(1974) Medal U.S. Customhouse Silver Wheeling, WV questions/help please

coinsarefun

I've been trying to decipher what 4 medals the Minet struck for the Customs Dept in 1974(I presume)
I also presume there are 4 because I found reference while googling but haven't found any in silver.
There must be as PCGS states there is but then they say its bronze.......I'm going to say that's a typo......lol
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Does someone have any pics or info as to how many were made? The only one I have is
(1974) Medal U.S. Customhouse Silver Wheeling, WV (Regular Strike)

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From PCGS.
Link to coin facts
https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/coin/1974-medal-u-s-customhouse-silver-wheeling-wv/891850

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jesbroken

Steph,
Here's what the U.S. Mint says regarding the series. US Mint site offers written items on all 4 sites.
Jim
Fourth Medal in U.S. Customs Series Honors Wheeling, West Virginia, Customhouse
Press Release
May 20, 1974

The fourth in a series of medals commemorating historic customhouses in the United States has been struck by the Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Mint in collaboration with the U.S. Customs Service.

The medal features the U.S. Customhouse in Wheeling, West Virginia, locally known as West Virginia Independence Hall. It will be presented to officials of the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation, Inc., during a U.S. Customs Service bicentennial ceremony on May 23, 1974.

The Wheeling Customhouse is depicted on the obverse side and the seal of the U.S. Customs Service is on the reverse of the 1-5/16-inch miniature bronze medal. It was designed by Philip E. Fowler of the Philadelphia Mint.

The medal will be sold locally by the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation, Inc. It will be available at the customhouse following the 2 p.m. presentation ceremony, and at all banks in Wheeling.

The medal, along with three earlier ones in the series which depict Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Boston, and San Francisco Customhouses, are available at the Bureau of the Mint’s exhibit and sales areas in Philadlphia, Denver, San Francisco, and at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., for 50 cents. They may be ordered by mail through the San Francisco Mint, 55 Mint Street, San Francisco, California 94175 for 60 cents each. A 3-inch bronze medal of the Georgetown Customhouse is also available in the Mint’s sales and exhibit areas for $5.00, and through the mail for $5.25.

The Wheeling Customhouse, completed in 1859, is the work of Ammi B. Young, renowned Supervising Architect of the Treasury from 1852 to 1862. The beautifully proportioned Italian Renaissance Revival building was the scene of two historic events following the Civil War. In June 1861 a convention met in the building to consider the vote on Virginia’s secession from the Union. In 1862 the third floor courtroom served as a convention hall when the new State of West Virginia was formed.

The Federal Government sold the customhouse to private interests in 1912. In 1958 it was acquired by the State of West Virginia for restoration as a state monument. West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation, Inc., which is restoring the building, plans to use the customhouse to interpret the story of the formation of the state.

coinsarefun

Thanks so much @jesbbroken on the info. I’ll try to search the mint site for the others. Well they must have made
one in silver and one in bronze/copper as I have both. They are of good size but no as large as a silver dollar.
Just thought the building design was superior……guess that’s my architectural background coming through…..lol

Some_of_it

I also own a silver Wheeling and have a silver San Francisco currently out for grading. The SF mintage is 300 per the mint director report 1974. I won that at a PCNS drawing a few years back. The SF one is the only silver one itemized in the mint director’s report. I have been able to track down but do not own silver Yorktown, silver New Orleans, silver Savannah. I took screenshots but don’t own the photos. I found a newspaper article indicating the silver Yorktown were available for sale by the local DAR chapter. (Daily Press 9/3/76). I suspect the silver were offered as part of the dedication ceremonies. I cannot find any reference to the mint selling these directly to the public.

coinsarefun

Thanks so much!
Can you post them when you get them back. I really want to see what they look like

dcarr

John Dean indicates that, in addition to the 11 small bronze medals in the set, and the small silver medals mentioned in this thread, there also exists a 3-inch bronze version of the Georgetown Custom House medal. The US Mint's product number system (for sales to the public) has numbers for the 11 small medals and only the one large bronze medal. There are no numbers or mention of the silver medals in the sales documents.

coinsarefun

@dcarr said:
John Dean indicates that, in addition to the 11 small bronze medals in the set, and the small silver medals mentioned in this thread, there also exists a 3-inch bronze version of the Georgetown Custom House medal. The US Mint's product number system (for sales to the public) has numbers for the 11 small medals and only the one large bronze medal. There are no numbers or mention of the silver medals in the sales documents.

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Interesting, everything I read online(Google) there was a series of 4. You’re saying that there are actually 11.
I am aware of the 3” bronze but have not see on come to auction.
I’m sorry I don’t know who John Dean is……is there a book or booklet he wrote on these?

Zoins

@coinsarefun said:

@dcarr said:
John Dean indicates that, in addition to the 11 small bronze medals in the set, and the small silver medals mentioned in this thread, there also exists a 3-inch bronze version of the Georgetown Custom House medal. The US Mint's product number system (for sales to the public) has numbers for the 11 small medals and only the one large bronze medal. There are no numbers or mention of the silver medals in the sales documents.

Interesting, everything I read online(Google) there was a series of 4. You’re saying that there are actually 11.
I am aware of the 3” bronze but have not see on come to auction.
I’m sorry I don’t know who John Dean is……is there a book or booklet he wrote on these?

John T. Dean is author of book on U.S. Mint medals.

John T. Dean said:
"National Commemorative Medals of the United States Mint" Second Edition - April 2012
A comprehensive guide to the United States Mint National Commemorative medals of the era 1954 to 1983 and more!

His website is here:

http://www.jtdean.com/

He even has a custom insert from ANACS for his collection:

dcarr

This image (courtesy of John Dean) is of a US Mint sales document that lists the 11 small and one large bronze Custom House medals:

Zoins

@dcarr said:
This image (courtesy of John Dean) is of a US Mint sales document that lists the 11 small and one large bronze Custom House medals:

Great image! Please give our thanks to John Dean.

Here are the customhouses from the card. The order on the card matches the order of release for the 3 with press releases. Also, @Some_of_it indicated seeing a a silver Yorktown so if they are done in order, then all have been released.

1. Georgetown - Press Release
2. Boston
3. San Francisco
4. Wheeling - Press Release
5. Savannah - Press Release
6. New Orleans
7. Galveston
8. New York
9. Galena
10. Providence
11. Yorktown

I've added press releasees where available but I've only been able to find the 3 on USMint.gov. Here's the result of a search on the site:

It's great that the USMint has both the text and a scan of the original release. I believe the original is in color while this is a black and white scan.

Some_of_it

I forgot that I went through the Mint Directors reports back in 2022. Attached is what I could find. The ones listed in red, I have seen in silver. Wheeling silvers appears often on eBay. I have never seen any other silver on eBay. The pics of the silver medals I pulled off the internet. I own the PCGS MS69 picture above.

coinsarefun

Thank you so very much everyone! I can’t thank you enough for all the research you’ve done for me!

Some_of_it

The silver SF Customhouse medal is on the way to me from grading. I’m happy with the results.