2016-05-14 Sat

Presidential medals, struck by the U.S. Mint have been given to important leaders at historic events from a very long time. Today they are sold to collectors. The Mint issued medals commemorating Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan once again in November last year.

Struck at Philadelphia Mint, the medals are produced in two sizes using blanks made of 90% copper and 10% zinc. The larger 3-inch medals have much higher reliefs and are struck multiple times on hydraulic presses and hand finished. They are six times costlier than the smaller coins.

The obverses feature a portrait of the president with inscriptions ‘RONALD REAGAN’ and ‘PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES’. The reverses feature the Half Dome in Yosemite National Park with inscriptions ‘LET US RENEW OUR FAITH AND OUR HOPE’ and ‘WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DREAM HEROIC DREAMS’, from the Reagan’s Inaugural Address, ‘INAUGURATED JANUARY 20, 1981’ and ‘YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK’.

The smaller medals cost $6.95 each while the larger 3-inch medals cost $39.95 each.