1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Official Inaugural Medal - XF

Official 1941 inaugural medal for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's third term. This is the official inaugural medal produced in very limited quantity. Designed by John Ray Sinnock and produced for the inaugural committee by the United States Mint. This is the Type 2 variety. It is in very fine condition, one of the best we have seen for this medal. The commission Inaugural Commission enlisted sculptor Jo Davidson to design the obverse, with U.S. Mint chief engraver John Sinnock designing the reverse. Davidson secured last-minute sittings with the president, modeling the portrait’s style after an ancient Syracusan gold coin. The obverse of the 42mm medal has a bust of Roosevelt, facing left, surrounded by the legend of FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT / (star) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (star). The reverse is a very basic design of THIRD INAUGURATION around the border and the date of JAN. / 20, / 1941 within a wreath. Following lackluster sales for the 1933 and 1937 inaugural medals, Roosevelt directed the committee to make the 1941 medals more affordable, at a price of $1 and with a reduced size. The medal sold out its mintage of 1,000 the first day of sale, and the committee authorized another 1,000 to be made. A small number 2, placed at the open end of the wreath on the reverse, distinguishes the second minting.