Theodore Roosevelt Embossed Shell Medalet

A Theodore Roosevelt political medalet, 48 mm, made as a single embossed shell. The portrait stands in high relief with ROOSEVELT along the lower edge inside a twisted rope border. The reverse is the hollow back of that same strike, so the portrait and the lettering read there in mirror image. That is the tell of shell work: one thin sheet pressed into a die, rather than two dies struck against a planchet. The shell was the cheap end of the political trade. It bought a large, bold piece for very little metal, and the cost of that economy is what shows here. The silvered surface has darkened and worn away across the high points while the relief itself stayed sharp. Nothing on the piece names a campaign year, so it is catalogued as a Roosevelt medalet rather than assigned to 1904 or 1912 on the strength of the portrait alone.