Franklin D. Roosevelt was the only president who was elected four times. As a result, he had an unprecedented and never to be equaled total of four inaugural ceremonies and inaugural medals. Each of the FDR medals are unusual and have a unique character. They are all fairly expensive as such items go, at least two or three hundred dollars or more, but all of them are common enough that collectors can acquire them in bronze if they are willing to pay the price. The first FDR inaugural medal was issued in 1933 which was sold at the depths of Great Depression. During his inaugural speech, FDR coined the phrase, “What we have to fear is fear itself.” His medal featured a high relief portrait of the new president on the obverse. The reverse featured a sailing ship. FDR had been an Undersecretary of the Navy, and he viewed government as a ship of state and himself as the captain. The diameter of the piece was 76 mm. The total mint in bronze was 1,500 executed by the Philadelphia Mint and 50 pieces struck by the Medallic Art Company which had a special finish. The pieces with dark mahogany finish are highly prized and bring high prices. The designer was Paul Manship who also designed the medal for John F. Kennedy in 1961. FDR won his second term by a huge margin in 1936. In 1937, his inaugural committee issued another 76 mm medal, this time with incuse lettering. Vice President John Nance Garner got top billing on the reverse. This was the first of a trend that would appear on second term inaugural medals at times, perhaps to give the VP a boost toward succeeding his boss. History has shown that few vice presidents have been elected directly from the second spot to the White House. The last one to do it was George H.W. Bush who succeeded Ronald Reagan. Before that it had been Martin Van Buren who succeeded Andrew Jackson in 1837. The total mintage was 1,009 in bronze plus two other bronze pieces that had a special finish. The special finish pieces have not been seen on the market. It has been said that at least 90 pieces went unsold and were melted making this the lowest mintage FDR inaugural medal. FDR won an unprecedented third term in 1940. This time his inaugural committee issued a more modest 41 mm medal. The initial mintage of 1,000 pieces in bronze sold out rather quickly. Collectors called for additional medals to be made. That demand was met by a second mintage. To distinguish between the first and second mintages, a “2” was added above the wreath on the reverse. The inaugural committee issued 2,000 examples of the second mintage medals. FDR won a fourth presidential term in 1944. By this time Roosevelt’s health was very fragile. He had a serious heart condition, and his appearance was tired and haggard. Interestingly the true state of FDR’s health is reflected in the obverse of this medal. The “ship of state” image appeared on the reverse once more. These medals were 45 mm in diameter, and the mintage was 3,500 pieces in bronze. This is medal is the most common FDR inaugural medal, and it is the least expensive. FDR was inaugurated in January 1945 and died in mid April.
Very nice Medals. I had not seen these before. These would go well in the Lets see your exonumia thread also.
A thread that is made up my exonumia thread would be so long, no one would want to take the time to read it. One of the great thinks about the tokens and medals is that they often have an interesting story around them.
