Theodore Roosevelt Special Inaugural Medal
Saint-Gaudens and Theodore Roosevelt's mutual quest to produce coins with beauty and substance comparable to those from antiquity had its first tangible result in this special medal celebrating the president's inauguration to his second term in March 1905. The medal was designed by Saint-Gaudens, modeled by his former assistant Adolph Alexander Weinman, and cast by Tiffany & Co. On the obverse is a forthright profile head of Roosevelt (1858-1919) facing left with a dedicatory legend above and below. To the right is the Latin motto AEQVVM CVIQVE, or "to each what is equitable," a loose interpretation of Roosevelt's campaign slogan "a square deal for every man." On the reverse is an eagle posed in ancient Egyptian Ptolemaic style, facing left upon a craggy rock, powerful and proud in its bearing. It is flanked by the motto of the Seal of the United States, E PLVRIBVS VNVM (Out of many, one).
Artwork Details
- Title: Theodore Roosevelt Special Inaugural Medal
- Artist: Augustus Saint-Gaudens (American, Dublin 1848–1907 Cornish, New Hampshire)
- Artist: Adolph Alexander Weinman (American (born Germany), Karlsruhe 1870–1952 New York)
- Founder: Cast by Tiffany & Co. (1837–present)
- Date: 1905
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: Diameter: 2 7/8 in. (7.4 cm)
- Credit Line: Morris K. Jesup Fund, 2008
- Object Number: 2008.112
- Curatorial Department: The American Wing
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