(2010) First Spouse Bronze Medal - Jane Pierce

Coin Details

Description

The Jane Pierce bronze medal honors a First Lady whose time in the White House was defined by profound personal tragedy. Jane Means Appleton Pierce was a shy, deeply religious woman who opposed her husband Franklin Pierce's political ambitions, and she fainted upon learning of his presidential nomination in 1852. The obverse portrait, designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Charles Vickers, depicts a woman who endured devastating loss: two of her three sons died in childhood, and her last surviving son, eleven-year-old Benjamin, was killed in a train accident on January 6, 1853, just two months before the inauguration. Jane Pierce witnessed the accident and spent the early years of her husband's presidency in mourning, unable to fulfill social duties. The reverse, designed by David Westwood and sculpted by Charles Vickers, references the deep sorrow that pervaded the Pierce White House. Abigail Kent Means, Jane's close friend, and later Varina Davis, wife of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, served as White House hostesses in her absence. Jane Pierce eventually resumed some social obligations but never recovered emotionally from her son's death, and she died of tuberculosis in 1863. The medal is struck in bronze at the standard 1-5/16 inch diameter.

Rarity Notes

Produced at the Philadelphia Mint during 2010 without a fixed production limit. Available from dealers at typical pricing for the series.

Cross References

PCGS #418870; companion to First Spouse Gold $10