1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural Medal. Dusterberg-OIM

lotto/1945 franklin delano roosevelt fourth inaugural medal dusterberg oim WU3SoZF 620184408 / Risultati d’asta

lotto/1945 franklin delano roosevelt fourth inaugural medal dusterberg oim WU3SoZF 620184408

In venditaRisultati d’asta

lotto/1945 franklin delano roosevelt fourth inaugural medal dusterberg oim WU3SoZF 620184408

In venditaRisultati d’asta

Porta la tua asta ai collezionisti di tutto il mondo!

Pubblica ora

1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural Medal. Dusterberg-OIM

Incredible Gold Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural Medal First Ever Public Appearance or Offering Only 10 Struck for Special Distribution to Government Officials and World Leaders 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural Medal. Dusterberg-OIM 11G45, MacNeil-FDR 1945-1, Levine-FDR 1945-1. Gold. MS-65 (NGC). 45 mm. 100.88 grams. In the presidential election of November 7, 1944, Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented fourth term in a strong victory over Republican candidate Thomas E. Dewey. Out of 531 votes in the Electoral College, the president secured 432 votes against Dewey's 99. Roosevelt carried 36 out of the 48 states in the Union, and received 25,612,916 popular votes as opposed to 22,017,929 for Dewey. With World War II going well for the Allies at the time, Roosevelt remained popular despite rumors of ill health and Dewey's campaigning against the New Deal. Yet when it came to the actual inauguration on January 20, 1945, the president recognized the need for austerity. The nation was still heavily engaged in and preoccupied with World War II, and the military situation had changed since the election in November. On inauguration day the German Ardennes Offensive (the Battle of the Bulge) and supporting attack in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Alsace and Lorraine (Operation Nordwind) had still not been defeated. Although both battles would soon end in Allied defensive victories, the German offensives had come as a shock to American and British leaders and dashed Allied hopes for an end to the war in Europe in 1944. On the other side of the world, the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 had seen the first organized Japanese kamikaze attacks against U.S. warships, Manila was still in Japanese hands at the end of January 1945, and final liberation of the Philippines was a long way off. Clearly much hard fighting still lay ahead in both the European and Pacific theaters. Wartime austerity measures, the public mood, and the shortage of copper and bronze due to war demands were some of the many reasons that cast doubt on whether an official medal would be produced for Roosevelt's fourth inauguration. The Mint was also heavily engaged in wartime production with no time or resources to devote to matters other than those related to getting desperately needed coinage into circulation. Nevertheless, Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross took the initiative to avoid the Mint being caught unawares and having to work under intense pressure, as it had to in 1941, after the decision to produce Roosevelt's third inaugural medal came so late. She brought the matter to the attention of her immediate superior, Undersecretary of the Treasury Daniel W. Bell, who in turn informed his boss, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr. By December 12, 1944, Ross received the reply from Bell that the president did, indeed, want a fourth inaugural medal. Two days after Roosevelt returned to the capital on December 20 after a brief period of rest at Warm Springs, Georgia, a small group convened at the White House as the Inaugural Planning Committee. It decided that the inauguration would be an austere and sparse event held at the White House. Under normal circumstances, the production and distribution of the presidential inaugural medal was the responsibility of an Inaugural Committee, a citizens' committee that conducted the "unofficial" aspects of the celebration. Given the austerity of the planned inauguration, however, there was neither the need nor an inclination to establish an Inaugural Committee. Yet even so, there was still the question of how to handle the inaugural medal that the president wanted. Fortunately, one of the members of the Inaugural Planning Committee was Joseph E. Davies, who had served as chairman of the 1941 Inaugural Committee. Davies had a long a distinguished career as a lawyer and diplomat. From 1936 to 1938 he had served as the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union, followed by brief stints as the country's ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg, 1938 to 1939. After these postings, Davies was special assistant to Secretary of State Cordell Hull from 1939 to 1941, in charge of War Emergency Problems and Policies. From 1942 to 1946 he was chairman of the president's War Relief Control Board. Later in the war, Davies would be special advisor to President Harry Truman and Secretary of State James F. Byrnes with rank of Ambassador at the Potsdam Conference, July 17 to August 2, 1945. In December 1944, President Roosevelt asked Ambassador Davies if he would take on the responsibility for the inaugural medal, to which task he readily agreed. Upon learning of his appointment, Mint Director Ross wrote to Ambassador Davies, "I regard you a committee of one appointed by President Roosevelt to determine all matters relating to that medal." This was a major undertaking. In other years the Inaugural Committee