American Arts Grant Wood Gold Medal

American Arts Medals did not come in styrofoam packaging but in little cardboard boxes.

I have one of them, 1 oz Mark Twain, with the original box and holder.

I don't have a picture of the box but it is about 3" square and black.
The medal came with a green COA (Certificate of Authenticity).

The medal:

American Arts Commemorative Series 1981 medal - Mark Twain

I went through the convoluted process to buy the medal in 1981.
I had to telephone to get the price, then purchase a US postal money order, and mail it the same day.

" Coin World said the American Arts gold medal series was the precursor of the American gold eagle bullion coins."

Well, sort of, if you want to stretch your imagination a bit. These were marketed by the Postal Service. Even though they were manufactured by the U.S. Mint, the Mint Director had vehemently resisted Congress' plans to launch this program, reporting that the Mint facilities were already overburdened with just trying to keep up production of circulation coinage. That is not tape over the medal on the styrofoam. It is polyethylene plastic that was glued to the tray with a non-VOC mucilage glue.