From my JFK medal to Trump's new coins
Presidential collectibles go way back, but the GOP candidate is doing it differently
A fresh breeze was blowing in American politics as 1961 began. A relic of that time sits on my desk: a bronze medal showing John F. Kennedy’s profile on the front and the presidential seal on the back. The medal, 2 ¾ inches in diameter, says “Inaugurated January 20, 1961.”
Kennedy was “the youngest person ever elected to the presidency, ready to succeed Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was then the oldest man ever to hold it, and who had been the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe when Kennedy was a navy lieutenant junior grade on PT 109 in the Pacific,” as Todd Purdom would later write.
The public knew well that Eisenhower, 71, had suffered a heart attack and a stroke while in office, while the serious health problems faced by Kennedy, 43, were mostly concealed. JFK was eager to contrast his vigorous image and his “new frontier” to the tired old faces of the Republican administration.
As he said in his Inaugural Address: “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans — born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed…”
The new president’s glamorous wife, Jackie, had been “consulted on the design and patina” of the medal. It was the work of eminent sculptor Paul Manship, who had created an inaugural medal for President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Manship had embarked on a career in sculpture as a teenager in St. Paul Minnesota, believing that his color blindness would have kept him from succeeding as a painter. Among the many commissions that came Manship’s way was the “Prometheus” sculpture at Rockefeller Center.
The JFK medal was struck by the Medallic Art Company in three versions: eight in gold, 7,500 in silver and 53,331 in bronze. There must be a lot of those bronze ones still mouldering in America’s attics because it appears that my copy (definitely not in mint condition) is probably worth only about $30. A silver version is on sale at ebay for $324.95 and another one is in the Smithsonian’s collection.
And you can still buy a different JFK commemorative medal in bronze from the US Mint for $160. Which happens also to be the price the Mint is charging for a 3-inch-diameter bronze medal commemorating Donald Trump’s presidency.
“The forgotten men and women of this country will not be forgotten again” is the Trump quote on the reverse side of the medal. The front of it has Trump posing sternly, with a US flag and the White House South Portico in the background.
Presidential commemorative coins — publicly and privately issued — are clearly an American tradition. But as a merchandiser and marketer, Trump is taking it further. Last week he touted a new silver coin, the “President Trump First Edition Silver Medallion,” described as “the only and official silver [coin] designed by President Donald J. Trump.”
The 45th president stares intently from the coin’s obverse. On the reverse side is the US flag, the north side of the White House, “In God We Trust,” and Trump’s bold signature. It’s for sale for $100 and is said to contain one troy ounce of silver.
Trump has stood out among recent presidential candidates in enthusiastically marketing his own lines of products, including “God Bless the USA” bibles, from which he has reaped $300,000. Other products the candidate has pushed include sneakers, photo books and now, watches ranging from $499 to $100,000. He has a new cryptocurrency venture and is promising a crypto-friendly administration if he wins in November.
And then there’s Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., the owner of Truth Social, in which the former president has a substantial stake, though of lesser value given its approximately 75 percent fall in price over the past six months.
In the coin arena, there are also a lot of Kamala Harris commemoratives available, though there’s no indication the vice president is sharing in the proceeds from those sales. Among them: the White House gift shop is selling a “49th Vice President Kamala Harris Challenge & Commemorative Coin” for $14.95.
As for the Trump commemorative coin, apart from its sentimental or collectible value, the coin’s silver content is worth about $32 at last week’s prices. Or about the same as my JFK medal.