would finance production of the medals, with its medal committee repaying the required advances through sales. With no Inaugural Committee for Roosevelt's fourth inauguration, however, there were no public funds available, and also no staff to handle production and sale of the medals. Writing in his reference The President's Medal: 1789-1977, Neil MacNeil observes: Davies resolved all these problems at once. He agreed himself to pay for all the medals, and he offered his private staff to handle the distribution. He would be reimbursed as the medals were sold. Davies set up an Inaugural Medal Committee comprised of himself as chairman, Mint Director Ross, and two of his colleagues, attorney Melvin D. Hildreth as vice-chairman, and Alfons Landa; they had all served together on the 1941 Inaugural Committee. To design the medal, Davies' Inaugural Medal Committee turned once again to Jo Davidson, the artist who had designed Roosevelt's third inaugural medal. As part of her initiative earlier in the month, the mint director had already approached Davidson about his possible involvement. The president agreed to sit for Davidson, and in late December the artist came to the White House for that purpose. As related by MacNeil: "Those were busy days for him," Davidson later wrote in his memoirs, "and I had to wait around while he found a few precious minutes for me." Davidson took full advantage of his opportunities. He modelled an extraordinarily sensitive portrait, in right profile. To suggest the President's wartime role as Commander-in-Chief, Davidson cloaked him in a Navy cape. Roosevelt had always regarded himself as a naval man. While I was working on his profile, Davidson wrote, he suggested that the reverse of the medal should carry the U.S.S. Constitution in full sail, with the inscription, "Thou too sail on, O Ship of State, Sail on Union strong and great." The President had a painting of the Constitution which he had brought down and sent to the Willard Hotel, where I sat up all night working on it. Sometime during the brief production process, Davidson prepared a 76.5 mm pattern with a different bust of the president than that which appears on the final product. The portrait is surrounded by an inner border, outside of which is the peripheral legend FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT / 31ST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. It was offered in Collectors' Auctions' May 1989 catalog, as lot 94, and referenced in the June 1989 edition (Volume 6, Number 1) of The Medallist. Meanwhile, Ambassador Davies and Mint Director Ross decided on a 45 mm format for the medal, slightly larger than that of the 1941 inaugural, and settled with the Mint for production of 3,000 bronze examples. These were paid for by Ambassador Davies, as were the additional 500 bronze pieces he approved later to meet actual demand. On January 9, Mint Director Ross received the first trial strike, after which she expressed to Davidson, "It is a splendid product of your skill." The first bronze medal arrived in Washington, D.C. on January 12, and was dispatched by White House mail pouch to Roosevelt, who was at his home in Hyde Park at the time. The remainder of the initial 3,000 bronze examples were all in Washington by January 19, in time for the inauguration the following day. As customary, one gold medal was prepared for the president, which was paid for by the Inaugural Medal Committee, the four members of which (Davies, Ross, Hildreth, and Landa) were joined by artist Jo Davidson in presenting it to Roosevelt when he returned to the White House from Hyde Park on January 18. Also present that day was General Edwin "Pa" Watson, the president's military aide. As related by MacNeil: The President was to leave shortly after the inauguration for a summit conference at Yalta. After that, he planned to sail to the Middle East, there to confer with the Arab leaders. Remembering this now, Roosevelt turned to "Pa" Watson. "What does Ibn Saud want for a present?" he asked, about the King of Saudi Arabia. Watson replied that the King had indicated privately that he would like one of America's latest passenger airplanes, the DC-3. "How much would that cost?" Roosevelt asked Watson. Even in its military version, this airplane would cost many thousands of dollars. The President would have to give the King an especially appointed version. Watson made an estimate of that cost. The President then turned to Mrs. Ross and asked her the cost of the gold medal he had just received. That was $125. He thought a moment. Then he turned to Watson again. "Let's give the King one of these gold medals of me," the President said. He thought a moment longer, and then added, "I might just as well give old Joe one." By "old Joe," of course, the president was referring to Joseph Stalin. Ultimately President Roosevelt requested that the Mint strike five gold examples of the 1945 inaugural medal to take with him to these historic meetings. These special medals were paid for by the State Department. The Yalta Conference was held in the Crimea from February 4 to 11, 1945, and was the second of the so-called "Big Three" meetings of the Allied leaders during World War II. With the defeat of Hitler's Third Reich assured, even though delayed into 1945, the Yalta Conference addressed the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. On February 10, at the hosting Livadia Palace, President Roosevelt presented four of these gold medals to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union Vyacheslav Molotov. After the Yalta Conference, Roosevelt sailed for