A medal for your thoughts

Just how popular are medals produced by the U.S. Mint?

In the last four decades or so in which I have been active, they always have seemed to be the Cinderellas, though in the case of medals, they never went to a ball or met a handsome collector to rescue them.

Years ago I ordered a group of the standard copper Presidential medals for an article. The 1-5/16th-inch medals are all nice looking. The Mint’s workmanship is first-rate.

But in the back of my mind there is always a voice telling me, “These are not coins. These are not coins. Move along to the real thing.”

The medals ended up in a drawer somewhere. I couldn’t tell you where they are now or how long it might take me to find them.

I know there will always be medals in the hobby. Some are interesting. Some catch on as the John Wayne medal did in 1978. But as a group, they just don’t seem to resonate, do they?

Why am I writing this today? Well, I recently did a story about a muled medal where an Abigail Adams obverse was paired with a Louisa Adams reverse in the First Spouse series.

Interesting? Yes, but that voice in the back of my mind still says, “These are not coins.”