American Numismatic Association Silver Medal U.S. Mint First Steam Coinage Press

Description

Based on the original 1836 Liberty Cap design by Christian Gobrecht.
On March 23, 1836, the United States Mint unveiled its first steam powered coinage press in Philadelphia. This semi-automated lever press increased the minting capacity to a hundred coins a minute. Chief Engraver at the mint, the legenday Christain Gobrecht designed a special medal struck on the day the steam press began operations. The press became the property of the
American Numismatic Association and now resides at the ANA Money Museum in Colorado Springs, CO.
In conjunction with the ANA, Joe Rust, president of the Gallery Mint Museum, refurbished and refitted the first steam press used by the U.S. Mint. Rust said at the time, "It was a wonderful experience to work on this press that carries so much history with it. It's a fine machine and in wonderful working order."
To finance the repair and relocatin of the press, it was decided to mint this special commemorative medal whihc was oversubscribed before striking. Ron Landis, chief engraver of the Gallery Mint Museum hand-engraved new dies for the March 23, 2000, striking ceremony. He said, "I am using Christian Gobrecht's designs for the original medal struck on this press. The Liberty Cap will be unchanged on the obverse and only the wording will be changed on the reverse." The outer ring of the reverse reads: "U.S. Mint First Steam Coinage Press," while the inner circle of the medal  has"ANA Philadelphia Mar. 23," with the date 2000 at the bottom of the piece.
The medals were the same size as the pieces struck in 1836 - 27 mm. The ANA produced 20 medals in 22kt gold (approximately 25 grams) and 200 medals in .999 fine silver. It also issued no more than 2,000 medals in 99.5 pure copper.