Quick Facts

1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Official Inaugural Medal

Designer:
Jo Davidson (1883-1952)

Engraver:
John Ray Sinnock (1888-1947)

Medalist:
United States Mint

  * Dusterberg, Richard B.; The Official Inaugural Medals of the Presidents of the United States ; Cincinnati, Ohio; Medallion Press; 1971

** MacNeil, Neil; The President's Medal 1789 - 1977; New York, New York; Clarkson N. Potter, Inc. /Publisher in association with the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian; 1977

Commentary

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Thirty-second President of the United States

Pretenders

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Thirty-second President of the United States

There are many individual medals and presidential medal series, which are quite well done and very collectable in their own right, that are often mistaken for or misattributed as "official" inaugural medals. This phenomenon can be seen readily in the descriptions of many of these medals when they appear in online auctions. The official medal, illustrated above, should match the auction item exactly before warranting a bid at official medal prices. Great, now we know the lot is misattributed but what is it? This section will illustrate some of these medals to help new collectors distinguish between the "official" and "unofficial" and to introduce all collectors to these interesting medals. Hopefully, some will be spared the expensive lessons I have seen so many unaware collectors make in online auctions and others will be inspired to expand their collecting interests to include these medals.

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United States Mint Presidential Series Stock Medal # 131 Third Term (Discontinued) 3 inch (76mm) "High-Relief" Bronze Designer (Obverse/Reverse): John Ray Sinnock Other Sizes Struck: None Interesting Notes: Pretender Identification Tip:

Select Another "United States Mint Presidential Series" Medal to view U.S. Mint Series - William McKinley, Memorial Reverse U.S. Mint Series - Theodore Roosevelt, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Theodore Roosevelt, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - William Howard Taft U.S. Mint Series - Woodrow Wilson, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Woodrow Wilson, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Warren G. Harding, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Warren G. Harding, Memorial Reverse U.S. Mint Series - Calvin Coolidge, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Calvin Coolidge, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Herbert Hoover U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Third Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fourth Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Memorial Reverse 1U.S. Mint Series - Harry S. Truman, First Term 1U.S. Mint Series - Harry S. Truman, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - John F. Kennedy U.S. Mint Series - Lyndon B. Johnson, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Lyndon B. Johnson, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Richard M. Nixon, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Richard M. Nixon, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Gerald R. Ford U.S. Mint Series - Jimmy Carter U.S. Mint Series - Ronald Reagan, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Ronald Reagan, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - George Bush U.S. Mint Series - William Jefferson Clinton, First Term U.S. Mint Series - William Jefferson Clinton, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - George W. Bush

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United States Mint Presidential Series Stock Medal # 131 Memorial Reverse 3 inch (76mm) "High-Relief" Bronze Designer (Obverse/Reverse): John Ray Sinnock Other Sizes Struck: Stock Medal # 732 1-5/16 inch "coin-relief" bronze Interesting Notes: This is the fifth and finial version of the Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. Mint Presidential Series medal. The obverse after changes made during the first term remained unchanged for the duration. The reverse differs for each term culminating with this memorial reverse. Pretender Identification Tip: The reverse design of this version of the U.S. Mint Presidential series Franklin D. Roosevelt medal was designed after his death April 12, 1945 as a memorial issue. It superseded all previous issues and is the one current today. If you order one from the U.S. Mint this is what you'll get. As explained with previous multi-term medals from this series no official inaugural medals to date had ever made mention to the exact date of a previous inauguration nor to the death of the President.

Select Another "United States Mint Presidential Series" Medal to view U.S. Mint Series - William McKinley, Memorial Reverse U.S. Mint Series - Theodore Roosevelt, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Theodore Roosevelt, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - William Howard Taft U.S. Mint Series - Woodrow Wilson, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Woodrow Wilson, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Warren G. Harding, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Warren G. Harding, Memorial Reverse U.S. Mint Series - Calvin Coolidge, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Calvin Coolidge, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Herbert Hoover U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Third Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fourth Term U.S. Mint Series - Franklin D. Roosevelt, Memorial Reverse 1U.S. Mint Series - Harry S. Truman, First Term 1U.S. Mint Series - Harry S. Truman, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - John F. Kennedy U.S. Mint Series - Lyndon B. Johnson, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Lyndon B. Johnson, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Richard M. Nixon, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Richard M. Nixon, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - Gerald R. Ford U.S. Mint Series - Jimmy Carter U.S. Mint Series - Ronald Reagan, First Term U.S. Mint Series - Ronald Reagan, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - George Bush U.S. Mint Series - William Jefferson Clinton, First Term U.S. Mint Series - William Jefferson Clinton, Second Term U.S. Mint Series - George W. Bush

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Presidential Art Medals "Presidents Series" Designer (Obverse / Reverse): Ralph J. Menconi Varieties Struck: 1-1/4 inch (32mm) "high-relief" Silver 1-1/4 inch (32mm) "high-relief" Bronze 3/4 inch (18.5mm) "high-relief" Silver 3/4 inch (18.5mm) "high-relief" Bronze In the early 1960s Presidential Art Medals, Inc. of Englewood, Ohio commissioned a series of very high relief art medals to honor the Presidents of the United States. They choose Ralph J. Menconi to design and sculpt the medals and Medallic Art Company to strike them. Menconi's exquisite work on this series earned him the nickname "sculptor of presidents." Interestingly the reverses of the 32mm medals accurately trace the evolution of the Presidential Seal. The smaller 18.5mm mini-medals use a common design with only the dates changing on their reverses.

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Issue Specific Bibliography

1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt Inaugural

•  --------- ; Third Term Inaugural Medal; The Numismatist, American Numismatic Association, Federalsburg, Maryland; Volume 54 Number 4, 1941, April, page 255; illus.
• Eglit, Nathan N.; FDR Mementoes Recall Four Terms Part 1; The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, The Sidney Printing and Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio; Volume 37 Whole Number 421, 1971, March, page 318; illus.
• Eglit, Nathan N.; FDR Mementoes Recall Four Terms Part 2; The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, The Sidney Printing and Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio; Volume 37 Whole Number 422, 1971, April, page 440; illus.
• Eglit, Nathan N.; FDR Mementoes Recall Four Terms Part 3; The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, The Sidney Printing and Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio; Volume 37 Whole Number 424, 1971, June, page 594; illus.
• Eglit, Nathan N.; FDR Mementoes Recall Four Terms Part 4; The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, The Sidney Printing and Publishing Co., Sidney, Ohio; Volume 37 Whole Number 429, 1971, November, page 1120; illus.
• Kisch, Guido; Roosevelt Medals and Tokens; The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, Hewitt Bros., Chicago, Illinios; Volume 12 Number 4, 1946, April, page 370; illus.
• Kisch, Guido; Roosevelt Medals and Tokens - Additional Notes; The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, Hewitt Bros., Chicago, Illinios; Volume 12 Number 6, 1946, June, page 713; illus.