(2011) First Spouse Bronze Medal - Julia Grant

Coin Details

Description

The Julia Grant bronze medal celebrates a First Lady who brought warmth and genuine hospitality to the White House during Ulysses S. Grant's two terms from 1869 to 1877. Julia Boggs Dent Grant grew up on a Missouri plantation and married the future general and president in 1848 after a four-year courtship. The obverse portrait, designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso, depicts a woman who famously had strabismus, a condition that caused her eyes to be slightly crossed, and who considered corrective surgery before her husband declared he loved her as she was. Julia Grant thoroughly enjoyed her years in the White House, later writing in her memoirs that they were "the happiest period of my life." The reverse, designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, shows a scene reflecting her active social life and the elaborate state dinners she hosted, which often featured multiple courses and hundreds of guests. She was one of the first First Ladies to be widely photographed and became something of a public celebrity. After leaving the White House, she supported her husband through his financial ruin and terminal cancer, during which he wrote his celebrated memoirs. Julia Grant lived until 1902 and was buried alongside her husband at Grant's Tomb in New York City. Struck in bronze at 1-5/16 inches.

Rarity Notes

Produced at the Philadelphia Mint during 2011 with open mintage. Readily available from dealers and on the secondary market.

Cross References

PCGS #507038; companion to First Spouse Gold $10