Extremely Rare 1921 Silver Harding-Coolidge Inaugural Medal Highlights an Extensive Offering in the June 2026 Showcase Auction

Inaugural and Presidential medals provide a fascinating look at American history through the lens of numismatics. Medals honoring the men who have occupied the highest office in the United States have been produced officially and unofficially by the United States Mint, as well as private firms. In some cases, the medals are common enough, or modern reproductions have satisfied the desires of collectors.

In our June Showcase Auction, the official auction for the Whitman Expo, we are proud to offer an extensive offering of these historical issues. A highlight of this selection is an extremely rare 1921 medal celebrating the inauguration of Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Due to the post World War I economy (by the early 1920s, the boom of the war years had collapsed, and economic historians vary the description of the conditions by 1921 as either a deep recession or a depression) the normally lavish inaugural festivities were curtailed (at the request of President-elect Harding), and a more austere event took place. A very small number of medals were produced in gold, silver, and bronze. These were designed by Darrell Clayton Crain and were struck by R. Harris and Company. The actual numbers struck are unknown, but fewer than ten of these silver rarities are known, making them one of the rarest in the series, and highly coveted as such.

This example is graded MS-62 by PCGS and is among the finest known. Since this piece sold in a Presidential Coin and Antiques Auction in June 2007, we have sold just three others of the type (two silver and one bronze), most recently a silver example in PCGS Specimen-55 that realized $48,000 in our 2024 Global Showcase Auction. This MS-62 is higher grade and offers a robust palette of patina that is not just original but visually engaging. A true prize for the advanced collector of Inaugural medals, we expect a very strong bid to take this one when it crosses the block.