(2009) First Spouse Bronze Medal - Letitia Tyler

Coin Details

Auction Record

$35 MS68RD 12-30-2021 eBay

Description

The Letitia Tyler bronze medal honors the first wife of President John Tyler, who served as First Lady for only seventeen months before her death in the White House on September 10, 1842. Letitia Christian Tyler married John Tyler in 1813 and was known as a devout, reserved woman who managed the family's Virginia plantation with considerable skill during her husband's long political absences. The obverse, designed by Phebe Hemphill, portrays Letitia Tyler, who suffered a stroke in 1839 that left her partially paralyzed before Tyler unexpectedly assumed the presidency following William Henry Harrison's death. Too ill to perform social duties, Letitia Tyler made only one public appearance as First Lady, at the wedding of her daughter Elizabeth in January 1842. Her daughter-in-law Priscilla Cooper Tyler, a former stage actress, served as White House hostess in her stead. The reverse, designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Joseph Menna, depicts a scene reflecting the Tyler family's plantation life in Virginia. Letitia Tyler was the first presidential spouse to die in the White House, and her death left John Tyler a widower who would later remarry Julia Gardiner, making him the first president to marry while in office. The medal is struck in bronze at 1-5/16 inches.

Rarity Notes

Struck at the Philadelphia Mint with open mintage during 2009. Available from dealers at typical secondary market prices for the series.

Cross References

PCGS #411820; companion to First Spouse Gold $10