Commems Collection Modern: 1980-84 American Arts Gold Medallions

1983 Alexander Calder - Half Ounce

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Alexander Calder, Circa 1947

(Imasge Credit: Alexander Calder 1947 - Photo by Carl Van Vechten., CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.)

Alexander Calder (b. July 22,1898 / d. November 11, 1976) was an American sculptural artist an illustrator, best known for his (often large) mobiles and stabiles (stationary abstract sculptures) and wire sculptures that created three dimensional sculptures based on two dimensional line drawings.

Obverse Design        Portrait of Alexander Calder
Obverse Designer      Michael Iacocca
Reverse Design        Depiction of a Calder Mobile
Reverse Designer      Michael Iacocca
Composition           0.900 fine gold, 0.070 copper, 0.030 silver
Mintage               410,000
Medallions Sold	      75,571
NumisNote	      With 335,429 medallions melted - approximately 82% - the Calder piece was one of 
                      the least popular medallions of the series.  Contributing factors: 1) Consumer 
                      preference for one-ounce size, 2) Lack of name recognition of Calder, and 3) Rise 
                      in gold price during 1983.

Unnamed Alexander Calder Mobile at National Gallery of Art

(Image Credit: National Gallery of Art. Fair use.)

1983 Alexander Calder - Half Ounce Medal

1984 John Steinbeck - Half Ounce

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John Steinbeck, Circa 1939

(Image Credit: Public Domain.)

John Steinbeck (b. February 27, 1902 / d. December 20, 1968) was an American author of 27 books (16 novels) with their setting often in California. He is most remembered for Grapes of Wrath, which described the plight of a family of tenant farmers during the Great Depression; the novel was published in 1939. His Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row and East of Eden are also well-remembered. Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 - he was a controversial choice.

Obverse Design        Portrait of John Steinbeck
Obverse Designer      John  Mercanti
Reverse Design        American farm scene
Reverse Designer      John  Mercanti
Composition           0.900 fine gold, 0.070 copper, 0.030 silver
Mintage               35,000
Medallions Sold	      32,572
NumisNote	      The American Arts program came to a close with the half-ounce John 
                      Steinbeck medallion.  Its sales were a fraction of those seen during
                      the program's 1982 half-ounce peak (Frank Lloyd Wright, 348,395 - <10%).

John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath Novel Dust Jacket - First Edition, 1939

(Image Credit: Public Domain.)

1984 John Steinbeck - Half Ounce Medal

Today's Market

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For many years, the market prices for the medallions of the American Arts series were closely tied to the prevailing bullion prices.

Of course, the spot price of gold remains a key factor in the market price of the medallions, but several other factors have come into play more and more over the last five to ten years:

1. More of the medallions have been graded by PCGS and NGC, which has created a demand (and associated price escalation) for top-grade pieces.

2. Many collectors have "discovered" the series, and it's not just a vehicle for stacking bullion anymore. More collectors are looking for nice examples "to collect" and this has increased the potential numismatic premium that can be charged for better pieces.

3. More mintage data is available to help distinguish "plentiful" from "less so." Access to additional data almost always impacts market pricing (for better or worse).


The End...For Now. Images of my set and some OGP to follow during the upcoming week.

@nickelsearcher: Thanks! I will do my best handling any questions you have.


Note: "Fresh" eyes this morning allowed me to spot - and correct - a number of typos throughout the original posts.

A very informative and thorough write-up, commems. I've never collected medals but I do find them interesting, but this is a series I was completely unaware of. Thank you very much!

@jbuck, that's one thing great (or maybe bad ) about this forum, seeing all the interesting things in areas I've never really focused on before. I've already started one new collecting interest in the year or so I've been here, primarily because of fascinating topics shared by others. Probably won't be the last...

The Dark Arts!

I came back to this today and read the entire post start to finish. I remain as impressed now with the knowledge sharing as I was in 2022.

An epic thread indeed.