Presidential Inaugural Medals

Presidential Inaugural Medals have a long history in the United States. The tradition can be traced back to the first president, George Washington, and continues on today with President Donald Trump.

Samuel Brooks created the first presidential medal for President George Washington—the medal produce had a crude profile of Washington on one side and is known as the "Manly medal". When elected for his second term in office, "success tokens" were distributed as mementos following Washington's inauguration, but the medals were not produced for the actual festivities. Thomas Jefferson received the first unofficial presidential inaugural medal produced by John Reich in 1802. The silver medal was sold for $4.25 and the tin medal for $1.25. For years, independent medal makers would produce presidential medals to commemorate a specific president's inauguration. In addition, unofficial presidential buttons, ribbons, and badges were produced. All of these became increasingly popular once elaborate inaugural festivities were thrown in Washington, D.C because the various items became favored souvenirs for the attendees. Since there was no standard medal, historians have uncovered medals in various sizes and qualities, as well as composed of different metals.

When the government decided it could no longer afford the inaugural celebrations at the turn of the twentieth century, D.C. residents took it upon themselves to raise all the funding for inaugural festivities. One way to raise funds was through the sale of official presidential inaugural medals. Instead of various presidential medals being produced for tourist consumption, an official inaugural medal would be produced by the official Inauguration Committee and sold to the public. In 1901, William McKinley received the first official presidential inaugural medal—it had his portrait stamped on one side and the Capitol building on the other. Surrounding the Capitol building are the words, "William McKinley President of the United States * Theodore Roosevelt Vice-President". Instead of being produced by the United States Mint, the medals were produced by the Joseph K. Davison Company of Philadelphia. Scholars believe that 3 gold, 55 silver, and approximately 4,000 bronze medals were produced. The three gold medals were created for the President, Vice President, and President of the Official Inauguration Committee for Medals and Badges. Silver medals were to be distributed among committee members and bronze medals were available for public sale. This set a tradition that is still observed today.

When Theodore Roosevelt came into office in 1905, he decided that the previous medal produced for McKinley would be insufficient for him. Roosevelt, an avid art supporter, wanted his medal to go above and beyond a simple portrait. This led to two different medals being produced for his inauguration—a simpler medal approved by the Committee on Medals and Badges and a medal commissioned by Roosevelt himself. When choosing someone to design his personal inaugural medal, Roosevelt turned to renowned sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Saint-Gaudens was at the height of his career and was in negotiations with the U.S. Treasury to make new designs for American coins. It was during his visit to the White House that President Roosevelt also asked him to design a superior inauguration medal for his election. Saint-Gaudens agreed to the President's proposal and immediately began to sketch possibilities. The medal produced from Saint-Gaudens certainly held a superior art aesthetic in comparison to the original medal produced by the Inaugural Committee. One side of the medal displays a distinguished portrait of Roosevelt and the other side holds a high-relief eagle. This is the same eagle that is later used for the $10 coins produced by the U.S. Treasury.

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