1945 Gold FDR Inaugural Medal Announced by Stack’s Bowers

Stack's Bowers Galleries is pleased to announce the first-ever public appearance and offering of a 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural medal in gold.

Stack’s Bowers Galleries will offer a 1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Fourth Inaugural medal in gold. One of only 10 examples struck by the Philadelphia Mint in this precious metal, the medal is sure to be a highlight of the firm’s upcoming 2025 Summer Global Showcase Auction.

While 3,500 examples of the 1945 inaugural medal in bronze were struck to be sold to the public and are offered today on a regular basis, gold examples are another matter entirely. The 10 produced enjoyed closed distribution that included government officials and world leaders as follows:

* Three examples were presented to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York.

* Five examples were distributed by President Roosevelt himself at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 and later at Great Bitter Lake, Egypt, where he met with Ibn Saud in April 1945.

* One example was given to Ambassador Joseph E. Davies, the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union.

* One example went to Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross, who is selling the medal via Stack’s Bowers Galleries.

The specimen being offered by Stack’s Bowers is from the estate of Mint Director Ross. The three examples presented to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library are still impounded in its museum collection. None of the other six gold examples has ever resurfaced, and it is unknown whether all the five medals handed out by President Roosevelt at Yalta and Great Bitter Lake, or the medal acquired by Ambassador Davies, still exist.

“Each of the gold 1945 inaugural medals is a national treasure,” observed Jeff Ambio, Vice President of Numismatics for Stack’s Bowers Galleries. “Produced during the final chapter of World War II, they are exceedingly rare, saw limited distribution to government officials and world leaders, and are directly linked to the Yalta Conference that helped define the postwar world. Yet despite their significance, these gold medals are all but unknown both within the numismatic community and to the public. Our offering of Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross' specimen should bring to the story of these important medals the attention it deserves.”

This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that deserves the utmost attention from bidders. “The new owner,” continued Ambio, “will be adding their name to the short list of government officials and influential world leaders who have owned a gold example of this medal, a list that includes Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, King Ibn Saud and, of course, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt himself.”

The Stack’s Bowers Galleries 2025 Summer Global Showcase Auction will be held August 25-30 and September 2-5, 2025, in the firm’s Costa Mesa, California headquarters, with lot viewing available in Costa Mesa, New York City, and at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City. Consignments of ancient coins, world coins, paper money, and U.S. coins and currency are currently being accepted for sale. To include your numismatic items, contact Stack’s Bowers Galleries at 800-458-464 or Consign@StacksBowers.com.