1966 Ralph Menconi Thomas Jefferson Medal Society of Medalists 74 Bronze

Jefferson faces left in high relief, with WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF EVIDENT, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, THAT THEY ARE ENDOWED BY THEIR CREATOR WITH CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, THAT AMONG THESE ARE LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS running the full circumference. The reverse is a standing female figure with Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, ships in the harbor and a drum at her feet, within THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Menconi was the most prolific American portrait medalist of the postwar decades, and the man behind the Presidential Art Medals series, the Hall of Fame for Great Americans issues and a long run of official inaugural work. The issue ran to 939 pieces across both of its varieties. The original box and brochure are both still with it. A note on the shape: this issue is not a true circle. It was struck to an irregular subrounded outline, which is how it is catalogued, so the slightly uneven rim is the design and not damage.