U.S. Mint Releases Calvin Coolidge Presidential Silver Medal

Honoring the 30th president of the United States, the U.S. Mint today releases the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Silver Medal. Each medal weighs one troy ounce and is struck in 99.9% silver, with a portrait of the former president on the obverse.

The medal is the newest release in the Mint’s Presidential Silver Medal Program, which debuted in 2018 and honors former U.S. presidents with one-ounce silver medals.

Calvin Coolidge was born on July 4, 1872, in the small village of Plymouth Notch, Vermont. After graduating from Amherst College, he practiced law in Northampton, Massachusetts, and steadily advanced through local and state politics, serving as mayor, state legislator, lieutenant governor and governor. His handling of the 1919 Boston Police Strike brought him national attention and helped propel him onto the Republican ticket as Warren G. Harding’s running mate in 1920. Upon Harding’s death in August 1923, Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the United States by his father, a notary public, at the family homestead in Vermont.

Known for his quiet demeanor and the nickname Silent Cal, Coolidge championed limited government, fiscal restraint and pro-business policies during the economic expansion of the 1920s. He won election in his own right in 1924 and left office in 1929 after declining to seek another term. Coolidge retired to Northampton, where he wrote his autobiography and remained active in public affairs until his death on Jan. 5, 1933.

Coolidge on U.S. Coins

Coolidge has also appeared on two U.S. coins. The first was the 1926 Sesquicentennial of American Independence half dollar, which paired his portrait with that of George Washington and marked the first time a U.S. president appeared on a coin during his lifetime. Decades later, Coolidge was honored on a 2014 Presidential $1 Coin featuring an obverse portrait designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.

U.S. Mint Presidential Medal Program

The U.S. Mint’s Presidential Medal series traces its roots to the nation’s earliest years, when medals were presented to Native American leaders as symbols of peace and friendship. Modern silver versions have since been released, with sales through Aug. 30 as follows:

• George Washington — 39,656
• John Adams — 24,657
• Thomas Jefferson — 26,491
• James Madison — 17,841
• James Monroe — 16,028
• John Quincy Adams — 15,539
• Andrew Jackson — 17,937
• Martin Van Buren — 14,422
• William Henry Harrison — 14,259
• John Tyler — 14,271
• James K. Polk — 13,939
• Zachary Taylor — 13,631
• Millard Fillmore — 13,225
• Franklin Pierce — 13,175
• James Buchanan — 12,955
• Abraham Lincoln — 23,106
• Andrew Johnson — 13,150
• Ulysses S. Grant — 15,064
• Rutherford B. Hayes — 12,270
• James A. Garfield — 12,191
• Chester A. Arthur — 11,479
• Grover Cleveland — 11,982
• Benjamin Harrison — 10,699
• William McKinley — 10,755
• Theodore Roosevelt — 13,002
• William H. Taft — 10,451
• Woodrow Wilson — 9,082
• Warren G. Harding — 8,634

George Washington remains the series’ top seller by a wide margin, followed by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and Abraham Lincoln. Sales for most of the later presidential medals have generally fallen in the 10,000 to 15,000 range.

Following the Coolidge release, the U.S. Mint is scheduled to add a Herbert Hoover Presidential Silver Medal later this year.

Calvin Coolidge Medal Designs

The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Silver Medal’s obverse (heads side) features a detailed bust of the 30th president, accompanied by the inscription CALVIN COOLIDGE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Designed by John Ray Sinnock, the portrait presents Coolidge in a dignified, formal style consistent with the traditional series of presidential medals.

The reverse (tails side), also designed by Sinnock, depicts a seated female figure holding fasces, a classical emblem of authority, while a heraldic eagle perches atop the shield of the United States with a cornucopia nearby. The composition is framed by a stylized laurel wreath and includes the inscriptions INAUG∙URATED, AUG∙3∙1923 AND MAR∙4∙1925, and 1928, marking Coolidge’s accession to the presidency and his subsequent inauguration. The year 1928 appears as it does on Sinnock’s original medal.

All Presidential Silver Medals in the modern series have a matte finish similar in appearance to uncirculated coins. Additional specifications include:

Medal Specifications

 

Ordering and Price

Beginning at noon ET, Calvin Coolidge Presidential Silver Medals are available through the U.S. Mint’s online catalog. Each is priced at $164.

No mintage, product or household order limits apply. Earlier releases in the series also remain available directly from the Mint.