Society of Medalists

The Society of Medalists was established in 1930 in the United States to encourage the medallic work of superior sculptors, and to make their creations available to the public.

Lee Lawrie was well known for modernistic art-deco works like the Statue of Atlas in New York City and the Sower atop the Nebraska State Capitol, while artists like Lorado Taft represented a more classical ethos.

Others concentrated more, although not exclusively, on medallic art, such as John Flanagan (designer of the Washington quarter dollar) and Laura Gardin Fraser.

Although the official date of establishment was 1930, there was a public notice for the organization in the January 1929 edition of The Numismatist, the journal of the American Numismatic Association.

[1] Additionally, the notice discussed that, "Exceptionally accurate machinery makes it possible to strike medals to the quantity of 1,000 or more for very low cost.