The United States Mint is accepting orders for its set of four bronze medals featuring Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Lady Bird Johnson.
Medal obverses feature a portrait of the honored first lady while reverses portray a scene symbolic of her life. The designs match those that appear on this year’s First Spouse Gold Coins but are sized for the larger 1 5/16-inch diameter of the bronze medals, which are made at the U.S. Mint facility in Philadelphia from 90% copper and 10% zinc.
Brief design information and U.S. Mint images of the medals follow, along with links to CoinNews articles about their companion 24-karat gold coins.
Reverse show a locomotive wheel moving along railroad tracks, symbolizing Mrs. Truman’s support for her husband on his 1948 whistle stop campaign for re-election as President.
| Obverse Designer: Joel Iskowitz Engraver: Phebe Hemphill |
Reverse Designer: Joel Iskowitz Engraver: Charles Vickers |
Reverse displays a woman’s hand holding up a political campaign button with the slogan “I Like Mamie.” The image is representative of Mamie’ involvement in her husband’s political campaigns and her popularity with the people.
| Obverse Designer: Richard Masters Engraver: Joseph Menna |
Reverse Designer: Barbara Fox Engraver: Renata Gordon |
Reverse presents the species of saucer magnolia Mrs. Kennedy chose to be planted in a White House garden and also near the eternal flame at her husband’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery. The petals stretch across the globe, its tips connecting the points of some of her most notable diplomatic visits. The design, describes the Mint, also represents the beauty she brought into the world through her support of the arts.
| Obverse Designer: Susan Gamble Engraver: Phebe Hemphill |
Reverse Designer: Benjamin Sowards Engraver: Jim Licaretz |
Reverse depicts the Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument and flowers in reference to Mrs. Johnson’s efforts in the beautification and conservation of America.
| Obverse Designer: Linda Fox Engraver: Michael Gaudioso |
Reverse Designer: Chris Costello Engraver: Renata Gordon |
Ordering
Priced at $16.95, the four bronze medals are packaged in Mylar®, inserted into a folded card containing product information, and placed in a custom-made envelope.
2015 First Spouse Bronze Four-Medal Sets are easy to acquire straight from the United States Mint. The set’s are online here. To place orders by phone, call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Up to 20,000 are authorized. There are no household ordering limits.
Sets from 2011 and 2012 are still available from the Mint, but those from 2010, 2013 and 2014 have sold out.
Update: First day sales for the 2015 First Spouse Medal Set reached 15,386.
The mintage of the 2015 First Spouse Bronze Four-Medal Sets is 20,000. On ebay,seller al51ny pre-sold 4 sets of these newly released 2015 First Spouse Bronze Four-Medal Sets each for Buy It Now $24.95 + $2.95 shipping. The irony is that they can be ordered directly from the U.S. Mint today for $16.95 + $4.95 shipping. For comparison, a 2013 U.S. Mint First Spouse Four-Medal Set, ebay item #281759547417 from seller gec-ftk auctioned with 18 bids for an expensive $232.50 + $3.74 shipping on August 1, 2015 @ 1:25PM.
Correction: the 2013 U.S. Mint First Spouse Bronze Medal Set was a Five Medal Set.
I wish there was on how many of these things they have made in the past. The 2013 and 2014 sets must be rarer. I think they are interesting from a history perspective and a heck of a lot cheaper than the 1/2 oz gold versions.
In regards to the mintage of the sold out 2014 First Spouse Four-Medal Sets, the first batch of 7,500 were sold from October 23, 2014 until November 19, 2015. Then the second batch of 3,150 quickly sold out within the same day on February 10, 2015. Therefore 7,500 + 3,150 = 10.650 is the mintage of the 2014 First Spouse Four-Medal Sets.
So after a quick check of 2013 set prices on ebay, that must be the key set. It is going for about $200 compared to only about $40 for the 2014 set.
Before the second batch of 3,150 for the 2014 First Spouse Four-Medal Sets was released on February 10, 2015, the first batch of 7,500 that sold out by November 19, 2014 had sets reselling for as high as $259.50 + $8.50 shipping such as ebay item #331431263397 that sold on December 31, 2014 @ 10:51AM from seller jimbo7296. However last month for a 2014 First Spouse Four-Medal Set, ebay item #291536468093 sold for as low as $29.95 with free shipping on August 11, 2015 @ 08:42:09 PDT from seller jeffgene. Therefore the second batch of 2014 First Spouse Four-Medal Sets… Read more »
This morning Tuesday September 22, 2015 @ 06:08 AM PDT, ebay item #171943180348 for a 2013 U.S. Mint First Spouse Five-Medal Set sold via Buy It Now for $240.00 with free shipping. This is now the highest most recently sold price for a 2013 U.S. Mint First Spouse Five-Medal Set.
The 2013 U.S. Mint First Spouse Five-Medal Sets are the most valuable with ebay item # 131513105800 sold by seller mrbtus for $269.75 with free shipping on June 30, 2015 @ 06:35:01 PDT.
This set is “Currently Unavailable” at the US Mint website.
Sold out?