View All Washington Historical Commemoratives

1932 Brass Medal Baker-925B, Wakefield Restored

Strike Type

Coin Details

Year

1932

Denomination

Medals

Strike Type

Regular Strike

Series

George Washington Medals

Composition

Brass

Auction Record

Price realized: $120
Sold: 23 March 2022
Grade: MS63BN
Auction house: Stack's Bowers

Description

The 1932 medal Baker-925B in brass commemorates the restoration of Wakefield, George Washington's birthplace in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The Wakefield restoration was a significant project of the 1932 bicentennial celebrations, as preservationists sought to rebuild Washington's birth home (which had burned in 1779) based on archaeological and historical evidence. The brass composition provides a golden appearance appropriate for a celebratory bicentennial piece. The Wakefield restoration connected the bicentennial to Washington's physical origins and the Virginia plantation world in which he grew up. Baker-925B documents the historic preservation dimension of the 1932 bicentennial, complementing the ceremonial and commercial aspects of the celebration.