1,000 in bronze.
Variety #2, 2,000 in bronze.
Notes: There are two minor varieties of the 1941 inaugural medal. After the initial issue of 1,000 bronze pieces was sold out, the Philadelphia Mint struck an additional 2,000 pieces. A small “2” was added to the reverse, at the top of the wreath, on the second issue to distinguish it from the first run of medals. The first issue pieces sell for about $100 more than the second issue medals because of their lower mintage. Most collectors obtain an example of both varieties. Only one gold medal was struck. It was presented the president and is housed in the FDR Library.
**Franklin D. Roosevelt
1945
**
Designer Jo Davidson
Diameter 45 mm
Mintages 10 in gold, 2 in silver, 3,500 in bronze
Notes: Artist Jo Davidson captured the fatigue on the war weary president’s face on this final FDR inaugural medal. Roosevelt died less than three months after his fourth inauguration. The unprecedented high mintage of 10 gold medals was a reflection of the diplomatic situation during World War II. Gold medals were awarded to Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, Stalin aide V. M. Molotov, British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden, King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia and two American ambassadors.
We currently have a two party system... there will always be a percentage of the population that will whine and complain no matter what. So there is a point where there can and should be an agreement to disagree and stay topical to what constitutes great craftsmanship, art and design in a medal. One can look at the 1929 Hoover Inaugural medal and easily be impressed. Again and to the point Bill Jones made, the inaugural medal I am referring to is not the typical US Mint medal
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
I don’t think one needs to like the medal, in order to with agree with what bsshog40 posted (copied below).
“It's going to get to a point where pcgs will ban any threads that consist of political medals, tokens or anything else of the sort on these forums because we have a few people here that cannot respond in a numismatic fashion. Can some of you please GROW UP????”
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Here is the text I wrote for the Hoover medal in my exhibit.
Herbert Hoover
1929
Designer Henry K. Bush-Brown
Diameter 70 mm
Mintages 2 in gold, 1,012 in bronze
Notes: Herbert Hoover banned many of the usual inaugural events such as the ball and a military parade, but he did allow a modest issue of inaugural medals to go forward. For that reason, this medal is collectable although it is not as inexpensive as the mintage of over 1,000 pieces might indicate. Designer Bush-Brown depicted aspects of Hoover’s professional life on the lower portion of the reverse. Herbert Hoover was a great mining engineer, and some of the tools of his trade are shown in that area.
Herbert Hoover was a great mining engineer. I have read that the texts that he wrote were still in use until the mid 1960s.
I’ve always been partial to coronation medals from England
life is like a box of candy love this medal
I like this ultra-high relief from the 1977 Jubilee
Well, just Love coins, period.
Apparently the $160 price tag wasn't a problem after all. Both medals, large & small are on "back order". Too bad there's no posting of mintages for the bronze medals. Or at least none that I've found. Would be interesting to see if the "back order" turns into a "unavailable". Did they mint low and get wiped out, or mint high and still get wiped out?
Interesting....
I did note a couple weeks ago that some other medals were also on BO. I guess there was a last minute rush to beat the price increase.
Well, if it counts, this is a medal that I consider to be one of my greatest design accomplishments for the United States Mint (my RaM initials are at left). This particular medal has been on display here next to my drawing table for nearly four years, along with other items I cherish.
One of the best aspects of working with the Mint for the past 17 years, in my humble opinion, has been the near total absence of politics involved in our work. We artists focus strictly on the "task at hand" so to speak, regardless of subject matter by setting aside our personal feelings and/or our opinions.
By the way, I also submitted designs for the OP's medal of our current president and approached that assignment exactly with the same objective as this one, to produce the best possible design, since these medals are made for ALL Americans.
Current events have likely greatly increased demand for this particular medal.
The artists who were responsible for both the Obama and .................. medal seem to have had a good understanding of the personality of both of these men. Obama looks approachable and friendly while ...............
Thx for the first hand insight!
Now, I have to ask: did they give you an example of your medal or did they make you buy it.
Maybe some people ordered it during the last week of December to avoid the price increase. That’s what I did, and I received it last Monday.
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No freebies or discounts. To acquire examples of what I have designed, I have to purchase them via the Mint's online catalog or from a dealer just like anyone else. To date, my "collection" is complete.
Much prefer the sculpted look of old medals over the computer designed stuff made recently.
It's really missing the touch of an expert artist's hand.
No comment on the subject matter.
Collector, occasional seller
My favorite is an early medal. This one isn't original, but a restrike.
Striking nonetheless . . . . . . . .
Z
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Busy chasing Carr's . . . . . woof!
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