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The E-Sylum: Volume 12, Number 3, January 18, 2009, Article 10ARTICLE INTERVIEWS OBAMA INAUGURAL MEDAL DESIGNER DANIEL ALTSHULERThe Glouchester Daily Times interviewed Daniel Altshuler about his design for the Barack Obama Official Presidential Inaugural Medal. -Editor
Altshuler, who worked 13 years with noted 20th century sculptor Walker Hancock at his Lanesville studio, has unveiled his newest creation – a medal of President Elect Barack Obama.
Altshuler worked with Medallic Art Co., a mint in competition with other private mint companies in the United States, to produce the inaugural medal commemorating Obama's swearing-in on Tuesday as America's 44th president. In the end, the choice came from a different direction. The Inaugural Medal Committee's marketing arm directly chose a team of sculptors to design the Obama medal instead of choosing one of the competitors' designs. Two Gloucester sculptors have designed the official inaugural medal. Paul Manship, (1885-1966) who lived in New York City and Gloucester, made the medal for John F. Kennedy in 1961. In addition to the handful of gold medals made, there were more than 53,000 bronze medals and 7,500 silver medals produced. Manship is known for his golden Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center. In 1953 when the Medallic Art Co. was chosen to strike the Eisenhower medal. It was designed by Hancock (1901-1998), who died at age 97 in Gloucester. The medals have been struck by private mints ever since. Altshuler studied the art of medal-making under Hancock's tutelage. "He insisted that I work in bas-relief because he believed this was critical to know," he said. He was appointed to a two-year term to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which guided the U.S. Mint in its redesign of the nickel to commemorate the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition and Louisiana Purchase. So who was on this "team" of sculptors? Who (if anyone) really deserves the credit for the medal? If it really was a team effort, why did the Inaugural Committee name only Altshuler? -Editor To read the complete article, see: Coining a president: Gloucester Sculptor competes in design challenge (http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_016222652.html) Wayne Homren, EditorContent presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. This is a static archive page documenting the originally published content. Links were active at the time of publication but may no longer work. Check subsequent issues for corrections and commentary. The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ There is a membership application available on the web site. To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Visit the Membership page. Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: E-Sylum Editor Copyright © 1998 - 2020 The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS) |
