DARRELL CRAIN INAUGURAL MEDAL COLLECTION DISPLAYED

E-Sylum reader Joe Levine was interviewed this week by a Washington, DC television station for a story about the an exhibit at George Washington University of The Darrell C. Crain Collection of Official Presidential and Vice Presidential Inaugural Medals. -Editor

The inauguration is still six days away, but the hunt is already on. Obama fans and historians alike are scouring the city for the best inaugural trinkets and other keepsakes. FOX 5's Tisha Thompson gives you an insider's look at one high-priced item the real collectors are scrambling for.

The Darrell C. Crain Collection of Official Presidential and Vice Presidential Inaugural Medals, displayed in the Special Collections Department of GW's Gelman Library, is one of the rare complete sets of Presidential and Vice Presidential Inaugural medals. The collection begins with the McKinley medal of 1901 and continues through the second Clinton/Gore Inauguration in 1997. The collection was assembled by Crain in honor of his father, who designed medals for Presidents Wilson, Harding, and Coolidge. Crain, a 1932 alumnus of GW's School of Medicine, presented the medals to the University in 1976. At that time, it was the only complete set of inaugural medals in existence.

On the occasion of his second inauguration, William McKinley decided to have commemorative medals made as presentation gifts to the inaugural committee members and other officials. Generally, the medals are struck in gold, silver, or bronze, and range in size from 45mm to 70mm in diameter.

For more information on the collection, see: http://www.gwumc.edu/medctr/news.cfm?view=news&d=7937

Wayne Homren, Editor

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The E-Sylum: Volume 12, Number 3, January 18, 2009, Article 9

DARRELL CRAIN INAUGURAL MEDAL COLLECTION DISPLAYED

Wayne Homren, Editor