Background History and Current Policies of U.S. Mint Medal Making.
THE UNITED STATES Government has had an admirable policy towards medals since the U.S. has had its own national Mint, founded in 1792. Medals of “national interest” are authorized by Congress and struck by the U.S. Mint at one or more of its production facilities, most often at the Philadelphia Mint.
For the first century and a half medals of “private interests” were allowed to be struck at the Philadelphia Mint with very few restrictions. Work for such medals could not interfere with the routine work of the mint, nor could medals be struck of political or campaign interest. The reasons for this was obvious on both counts.
Government officials correctly observed that political campaign medals would not be appropriate for the national mint to manufacture, perhaps implying favoritism of one political candidate over another. This lead to private medals being created by a small number of enterprising engravers who established one- and two-man shops for striking such medals. These were small size medals for two reasons: these shops did not have heavy-duty presses and the cost had to be low for the candidates to give away large number of medals.
The Philadelphia Mint had the capability to strike large diameter medals. The current view was that the U.S. Mint had the only press in America to strike a medal larger than two inches. If a private firm or individual wanted a large medal, they had to apply at the Philadelphia Mint or have it struck in Europe. (This was not entirely true in that Scovill Manufacturing in Waterbury, Connecticut, had such equipment and capability but did not seek this kind of work.)
With such a policy in place the Philadelphia Mint struck such private medals as a 25th wedding anniversary in 1821 (Julian PE-13), a medal honoring an arbitrator in a dispute in Bogota 1880 (PE-17) and a college professor friend of Mint Director James Pollack 1870 (PE-25). Hardly medals of national interest, but as long as someone had money to pay for such issues, the Philadelphia Mint obliged them.
It was an event exactly 100 years following the establishment of the Philadelphia Mint that changed the situation. The World’s Fair in Chicago of 1893-94 spawned an awaking of the need for a private medal industry in America. Established firms in Chicago and Milwaukie, whose major work prior to that time was for stamps and stencils, turned to striking medals for the Fair.
Worldwide publicity for the Chicago Fair attracted immigrant engravers to America. One, a German immigrant August Frank, wisely chose to establish his medal business in Philadelphia rather than Chicago, as the center of medal activity and be in competition with existing firms there (in addition to the U.S. Mint there). He came to America in 1893 and was in business by 1894.
Large jewelry firms, notably Tiffany and Gorham, accepted orders for medals, struck what they could in their plants and contracted out what they couldn’t. A printing specialty company, Whitehead & Hoag purchased its first medal press in 1899 and established a medal department in a new building in 1903. Henri Weil struck his first medal in 1907 and Medallic Art Company was established in 1910.
A private medal manufacturing industry was in place in America. Organizations requiring medals did not have to rely on the U.S. Mint to make their medals. Yet the practice continued somewhat.
This continued until the depression of the 1930s. New medal orders dried up as business activity slowed down. Clyde Curlee Trees, who had acquired ownership of Medallic Art Company in 1927, struggled to kept his tiny plant operating. He dismissed his employees midday after doing what little work was available. Yet he saw medal jobs being struck by the Philadelphia Mint that could have been choice work for private industry.
Trees mounted a campaign beginning in 1936 for the U.S. Mint to cease accepting orders for medal jobs, those not of “national interest.” These were the medals, he contended, that should be manufactured by private firms. He wrote letters to U.S. Treasury officials emphasizing the Mint was a competitor, an unfair competitor at that. Private industry had to pay taxes, the Mint did not. Often the Mint charged less than what a private firm had to charge.
Further efforts on Trees part achieved little results, even appeals to selected Congressmen. Not until 1948 was the Mint’s policy changed to not accept private medals struck at the Mints. By this time, however, Trees tiny firm was flooded with work, manufacturing military decorations and campaign medals for the Department of Defense following World War II.
The Philadelphia Mint had some dies made earlier for organizations with yearly award medal programs. They continued making these as if they were under contract to supply these as long as needed. The last of these medals, however, were struck in 1964, long after Tree’s death in1960. A hollow victory.
In contrast to this policy, the most democratic policy of the U.S. Government is in respect to Congressional Medals. Congress has the right, perhaps even a duty, to bestow medals to individuals of notable achievement of their choice. The long history and heritage of issuing such Congressional Medals goes all the way back to George Washington.
What is admirable, it should be emphasized, is that once the dies are made and a gold medal is struck for the intended recipient, those same dies are used to strike bronze replicas which can be sold to anyone. This extends the honor intended for the person Congress wanted to celebrate. It documents this honor in an artistic and substantial manor.
Those Congressional medals will last – as all art medals last – for thousands of years extending the fact of that honor for many future generations to know. Medals perpetuate the knowledge of a historical event.
Informing the public these medals were available for purchase was by lists issued by the U.S. Mint. This gave rise to the term List Medals for all such medals. The first such Lists were issued, it is believed, as early as the 1860s. Constantly updated with new medals issued, lists continued to be published until 1969. By then the list was long enough to publish in book form.
