(1937) Medal Medallic Art Co., Bronze 76mm FDR-Garner 2nd Inauguration

Coin Details

Description

This 76mm bronze medal commemorates the second inauguration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Vice President John Nance Garner on January 20, 1937. Produced by Medallic Art Company of New York, it marks the first inauguration held on the new January 20 date established by the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1933. Roosevelt's landslide 1936 reelection, carrying 46 of 48 states against Republican Alf Landon, represented an overwhelming popular endorsement of the New Deal programs that had begun to pull the nation out of the Great Depression. The 76mm diameter provides ample space for a detailed presidential portrait on the obverse, rendered with the sculptural depth and artistic refinement that characterized Medallic Art Company's finest work during this period. The reverse carries inauguration inscriptions and symbolic imagery. Medallic Art Company had by the 1930s firmly established itself as America's premier private medal manufacturer, working with leading sculptors and maintaining standards of die-cutting and striking that rivaled European mints. This FDR-Garner inaugural medal is notable as a document of one of the most consequential moments in American political history, capturing Roosevelt at the height of his popularity before the controversies of court-packing and the approach of World War II.

Rarity Notes

Bronze, 76mm. Produced by Medallic Art Company, New York. Inaugural medals from the 1930s survive in moderate numbers. The large 76mm format was a premium offering with lower production than smaller versions.

Cross References

PCGS #717524