US Commemorative Coin Series: Quick Bits #48 - Coins To Medals

Collectors of the classic series of US commemorative coins are, at least, generally familiar with the 1925 Norse-American Centennial medals that were authorized by Congress and struck by the US Mint in lieu of commemorative coins - the sponsor's original desire.

1926 Norse-American Silver Medal - Thick Variety


You can read about them here:

- 1925 Norse-American Centennial
- 1925 Norse-American Centennial - Upgrade


Lesser known are the several medals authorized by Congress and approved/signed into law by the President, but never struck by the US Mint. Many commemorative medal bills were introduced in the US Congress during the classic era of commemorative coins, but most did not begin consideration as a coin. In this post, I present only those authorized medals that were first introduced in Congress via a commemorative coin proposal.

Four such medals come to mind:

1. 1931 Yorktown Surrender Sesquicentennial
2. 1934 Tri-State Territory/Shreveport Founding Centennial
3. 1936 Norfolk Tricentennial of Land Grant / Bicentennial of Incorporation
4. 1936 Arrival of Marcus and Narciss Whitman in the Walla Walla Valley, WA

Each of the above medals is linked to a previous post of mine about the medal's journey in the US Congress.