2281

Five 1925 Norse-American Thick Medals MS64-65 [L#2281

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:0.65 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 100,000.00 USD
Five 1925 Norse-American Thick Medals MS64-65 [L#2281
Lot of 5 medals.

The Norse American medal was proposed by Congressman O. J. Kvale of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Authorized by Congress on March 2, 1925, these medals commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first organized arrival of Norse immigrants in the United States. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean on the sloop Restaurationen, a group of Scandinavians had arrived in Orleans County, New York on October 9, 1825. Kvale thought it best to petition for a medal instead of a coin because Congress had authorized four commemorative coins earlier in 1925: the Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial, Fort Vancouver Centennial, California Diamond Jubilee, and Vermont or Battle of Bennington Half Dollars. The controversy surrounding the Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar of 1924 also helped to convince Congressman Kvale that a proposal for a medal stood a better chance of acceptance by the government at that time.

In addition to 33,750 medals on thick silver planchets and 6,000 medals on thin silver planchets, the Philadelphia mint delivered 100 medals on gold planchets. All of these pieces were probably struck in early May 1925. The gold medals were produced as matte proofs and sold to the public at a price of $20 each. Today, specimens are inexpensive and widely collected along with the regular series of Commemorative Half Dollars. Anthony Swiatek wrote a complete history of the Norse American commemorative medals in the June 1982 issue of The Numismatist. This is a truly rare opportunity for the commemorative buyer.