1908 Medal Medallic Art Co., Bronze Grover Cleveland Memorial

Coin Details

Description

This 1908 bronze medal by Medallic Art Company commemorates former President Grover Cleveland, who died on June 24, 1908. Cleveland was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885-1889 and 1893-1897) and was known for his personal integrity, opposition to political corruption, and commitment to the gold standard. This memorial medal was produced in the year of his death, making it a timely tribute rather than a retrospective historical piece. Medallic Art Company was only five years old in 1908, having been founded in 1903 by Henri Weil, and this Cleveland memorial medal represents an early commission that helped establish the firm's reputation for presidential portraiture. The bronze composition was standard for broadly distributed memorial medals of this period. Cleveland's death came during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, and the Cleveland memorial medal captures a transition point in American political history as the Progressive Era was transforming the Republican Party. The medal demonstrates that even in its earliest years, Medallic Art Company was producing work of sufficient quality to attract important commemorative commissions.

Rarity Notes

Bronze. Medallic Art Co. Early MACO medal from 1908, only five years after the firm's founding. Cleveland memorial pieces are moderately scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #606689