1825' Medal DeWitt JQA 1824-1 White Metal John Quincy Adams Inaugual

Coin Details

Auction Record

$3,600 MS61 03-25-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This white metal medal commemorates the inauguration of John Quincy Adams as the sixth President of the United States on March 4, 1825, and is cataloged as DeWitt JQA 1824-1. Adams won the presidency through a contingent election in the House of Representatives after no candidate secured an Electoral College majority in the 1824 election — the only time between 1800 and the present that such a procedure determined the outcome. Speaker of the House Henry Clay threw his support behind Adams over Andrew Jackson, who had won the popular vote and the most electoral votes, leading Jackson's supporters to allege a "Corrupt Bargain" when Adams subsequently appointed Clay as Secretary of State. The medal's title includes a notable apostrophe in the date "1825'" which may indicate a die-cutting error or an engraver's stylistic choice. The obverse bears a portrait of Adams with the inscription identifying him and his inauguration, rendered in white metal for broad distribution. Adams's single term was marked by ambitious but largely unfulfilled plans for national infrastructure, a national university, and scientific advancement — proposals ahead of their time that were blocked by a hostile Congress dominated by Jackson supporters seeking revenge for the 1824 outcome.

Rarity Notes

White metal inaugural medal. DeWitt JQA 1824-1. Scarce, as Adams was an unpopular president whose inauguration was overshadowed by the Corrupt Bargain controversy. Fewer inaugural medals were produced for Adams than for Jackson.

Cross References

PCGS #809199; DeWitt JQA 1824-1; 1824 Presidential Election; John Quincy Adams inauguration March 4, 1825