Egypt for his meeting with the Arab leaders. On February 14, at Great Bitter Lake, the president presented the fifth gold medal he had brought with him to King Ibn Saud on board the heavy cruiser USS Quincy. The president had rethought his earlier decision about the aircraft that the Saudi king desired and decided to also present him with a DC-3. During their meeting, Roosevelt and King Ibn Saud concluded a secret agreement in which the United States would provide Saudi Arabia military security in exchange for secure access to supplies of oil. After these momentous events, and back in the United States, the members of the Inaugural Medal Committee authorized additional precious metals examples for themselves. Two more gold medals were made, one for Ambassador Davies and the other for Mint Director Ross. Two silver medals were also made, one each for Hildreth and Landa. These four medals were paid for privately by the recipients. Davies authorized the mint director's gold medal in a letter he sent to Assistant Director of the Mint Leland Howard on April 4, 1945; presumably he also authorized striking of the other three examples at the same time. The Mint made one final delivery of 1945 inaugural medals. This was another special issue, made nearly a year after President Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. On March 26, 1946, Vice-Chairman of the Inaugural Medal Committee Melvin D. Hildreth wrote to Assistant Mint Director Howard "to order two gold inaugural medals to be presented to Hyde Park for permanent preservation." These medals appear to have been paid for by the committee. The total mintage for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's fourth inaugural medal, therefore, is 3,512: 3,500 in bronze for public sale in connection with the inauguration on January 20, 1945; 10 in gold for special presentation purposes and private purchase by Inaugural Medal Committee members; two in silver for private purchase by Inaugural Medal Committee members. The bronze medals were widely distributed, and examples remain plentiful today. They are offered regularly through auction and for direct purchase, and nice Mint State examples can be had for as little as a few hundred dollars. The precious metal strikings, however, are another matter entirely. As late as the mid-1970s, in fact, the total mintage for the 1945 inaugural medal in gold was unknown to the wider numismatic community and is erroneously reported at just two pieces in the second edition (1976) of Richard B. Dusterberg's standard reference The Official Inaugural Medals of the Presidents of the United States. The author did, however, properly report that 3,500 examples were struck in bronze, along with two in silver. Neil MacNeil set the record straight regarding the gold examples the following year in his aforementioned reference The President's Medal: 1789-1977, in which he correctly stated that 10 had been struck in this metallic composition. Yet even so, to this day the gold examples of Roosevelt's fourth inaugural medal remain all but unknown. This is understandable given the extreme rarity of these precious metal strikings and the manner in which they were distributed. In correspondence with Michelle M. Frauenberger, Museum Collections Manager/Registrar at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, your cataloger (JLA) learned that three of the gold medals are still part of the library's museum collection. The first is the specimen presented to the president at the White House on January 18, 1945. It was offered to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library four days after the president's death on April 12, 1945, in a letter dated April 16 from Vice-Chairman of the Inaugural Medal Committee Melvin D. Hildreth to Fred M. Shipman, director of the library. The medal was accepted by Acting Director Edgar B. Nixon on behalf of the library on April 18, 1945, and received in Hyde Park on April 27, 1945. This medal's accession number is MO 1945.78.1, and it can be viewed at the library's museum artifact collection website at the following link: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/3135. The other two medals in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library's museum collection are those requested by the Inaugural Medal Committee on March 25, 1946, specifically for preservation at Hyde Park. The gift of these medals was graciously accepted by Acting Director Nixon in a letter to Vice-Chairman Hildreth dated May 7, 1946. Vice-Chairman Hildreth presented the medals to the library on October 23, 1946. The accession number for the pair is MO 1947.39.1-2, and the two medals are still housed together in the original mahogany case with glass cover and small metal plaque inscribed PRESENTED TO THE FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT LIBRARY BY THE FOURTH INAUGURAL MEDAL COMMITTEE BY DIRECTION OF JOSEPH E. DAVIES, CHAIRMAN. The whereabouts of the five gold medals that President Roosevelt distributed at Yalta and Great Bitter Lake are unknown. According to Jimmy Hayes, several years ago Joe Levine was offered a gold example allegedly connected to one of the Yalta Conference recipients, but he was never able to obtain photographs or otherwise prove the medal's existence or authenticity; perhaps needless to write, the proposed transaction never occurred. It is unknown whether all the five gold medals handed out by President Roosevelt at Yalta and Great Bitter Lake still exist. The whereabouts and continued existence of the gold medal obtained by Ambassador Davies in 1945 are also unknown. This leaves the