Item: i118216

Authentic Medal of:

United States – 1926 US Sesquicentennial Official Medal
1926 Gilt Bronze Medal 35mm (19.96 grams)
Reference: HK-453
PHILADELPHIA 1926 SESQUICENTENIAL INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, head of George Washington right surrounded by 13 stars; Liberty Bell below.
 Lady Liberty holding a torch aligned with the sun, riding Pegasus, in flight above the clouds; engraver’s name, ALBIN POLASEK in field to left.

The 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition held in Philadelphia commemorated the 150th anniversary of the founding of the United States and signing of the Declaration of Independence. The expo consisted of five exhibition palaces and 72 other buildings painted with bright, rainbow colors. A giant, 80-foot tall replica of the Liberty bell—the “Luminous Liberty Bell”—stood at the entrance and was the “largest electrical structure ever”. It was lighted with 26,000 fifteen-watt light bulbs as a part of the extravagant lighting scheme to make the buildings glow at night.

The preparation efforts were led by John Wanamaker, the famous department store mogul, who was the only living member of the previous 1876 Centennial Expo’s Finance Committee. Wanamaker’s advertising tokens were emblazoned with patriotic emblems, and his silver anniversary piece featured Independence Hall, making it popular with collectors today. When he died of a heart attack in 1922, preparation efforts became scrambled, and sent the fair on a downward spiral from which it would not recover. Sadly, the fair was riddled with corruption and controversy, the city became knee-deep in debt, and what was supposed to be a memorable event, was forgotten.

With most International Expositions, an official medal was struck on the fairgrounds by the US Mint. The medal for this exhibition features a bust of Washington, surrounded by 13 stars. Around is the legend SESQUICENTENNIAL-INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION. The unusually artistic reverse features Lady Liberty holding a torch aligned with the sun, riding Pegasus, in flight above the clouds.
 

The medal was designed by Albin Polasek, whose name appears on the reverse. Polasek, a Czech-American, had a shining career as a sculptor in his own right, and was employed at Medallic Art Company in New York City. While the obverse of the medal is rather poorly executed, the reverse design provides an artistic draw for collectors. The antiqued bronze piece produced from different dies is by far the rarest, with fewer than five being certified by NGC. These were higher relief from the rest, and were likely struck by the Medallic Art Company after the expo closed. Likewise, the nickel examples are less common than the bronze and brass pieces.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world’s fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km²), the United States is the world’s third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe’s 3.9 million square miles (10.1 million km²). With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York. Forty-eight states and the capital’s federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world’s 17 megadiverse countries.

Paleo-Indians migrated from Siberia to the North American mainland at least 12,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century. The United States emerged from the thirteen British colonies established along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the French and Indian War led to the American Revolution, which began in 1775, and the subsequent Declaration of Independence in 1776. The war ended in 1783 with the United States becoming the first country to gain independence from a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, with the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, being ratified in 1791 to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century, acquiring new territories, displacing Native American tribes, and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Civil War led to the abolition of slavery. By the end of the century, the United States had extended into the Pacific Ocean, and its economy, driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution, began to soar. The Spanish-American War and World War I confirmed the country’s status as a global military power. The United States emerged from World War II as a global superpower, the first country to develop nuclear weapons, the only country to use them in warfare, and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed in the Space Race, culminating with the 1969 Moon landing. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world’s sole superpower.

The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a federal republic and a representative democracy, “in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law”. The United States is a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States (OAS), and other international organizations. The United States is a highly developed country, with the world’s largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP, accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP. The U.S. economy is largely post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge-based activities, although the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world. The United States is the world’s largest importer and the second largest exporter of goods, by value. Although its population is only 4.3% of the world total, the U.S. holds 33% of the total wealth in the world, the largest share of global wealth concentrated in a single country. It also suffers from growing levels of income inequality and wealth inequality.

The United States ranks among the highest nations in several measures of socioeconomic performance, including human development, per capita GDP, and productivity per person. The United States is the foremost military power in the world, making up a third of global military spending, and is a leading political, cultural, and scientific force internationally.