William Howard Taft Presidential Inaugural Medal

This gold medal is one of three struck by the Joseph K. Davison's Sons firm to commemorate President William Howard Taft's inauguration in 1909. The inclusion of Vice President James S. Sherman on the obverse, while unusual for an inaugural medal, recalls late nineteenth-century pieces when portraits of both leaders were presented side by side. Taft and Sherman did not pose for the Davison designer. Instead, they sat for a photographer, and the designer used these photographs to model the portraits. Taft later wrote that his medal was "beautiful" and was thrilled to have it and the other inaugural souvenirs as "remembrances of the occasion." (Neil MacNeil, The President's Medal, 1789-1977, 1977)