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President Roosevelt asks George E. Roberts to take “special and peculiar care” in cutting the coin designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. He is not sure how long it will be allowed to be produced, but wants to have the United States “do something in the way of artistic expression.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-26
Michael F. Moran describes the process of creating an unofficial inaugural medal for President Theodore Roosevelt’s inauguration in 1905. Moran says that the artist Francis Davis Millet started the process by writing Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt about the poor quality of the inaugural medal to be issued by the Bureau of the Mint. Moran highlights the roles played by the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the alternate medal, and of the Tiffany Company which produced the medals. Moran notes the many changes in design, diameter, and metal which led to the medal not being produced in time for the March 1905 inauguration, and he notes that the work on the inaugural medal led to the collaboration between Theodore Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens on redesigning the United States’ currency.
Four photographs appear in the article along with an illustration of both sides of the official inaugural medal issued by the Bureau of the Mint. Saint-Gaudens’s design appears on the front and back covers of the journal.
Senator Hanna received President Roosevelt’s letter regarding the New Orleans matter. Hanna believes Walter L. Cohen, register of the Land Office, should be retained. He is interested in Mayer Cahen, coiner of the mint, as well, but has a special interest in Cohen.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-08-19