DICK JOHNSON ON THE MINT’S NEW MEDAL SERIES

MINT’S NEW MEDAL SERIES RECYCLES OLD MEDALS

What should we think about the U.S. Mint’s new medal program to issue their Presidential Medal Series – and perhaps other List Medals -- in silver in a new size? Dennis Tucker gushed about this announcement in last week’s E-Sylum.

I’m afraid I don’t share Dennis’ enthusiasm. The Mint is recycling their same old mediocre medallic creations in this proposed series. These were all created by the Mint’s own engravers, almost in cookie cutter designs, one after another copying what had been the previous style and format. They lacked any new art medal expressions. Portrait and eagle. Portrait and eagle motifs. In contrast to all the art medal techniques available, the series, taken as a collection, will be boring, like their 3-inch originals.

Oh! how I wish each president could have been honored with a fresh medallic interpretation of each in an artistic manner. It can be done. Case in point is the Hall of Fame for Great Americans Series, issued by New York University, home of the original Hall of Fame on their Bronx campus.

This series has more than twice the number issued to the number of U.S. presidents. Yet each portrait has a different treatment. Each reverse is a medallic expression of that person’s fame, what he or she did to earn that fame. Each medal is in a different medallic style.

Reason for the difference: The medals were created by 42 different artists bound by no restrictions.

That Hall of Fame Series is never boring. Its charm is its diversity. We can venerate a single medal or the entire series. I know in advance a collection of the new silver presidents could not match a collection of the Hall of Fame’s artistic treatment.

I would by more than willing to trade all the silver medals now planned for, say, five truly art medals of presidents each in a fresh artistic style created by five top medallic artists.

But since the Mint is issuing these medals they will sell to U.S. collectors accustomed to collecting sets of similar coinage denominations. Collectors will buy them.

I am reminded of a statement once said by John Ford: “You could stamp a dead horse with ‘U.S. Mint’ and collectors would buy it.”

Unfortunately, I’m afraid the new silver President medals will be forty-five dead horses.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
DENNIS TUCKER ON THE NEW U.S. MINT MEDAL PROGRAMS (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n04a32.html)
SCARINCI ON THE U.S. MINT'S NEW MEDAL PROGRAM (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n04a33.html)

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