1931 Medal Charles Lindbergh 1927 Trans Atlantic Flight

Coin Details

Auction Record

$153 06-29-2012 Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1931 Charles Lindbergh medal commemorating his 1927 transatlantic flight is a retrospective tribute produced several years after the historic event. By 1931, Lindbergh remained one of the most famous people in the world, though his public image had been complicated by events following the flight — including his advocacy for isolationism and his controversial visits to Nazi Germany later in the decade. The 1931 date may correspond to a specific anniversary or aviation milestone. The medal's design features Lindbergh's portrait or his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis, which had been donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1928. Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic on May 20-21, 1927 remained the single most celebrated aviation achievement of the era, and commemorative medals continued to be produced for years after the flight. The 1931 medal represents the sustained public interest in Lindbergh that made him the subject of more medallic issues than any other private American citizen of the twentieth century. The year 1931 also saw the beginning of the most tragic chapter in Lindbergh's life — his infant son, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr., would be kidnapped from the family home in New Jersey on March 1, 1932, in what was called "the crime of the century." The kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby would transform American attitudes toward celebrity, security, and federal law enforcement, ultimately leading to the passage of the Federal Kidnapping Act. This medal captures Lindbergh in the brief period between his heroic flight and his devastating personal tragedy.

Rarity Notes

Retrospective Lindbergh medals from 1931 were produced in smaller quantities than the initial 1927 wave of commemoratives. The sustained collecting interest in Lindbergh material ensures market demand.

Cross References

PCGS #657057; Charles Lindbergh 1927 transatlantic flight