Under the direction of then Mint Director Eva Adams, a research team of Kenneth M. Failor and Eleonora Hayden compiled photographs, biographies of all persons shown on the medals, and identified the medal’s artists. The book was published in paperback form and revised in a 1972 edition. This was welcomed by medal collectors, despite the fact both editions lacked numismatic information of when these were first struck, varieties and quantities issued.
By the twentieth century the List Medals were given issue numbers by the Mint. They obviously were divided into nine classes. A recent listing revealed these numbers:
Medal Count:
100 Series Presidents — 45
200 Series Treasury Secretary — 33
300 Series Mint Officials — 26
400 Series Army — 35
500 Series Navy — 33
600 Series Miscellaneous — 98
700 Series Mint Buildings — 45
800 Series (Open) — 0
900 Series Miscellaneous — 10
Total: 325
Since the 600 numbers nearly occupied all available numbers, newer medals were assigned numbers in the 900 series.
Some of these medals were available in two sizes. In 1992 the numbering system was modified by giving a number to each size medal. Previously a medal had one number irrespective of size.
Under Mint Director Donna Pope the existing Presidential Medal Series was remodeled beginning in 1978 from high relief art medals to a low relief medal of the same design which could be struck on coining presses. Called Mini Medals this series was created “for the children.” These did not find favor with collectors, however, and are sold at steep discounts on the secondary market. Perhaps the concept was flawed as collectors discounted reissuing art medals in a lesser form.
Beginning in 1984 the U.S. Mint began a program to reduce the number of List Medals available for sale. In the first edition of the 1969 catalog 188 medals were available for public purchase. In the following 15 years this number had risen to over 210. Mint authorities felt, regretfully, it was impractical to continue to supply, to keep a stock on hand, this many medals since some sold only a few each year.
Thus an austerity program, launched in 1984, led to the phasing out of less popular medals with no plans to replace or inventory these medals. In the end the unsold inventory of list medals were sold in grab bags! This marked, somewhat, a low point in the U.S. Mint’s respect for the significance and heritage of these national medallic treasures.
Today virtually none of the early List Medals are available from the Mint. There are two dozen or so medals available for purchase, although the number constantly varies as new medals are added, and, apparently, earlier medals are dropped.
Bullion medals. The popularity of bullion items – coined ingots and “rounds” – struck by private mints gave rise for the Mint to issue their own bullion medals. In 1980 the U.S. Mint introduced a series of bullion medals, America Arts Gold Medals. Issued in two weights, full ounce and half ounce of coin gold, each bore the portrait of a notable American artist.
The series continued for four years, eight issues in all, but ceased for lack of demand. Large quantities were melted. Buyers of coined bullion items from the Mint, it was learned, preferred those items with a denomination, in effect bullion coins, despite the fact the denomination had little relationship to the value of the item’s precious metal content. This was, perhaps, a final blow for medal issuing by the U.S. Mint.
It would continue creating the models and striking medals ordered into law by Congress. It would continue to strike the required gold medal, and provide bronze copies for the public. But it had little desire for a further medal program. Instead it directed the bulk of its activity for creating commemorative coins and bullion coins for sale to the public.
Congress acceded to the Treasury Department’s goals. It authorized Statehood Quarters, beginning in 1999, which proved highly popular. This is followed by America the beautiful Series of Quarters, essentially our National Parks, commenced in 2010.
Some believe the rampant issuing of commemorative coins and sets by the U.S. Mint, commenced in 1982, with inherent surcharges above face value, has diluted their ability to create attractive items irrespective of size, denomination or composition.
A Commission of Fine Arts had been in place since prior to World War I for advice on improving all artistic endeavors of the government from bridges, buildings, to the smallest coin. The Commission issued its opinion on new coin designs, but infrequently the Mint rejected these opinions and issued a new design anyway.
To offset this, the Treasury Department created in 1992, the Citizens Commemorative Coin Committee. Committee members were to advise on new coin designs, as somewhat of a consumers’ consensus, as to which, among several designs would be more popular to the public.
The more commemorative items that were popular, the more the Mint desired to issue. Congress went along. What is being issued is coins, and medals have taken a far lower priority in the activity of the current U.S. Mint.
In a future post I will suggest some actions the U.S. Mint can take to restore interest in art medals of American National Interests.
Here are citations to the two books mentioned above:
{1969} United States Mint. Medals of the United States Mint. Washington, Government Printing Office. Compiled by Kenneth M. Failor and Eleonora Hayden (1969). Revised 1972. 312 pages, illus.
“List medals” first offered by U.S. Mint in list form (circa 1880s), hence the term. This publication is the first listing in book form.
{1977} Julian (R.W.) Medals of the United States Mint, The First Century, 1792-1892. Token and Medal Society. 424 pages. [573 items, 69 artists, index of artists, p 418-419, compiled by D. Wayne Johnson]
Monumental work on 19th century mint medals. Artists are identified for 412 items; 161 items have unknown artists.
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