2003 Medal NWRS - Elk Silver

Coin Details

Auction Record

$48 PR68 03-29-2005 Heritage Auctions

Description

The 2003 National Wildlife Refuge System Elk silver medal is one of four medals produced by the U.S. Mint for the centennial of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus canadensis) is the second-largest member of the deer family in North America and one of the most majestic animals found on the nation's wildlife refuges, where herds are managed to maintain healthy populations in balance with their habitat. The obverse features a bull elk in a powerful stance, depicted during the autumn rut when males bugle — an eerie, whistling call that echoes through mountain valleys — and engage in antler-to-antler combat for breeding rights. The bull elk's massive rack of antlers, which can span four feet and weigh forty pounds, provides a dramatic visual element on the 38.1mm silver planchet. The National Wildlife Refuge System manages elk habitat on numerous western refuges, including the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming — established in 1912 to provide critical winter range for the Jackson Hole elk herd — and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. The reverse carries the centennial emblem shared across the four-medal set, commemorating a hundred years of the system founded by Theodore Roosevelt's 1903 executive order. Struck in silver at the standard medal diameter, the Elk medal reflects the refuge system's role in managing not just waterfowl and songbirds but large terrestrial mammals whose habitat requirements span vast landscapes. The centennial year saw the system encompassing refuges in every U.S. state and territory, from the tropical wetlands of Hawaii to the Arctic tundra of Alaska.

Rarity Notes

U.S. Mint issue in silver, 38.1mm. Part of the four-medal NWRS centennial set. Limited mintage for the 2003 anniversary year.

Cross References

PCGS #20516; NGC #500183; National Wildlife Refuge System Centennial 1903-2003