American Arts Commemorative Series medallions
Year Gold content Obverse design Obverse inscription Reverse design Reverse inscription Designer Number minted Number sold
1980 1 troy ounce ( 31 g ) Portrait of Grant Wood GRANT WOOD American Gothic AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - 1980 Frank Gasparro 500,000 312,709
1980 0.5 troy ounces ( 16 g ) Portrait of Marian Anderson MARIAN ANDERSON Cupped hands holding globe AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - 1980 Frank Gasparro 1,000,000 281,624
1981 1 troy ounce ( 31 g ) Portrait of Mark Twain MARK TWAIN Steamboat AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - 1981 Matthew Peloso 141,000 116,371
1981 0.5 troy ounces ( 16 g ) Portrait of Willa Cather WILLA CATHER Woman operating a field plow AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - 1981 Sherl Winter 200,000 97,331
1982 1 troy ounce ( 31 g ) Portrait of Louis Armstrong UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1982 - LOUIS ARMSTRONG Trumpet and musical notes AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - AMBASSADOR OF JAZZ - ONE OUNCE GOLD John Mercanti 420,000 409,098
1982 0.5 troy ounces ( 16 g ) Portrait of Frank Lloyd Wright UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1982 - FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT Landscape around Fallingwater AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - ONE HALF OUNCE GOLD Edgar J. Steever 360,000 348,305
1983 1 troy ounce ( 31 g ) Portrait of Robert Frost UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1983 - ROBERT FROST Excerpt of Frost 's The Road Not Taken AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A WOOD , AND I-/ I TOOK THE ONE LESS TRAVELED BY , / AND THAT HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE - ONE OUNCE GOLD P. Fowler 500,000 390,669
1983 0.5 troy ounces ( 16 g ) Portrait of Alexander Calder UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1983 - ALEXANDER CALDER Mobile AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - ONE HALF OUNCE GOLD Michael Iacocca 410,000 75,571
1984 1 troy ounce ( 31 g ) Portrait of Helen Hayes UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1984 - HELEN HAYES Masks of comedy and drama surrounded by ribbon AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - FIRST LADY OF THE STAGE - ONE OUNCE GOLD John Mercanti 35,000 33,546
1984 0.5 troy ounces ( 16 g ) Portrait of John Steinbeck UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1984 - JOHN STEINBECK Rural farm AMERICAN ARTS COMMEMORATIVE SERIES - ONE HALF OUNCE GOLD John Mercanti 35,000 32,572
Designs and sales figures
Obverse and reverse designs 1980 one ounce medallion , depicting painter Grant Wood 1980 half-ounce medallion , depicting singer Marian Anderson 1981 one ounce medallion , depicting author Mark Twain 1981 half-ounce medallion , depicting author Willa Cather 1982 one ounce medallion , depicting musician Louis Armstrong 1982 half-ounce medallion , depicting architect Frank Lloyd Wright 1983 one ounce medallion , depicting poet Robert Frost 1983 half-ounce medallion , depicting sculptor Alexander Calder 1984 one ounce medallion , depicting actress Helen Hayes 1984 half-ounce medallion , depicting author John Steinbeck
American Arts Commemorative Series Medallions are a series of ten gold bullion medallions that were produced by the United States Mint from 1980 to 1984. They were sold to compete with the South African Krugerrand and other bullion coins. The series was proposed by North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms after the United States Department of the Treasury began selling portions of the national stockpile of gold. Iowa Representative Jim Leach suggested that the medallions depict notable American artists. President Jimmy Carter signed the bill containing the authorizing legislation into law on November 10, 1978, despite objections from Treasury officials. The medallions were initially sold through mail order; purchasers were required to obtain the day's price by telephone before ordering. Later, the Mint sold them through telemarketing. Mintage ceased after the ten different medallions approved by Congress were produced. All were struck at the West Point Bullion Depository. The series sold poorly, prompting critics to blame the involved process by which they were first marketed, and the fact that they were medallions rather than coins.