Theodore Roosevelt Special Inaugural Medal

Augustus Saint-Gaudens|Adolph Alexander Weinman

1905 · Bronze · The American Wing

Saint-Gaudens and Theodore Roosevelt's mutual quest to produce coins with beauty and substance comparable to those from antiquity had its first tangible result in this special medal celebrating the president's inauguration to his second term in March 1905. The medal was designed by Saint-Gaudens, modeled by his former assistant Adolph Alexander Weinman, and cast by Tiffany & Co. On the obverse is a forthright profile head of Roosevelt (1858-1919) facing left with a dedicatory legend above and below. To the right is the Latin motto AEQVVM CVIQVE, or "to each what is equitable," a loose interpretation of Roosevelt's campaign slogan "a square deal for every man." On the reverse is an eagle posed in ancient Egyptian Ptolemaic style, facing left upon a craggy rock, powerful and proud in its bearing. It is flanked by the motto of the Seal of the United States, E PLVRIBVS VNVM (Out of many, one).

Artist

Augustus Saint-Gaudens|Adolph Alexander Weinman

Date

1905

Medium

Bronze

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Morris K. Jesup Fund, 2008