Continuing the story of the Nevada Statehood Centennial medal...Following Representative Baring's remarks, the bill was passed in the House without objection. Following this, the bill was examined and signed in each chamber before it was sent on to the President by the Senate. The Nevada Centennial medal bill was signed into law on October 16, 1963 by US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy - it was among the last bills signed into law by Kennedy - he signed his last bill on October 31, 1963 - as he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas just three weeks later on November 22, 1963.
The medal was struck as a Proof and as an Uncirculated piece; I have examples of each version. It was not the norm for the Mint to strike Proof and Uncirculated versions of the commemorative medals at the time, so the 1964 Nevada Statehood issue was a nice "change of pace." The Mint struck 15,000 examples in Uncirculated and 5,000 in Proof.
The obverse of the medal depicts a standing John Mackay superimposed over an outline map of Nevada. (Mackay was an Irish-American industrialist who achieved considerable wealth through multiple successful mining operations in Nevada (e.g., he was part of the discovery of the "Big Bonanza," the most valuable ore deposit of the Comstock Lode). Later in life, he became a noted philanthropist who gave much back to Nevada.) The figure of MacKay is based on the statue created of him that was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum (of Stone Mountain and Mount Rushmore fame); it stands in front of the Mackay School of Mines that is part of the University of Nevada. The figure and map are flanked by the anniversary dates "1864" and "1964" with "NEVADA" and "CENTENNIAL" at the top and bottom rims, respectively, encircling the central graphics.
John Mackay Statue by Gutzon Borglum
(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)On the medal's reverse is seen a design that has been mimicked on multiple other commemorative medals and tokens. It depicts the Hoover Dam with the sun's rays radiating behind it. In the foreground are several important symbols of Nevada's circa-1964 economy: at the lower right is seen a steer, to the left is a sheep, together they represent Nevada's important livestock industry, above the steer at right are grain stalks (wheat? barley? rye?) symbolic of Nevada's cash crops and to the left is a rocket representing Nevada's aerospace industry.
Symbolic of Nevada's status as the 36th State, the medal includes 36 stars at the rim that encircle the overall design.
1964 Nevada Statehood Centennial Medal
Here's the stamp that was issued by the Post Office to commemorate the same anniversary:
1964 Nevada Statehood Centennial Stamp
(Image Credit: Smithsonian, National Postal Museum. Fair use, education.)So, though it struck out on its attempt for a half dollar in 1937 (to be dated 1939), Nevada did finally get a US Mint-struck commemorative piece in 1964!
For the beginning of this story, check out:
Commems Collection: 1964 Nevada Statehood Centennial - Part I here.
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including a list of What If? posts, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 03/27/2023 05:54 am
