To an unimaginative collector of U.S. commemoratives, the period from 1954 to 1982 might be considered a barren wasteland devoid of pieces to add to one's collection. But for the collector who is willing to look beyond the narrow confines of the "Red Book," there is a lush garden of commemorative collectibles available.
In the pages of this newsletter I have frequently written about the closest cousin to our commemorative coinage - the Congressionally authorized and U.S. Mint produced national commemorative medals - but this series is just one example of the many collecting opportunities that await the adventurous commemorative collector.
One particularly attractive series is the 60 medal collection produced by Heraldic Art of Cleveland, Ohio. This series was started in 1959, just a few short years after the traditional U.S. commemorative coinage series was halted. Each medal was struck in 0.925 silver (sterling) and is the size of a U.S. half dollar. Three events in U.S. history were commemorated each year, with various statehood centennials, anniversaries of important battles, inventions, and expeditions, and birth dates of important historical figures all being honored. For my money, the set is the most artistic and well-executed of any small (<40 mm) medal series produced outside of the U.S. Mint. I've included the Hawaiian Statehood piece from 1959 as an example of these attractive commemorative medals.
Commemorative municipal tokens represent another collecting opportunity - and a wildly diverse one at that! While these tokens date back to at least the 1930's, they came into wide use in the 1960's as cities and towns across the country looked to produce a fund-raising souvenir for various local anniversaries and celebrations. The obverse of these pieces typically carries a local scene or important local symbols with appropriate anniversary notations. The reverse typically carries legends such as "Good for 50 cents in trade at Centennial Headquarters or area merchants." Most also carried expiration dates after which they lost their "currency" value and became a pure souvenir. The Russell, Kansas token illustrated is typical of these pieces.
Another collecting avenue is the pursuit of official commemorative medallions; by "official" I mean pieces struck under the direction of some group or organization with an authorized connection to the official event recognition and celebration. These high-relief pieces, many of which were struck by Medallic Art Company, offer collectors a combination of art, history, and sanctioned commemoration. The Powell Expedition medal I've featured is just one example.
With these and many other options available, the commemorative aficionado need not have a gap in their U.S. commemorative collection.
Until next month, Happy Collecting!
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