Raleigh Coin Club Newsletter
April 2000
Three Inches of Pittsburgh
by Dave Provost
From the mid-1950s through the late 1960s, U.S. commemorative medal collecting
enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity. One reason for this rise was, no doubt, the
fact that Congress had stopped authorizing new commemorative coin issues (the last
being the Washington-Carver issues of 1951-54) and commemorative collectors sought
other avenues for their "fix."
Another, I believe, was a simple appreciation of aesthetics. The ability to create highrelief designs in a larger-than-coin format allowed artists to add depth and detail that
was simply impossible on a coin. The result was that many of the historical medals of
this era were true works of art - they actually became known as historical art medals and collectors found them worthy replacements for the coins that were taken from
them.
One historical art medal from this period is the Pittsburgh Bicentennial medal of 1958.
Ralph J. Merconi, an artist/sculptor who would prove to be one of the most prolific
medal artists of this period, designed the piece. It was struck by the renowned Medallic
Art Company of New York for the Pittsburgh Bicentennial Association.
Though the medal celebrates the two hundredth anniversary of the founding of
Pittsburgh, the European connection to the area extends a few years earlier. George
Washington surveyed the area on behalf of the British-owned Ohio Land Company of
Virginia in 1753 and declared it
"extremely well situated for a fort." The
British were the first to attempt a fort at
the site, beginning construction in 1754,
but the French soon captured the point
and built Fort Duquesne. This was one of
the earlier battles between the French and
the British during the French and Indian
War as they fought for control of the Ohio
Valley.
The British regained the site in 1758 under
the direction of General John Forbes. He
renamed the site Pittsburgh in honor of
British Prime Minister William Pitt the
Elder. He than began construction of Fort
Pitt, the largest structure built by the
Raleigh Coin Club Newsletter
April 2000
British in North America.
The obverse of the medal presents an aerial view of the "modern city of Pittsburgh." At
the foreground is the point at which the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers converge.
The site of Fort Pitt and the city's central business district (The Golden Triangle) and
modern skyline are in the background.
The reverse of the piece depicts the plan for Fort Pitt and shows the fabled convergence
of the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers. Also seen are the official seals of the
City of Pittsburgh, the County of Allegheny, and the Pittsburgh Bicentennial.
The city's bicentennial celebration kicked
off on Thanksgiving Day in 1958 with a
parade, and went on to include many
area celebrations and ceremonies.
The official commemorative medal was
available for $3.50 in 1958 and could be
purchased at local coin dealers and
department stores. Each was packaged in
a plastic case with a green insert; the case
allowed viewing of both sides of the
medal. Today, the medal typically brings
between $15 and $25 when offered for
sale.
A related collectible of the era was the
first day cover produced by Fleetwood.
The cover features images of the obverse and reverse of the official medal. Oddly, the 4cent stamp on the cover commemorates Fort Duquesne, the short-lived French fort that
was replaced by the British in 1758.
In the future, I plan to continue my "Three Inches of" series with discussions of other
historical art medals that celebrate the history of our cities and states. (I'll let you decide
whether you should take that as a promise or a threat!)
Raleigh Coin Club Newsletter
April 2000
Until next month, Happy Collecting!
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2000 – 2014