As rare coin prices escalate, many collectors are turning to items like commemorative coins, medals, and tokens to add to their holdings. Since history plays such a large role in coin collecting, one category that’s showing lots of interest (and rising prices) is presidential inaugural medals.
Several of those medals will be featured at an upcoming auction at the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo to be held November 13 at the Baltimore Convention Center by Stacks Bowers Galleries.
130 Years of History
The featured medals are from the Edmund W. Dreyfuss Collection of United States Inaugural Medals, a collection spanning nearly every presidential inauguration since 1889. The earliest piece is an 1889 Benjamin Harrison medal suspended from a red, white, and blue ribbon with a “FLOOR” ribbon running diagonally across it. The pin-back hanger is inscribed “CENTENNIAL” in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s first inauguration in 1789.
Continuing through the Barak Obama presidency, the star of the auction is a rare 1905 Theodore Roosevelt inaugural medal sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the acclaimed artist who designed some of the most beautiful US coins, including the $20 gold American Double Eagle.
Collecting Presidential Inauguration Medals
Collecting inauguration medals is a fairly recent phenomenon. Numismatist Richard Ousterberg produced a catalog of official medals in 1971 that listed all the medals up to 1969 with a price guide. Since then, collecting the medals has grown in popularity and prices have risen as a result.
But medals from McKinley forward remain affordable with many available for $30-50.
Early and rare examples can bring several hundred dollars or more, though, including some recent silver issues. When silver spiked at $50 an ounce in 1980, many medals were melted down for their bullion value, making silver medals for Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter scarce and higher-priced.
Presidential inauguration medals offer a unique glimpse into our nation’s history. When collecting them, do your research. Many unofficial medals have been issued that also commemorate presidents, and while they may be desirable as part of your collection, they’re not official inauguration medals.
You can learn more about collecting presidential inaugural medals in this article on the Great American Coin Company blog and on the Medal Collectors of America website.
Information about the auction is available on the Stacks Bowers website.
Collecting presidential and other commemorative medals is a specialty of its own. They offer fascinating glimpses into US and world history.
The Great American Coin Company® offers a selection of 90% silver US commemorative coins as well as US and world coins and currency for collectors and gift giving. Visit our website for complete information.
