U. S. Mint Medals

[mmarotta]

This is from my Aviation collection.  It is a bronze strike of the gold medal awarded to Charles Lindbergh.  This Congressional medal was design by Laura Gardin Fraser. (Biography here and also Wikipedia of course.)  She also designed the Oregon Trail commemorative half dollar-- and though she won the competition for the new Washington Quarter, Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon chose John Flanagan's design.  The reverse of this medal and the obverse of the Oregon Trail are obviously the products of the same hand.
 
 
 
 

[coinsarefun]

Very nice. I don't have any of aviation but I do have a few Washingtonian medals

 "Surrender At Yorktown" White metal, 50.5 mm. This  medal was struck to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle at Yorktown. The medal depicts the busts of Washington and Lafayette accolated right, the date 1881 under the busts. Below the date "Design Patented July 12, 1881." Around: Centennial Yorktown Va.. Reverse: Design representing the surrender and the medal was engraved by P.L. Krider of Philadelphia



I had a special frame made for it as NGC did not have large slabs back when this was graded, so they attached a "photo grade cert"








 Baker 91D           Time increases his fame         [1860-65]         Kneass             Philadelphia

 This medal was struck at the U.S. mint in Philadelphia during the period 1860-1865. The obverse die was engraved by William Kneass, chief engraver from 1824 through his death in 1840. The reverse die was produced at the mint about 1860. During the war years examples of this medal were issued in silver, copper, red bronze, aluminum and yellow bronze. Copper examples continued to be struck from ca. 1860-1880 and yellow bronze restrikes are still available at the mint. About a dozen special order examples were produced in gold between 1860 and 1900.

The medal shows an undraped bust right portrait of Washington on the obverse, while on the reverse is the legend in an olive branch wreath that had been tied with a bow at the bottom. The obverse die apparently had been unused for some twenty years when it was paired with a newly made reverse to produce this Washington medals issued by the U.S. mint


Mine was graded at NGC for the reason that I have never seen this medal or for that matter very few mint medals
that were double struck on the reverse, which makes it a very neat error to look at.


More reading can be found here.   http://www.coins.nd.edu/WashToken/WashTokenText/1860-69c.html