2025 WORLD'S FAIR OF MONEY MEDAL

One of the most exciting numismatic events of the year can be commemorated with a collectible medal, designed by renowned artists Jamie Franki and Heidi Wastweet. Every year, the World's Fair of Money®, hosted by the American Numismatic Association (ANA), brings together coin collectors from all over the world. The show features hundreds of dealers, displays of rare treasures, educational opportunities, family activities, and more. This year's event takes place at the Oklahoma City Convention Center in Oklahoma City, OK, August 19-23, 2025.

This year's medal design celebrates Oklahoma City's connections to Native America and wildlife. In the tradition of James Earle Fraser's beloved Buffalo nickel, the medal features a First American on the obverse and a bison (the state animal of Oklahoma), on the reverse.

"Every invitation to design a medal for the ANA is an opportunity to combine my favorite things – teaching and artistry," said Franki. "Oklahoma City is such an interesting and storied place. The history of the area tied beautifully to numismatics in the Native theme. Working with Heidi Wastweet as a project sculptor is so amazing because she can literally interpret anything I put on paper into detailed relief that articulates my ideas so much more clearly than I ever could."

 

The obverse depicts the statue atop the Oklahoma State Capitol building called "The Guardian," a 17-foot-tall bronze representation of a Native American man. The monument represents the historic and enduring presence of Native American people in Oklahoma, as well as the state's diversity and ability to overcome challenges. It is the first state capitol in the nation to be topped by an American Indian figure. The depiction of the monument on the medal is encircled by star elements observed from the Oklahoma State Seal.

The reverse of the medal features bison on the Oklahoma plains. The primary device is a congregation of a stylized bison with five starlings perched upon its back. Five more bison, delineated as open spaces in silhouette, can be seen on the horizon of the Great Plains. The five bison and five starlings symbolize the Fraser buffalo and Franki Bison nickel reverse designs. The Guardian's spear and two stars also appear on the reverse, tying both sides of the medal together in design and concept. This "speared bison" reverse design was also partially inspired by the famous strike error of the same name, sought after by coin collectors of the 2005 Bison nickel.

"I deeply appreciate the ANA's continued support of traditional hand sculpted, and hand drawn art for medals," said Wastweet. "As the minting world explores and embraces expanding technologies, I believe it's important to not lose sight of legacy methods. It's been a joy to collaborate once again with Jamie, who has such a lively passion for bringing history to life with coinage."

Medals are available in bronze (2.75" medal) for $70; or as a two-medal set (1.5" bronze medal and 1.5" silver medal) for $155. To order a medal visit money.org/convention-collectibles. For large quantity orders, call (800) 514-COIN (2646). Collectible pre-orders are not available for pickup at the show. Collectibles will be mailed after Aug. 30, 2025.

About the Artists

Both Heidi and Jamie are alumni of the U.S. Mint's Artistic Infusion Program. Jamie is well-known as the designer of the 2005 Buffalo nickel reverse and the 2006/Beyond Jefferson nickel obverse. He is one of the most prolific designers of medals for the ANA's World's Fair of Money medals program.

Heidi served as the president of the American Medallic Sculpture Association and a member of the Citizens' Coinage Advisory Committee, and was selected as the winner of the 2024 ANA Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture. She has sculpted and designed thousands of coins and medals over the span of a long and impactful career in the medallic arts.

Additional information about the World's Fair of Money can be found online at WorldsFairOfMoney.com.

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