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The manufacture of an art medal is quite different from that of a coin. Most coins are mass-produced for use as money and are not treated any differently in their manufacturing than any other commodity. The relief of a coin is kept low to facilitate stacking or rolling and to insure the design can be fully struck in a single blow. The medal, on the other hand, has no such requirements. This allows the creativity of the sculptor to truly shine in the medium of the art medal. There is however a trade off with medals and that is that they are labor intensive, lack
automated processes, and are practically hand managed. This exhibit looks at the uni-face 1974 Gerald R. Ford Official Presidential Inaugural Medal process set that illustrates the nine stages of its manufacturing. Each stage may actually represent several actual steps in the process.
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