(2012) First Spouse Bronze Medal - Frances Cleveland 1st

Coin Details

Description

The first Frances Cleveland bronze medal recognizes her initial stint as First Lady during Grover Cleveland's first term from 1885 to 1889, making her the only First Lady honored with two separate medals in the series. Frances Folsom Cleveland holds several unique distinctions: at twenty-one she was the youngest First Lady in American history, and she is the only First Lady to have been married in the White House itself, wedding Grover Cleveland in a ceremony in the Blue Room on June 2, 1886. The obverse, designed by Barbara Fox and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso, portrays a woman whose youth and beauty made her enormously popular with the American public, spawning unauthorized use of her image in advertising that prompted Congress to consider legislation to prevent commercial exploitation of presidential families. The reverse, designed by Barbara Fox and sculpted by Joseph Menna, references her role in the social life of the first Cleveland administration. Frances Cleveland was the ward of Grover Cleveland, who had supervised her upbringing after the death of her father, his law partner Oscar Folsom. Her popularity transcended her husband's: when the Clevelands left the White House after his 1888 defeat, Frances reportedly told the staff to take care of the furnishings because they would return in four years. The medal is struck in bronze at 1-5/16 inches.

Rarity Notes

Produced at the Philadelphia Mint during 2012 with open mintage. One of two Frances Cleveland medals in the series, covering the first Cleveland administration.

Cross References

PCGS #512941; companion to First Spouse Gold $10