(1973) Medal Medallic Art Co. NY Bronze G. Ford 25th Ammendment

Coin Details

Description

This bronze medal commemorates Gerald Ford's ascension to the vice presidency under the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution in December 1973. Produced by Medallic Art Company of New York, the medal documents one of the most unusual events in American political history — the first-ever use of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment's provision for filling a vice presidential vacancy. When Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned on October 10, 1973 after pleading no contest to tax evasion charges, President Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald Ford of Michigan to replace him. Ford was confirmed by the Senate on November 27 and the House on December 6, 1973, becoming the first person to serve as vice president without being elected to either the presidency or vice presidency. Medallic Art Company's decision to produce a medal commemorating a vice presidential succession rather than a standard inauguration reflects the extraordinary constitutional significance of the event. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment had been ratified only six years earlier, in 1967, following the long vacancy in the vice presidency after Kennedy's assassination. The bronze composition makes this the most accessible version of the Ford 25th Amendment medal in Medallic Art Company's multi-metal offering, providing collectors with a tangible artifact of a unique constitutional moment that would become even more significant when Ford assumed the presidency itself less than eight months later.

Rarity Notes

Bronze. Produced by Medallic Art Company, New York. The 25th Amendment medals are historically significant as documents of a unique constitutional event. Moderately scarce.

Cross References

PCGS #690773