Presidential Inaugural Medals

When elected for his second term in office, "success tokens" were distributed as mementos following Washington's inauguration, but the medals were not produced for the actual festivities.

All of these became increasingly popular once elaborate inaugural festivities were thrown in Washington, D.C because the various items became favored souvenirs for the attendees.

In 1901, William McKinley received the first official presidential inaugural medal—it had his portrait stamped on one side and the Capitol building on the other.

Surrounding the Capitol building are the words, "William McKinley President of the United States * Theodore Roosevelt Vice-President".

When choosing someone to design his personal inaugural medal, Roosevelt turned to renowned sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

It was during his visit to the White House that President Roosevelt also asked him to design a superior inauguration medal for his election.

Following Roosevelt's presidency, the Chairmen for the Committee on Medals and Badges purposefully chose artist and other pro-art members in order to produce superior results.

The precedence Roosevelt set continued to be followed and efforts were made to contract an artist, whether it be a sculptor or engraver, to design future medals.

[2] The value of the presidential inaugural medals has fluctuated over the years and is highly influenced by auctions and the current U.S. economy.

The medals produced for Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter fell victim to this panic, which has since then created a shortage available for collectors and therefore a higher price tag for those presidents.

[2] The latest field guide to inaugural medal collecting was published in 2020 by Matthew P. Chiarello, updating the scholarship of Dusterberg, MacNeil, and Levine.