gold example acquired by Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross in her capacity as a member of the Inaugural Medal Committee. It is the medal offered here, which represents the first ever public appearance or offering for a gold 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt fourth inaugural medal. Joe Levine longingly hoped for its arrival to market when he wrote in his 1981 reference Collectors Guide to Presidential Inaugural Medals and Memorabilia: One might expect at least one of the ten gold medals to have reached the marketplace 35 years after FDR's death. Realistically, however, only two of them might reasonably be looked for in the near future: those presented to Ambassador Davies and Mrs. Ross. The mint director's specimen is a beautiful Gem Mint State example. Both sides exhibit even, deep gold color and a coarse sandblast texture to the finish. All design elements are skillfully executed and boldly rendered. As Mint Director Ross wrote to artist Davidson, "The character you have put in the President's face is remarkable; the likeness is excellent too." His presentation of the USS Constitution on the reverse is likewise striking. This is an outstanding medal - skillfully designed, expertly produced, and preserved with great care. This lot includes a number of supporting items that were kept with the medal as part of Mint Director Ross' estate: -Letter from Ambassador Joseph E. Davies to Assistant Director of the Mint Leland Howard, dated April 4, 1945, as "authorization to have the gold inaugural medal struck for Mrs. Ross in accordance with your telephone conversation with my office." -United States Mint, Philadelphia sales receipt dated May 16, 1945, for "One (1) President Roosevelt Medal (Gold)", to Hon. Nellie Tayloe Ross in the amount of $117.39. -Letter dated May 16, 1945, from Leland Howard in his capacity as acting director of the mint, to Ambassador Davies, clarifying the status of the Inaugural Medal Committee, the ambassador's leading role in the inaugural medal project, and detailing the number of medals struck and, for the gold and silver pieces, the distribution of each example. -Inaugural Medal Committee member Melvin D. Hildreth's letter to Assistant Mint Director Leland Howard, dated March 25, 1946, requesting "two gold inaugural medals to be presented to Hyde Park for permanent preservation." -Letter dated November 17, 1947 from Leland Howard, in his capacity as acting director of the mint, to Mr. Westbrook Pegler of King Features Syndicate in New York City providing general information on presidential inaugural medals, including those from Roosevelt's first three terms, and confirming a total mintage for the 1945 inaugural medal of 3,512. -Original green leather, plush green interior presentation case for Mint Director Ross' example of the gold 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt inaugural medal offered in this lot. The box measures 95 mm x 95 mm x 18 mm, and is as issued. The letters are copies, the receipt is the original, and all are valuable as they provide not only a treasure trove of information regarding the production and distribution of the gold (and silver) 1945 inaugural medals, but also establish beyond a doubt the provenance of the offered example as the specimen acquired by Mint Director Ross. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's unprecedented election to a fourth term and his leadership of the "Greatest Generation" during the Great Depression and World War II have made him one of the most important figures in United States history. Historians and political scientists consistently rank him alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln as one of the nation's three greatest presidents. Produced during the final chapter of World War II, Roosevelt's 1945 medal is a classic in the inaugural series and even bronze examples are of tremendous historical significance. The gold medals are on another level entirely - exceedingly rare, enjoying limited distribution to government officials and world leaders, directly linked to the Yalta Conference that helped to define the postwar world, and all but unknown both within the numismatic community and to the public. Each of the 10 examples is a national treasure, and the offering of Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross' specimen in this sale will hopefully give the story of these important medals the distribution and attention it deserves. As with all auction offerings, of course, there be can be only one winning bidder, and the winning bidder here will be acquiring the only confirmed gold 1945 fourth inaugural medal ever offered for sale. The new owner will be adding their name to the short list of government officials and influential world leaders who have owned a gold example of this medal, a list that includes the likes of Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, King Ibn Saud and, of course, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that deserves the utmost attention and the most aggressive bidding strategy. Stack's Bowers Galleries would like to thank Michelle M. Frauenberger, Museum Collections Manager/Registrar at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, and Jimmy Hayes for their research assistance during preparation of this catalog description. (Total: 1 medal; 4 copies of letters; 1 U.S. Mint sales receipt; 1 case) Provenance: From the Collection of Nellie Tayloe Ross, Director of the U.S. Mint, 1933-1953. Click here for certification details from NGC. Click here to see Coins in Motion.

Stima:€0.86

Venduto per:€206,092.8