A mysterious US Mint medal series was recently uncovered after being hidden from the public eye for over five decades. These medals were designed and minted by the US Mint in Philadelphia. In all, a total of 9,858 medals were struck. These medals came in 3 sizes: half-dollar (30.6mm), dollar (38.1mm), and medallion (76.0 mm). The half-dollar size medals were struck in .900 fine silver. The dollar size medals were struck in both 18K gold and .900 silver. The medallion size medals were struck in bronze. 17 design variations have been currently identified and cataloged. 

Who designed these medals? 

What was the purpose of these medals?  

Where were the medals distributed? 

When were the medals struck? 

How did this mysterious US Mint medal series go unnoticed by the numismatic community for so long?

Midway through my original research I named the medal series "The Dwight D. Eisenhower Appreciation Medals". The design of each medal was created by both Gilroy Roberts and Frank Gasparro. These medals were exclusively made for use by the President Eisenhower. President Eisenhower presented a medal to a deserving individual in thankful recognition for service to the nation, the White House, or his Presidency during his time in office. These medals were struck from September 1958 to October 1960. Records about this medal series was kept hidden for years by a family member of a top military aide in the Eisenhower administration. In 2011, the records were processed into the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum. In 2013, I started research on the medal series. In 2014, I completed my research and published my findings.

The provided image is a sampling of the dollar size medals. Catalog numbers are from my book. The month/year and location was used to identify the President's trips or attended event. The medal was provided to recognize an individual during a leg of his trip or at the event. 

The image of the memo dated December 23, 1960 between the Director of the Mint and the White House provides evidence that the medal series existed. This 17 specimen US Mint medal series can truly be called the "Original Ikes". Memo items redacted on purpose for this blog (full memo in book).

The image of the memo dated December 30, 1960 identifies the witnesses and the types and number of medals destroyed at the end of President Eisenhower's 2nd term in office.  Memo items redacted on purpose for this blog (full memo in book).

Additional information about this newly uncovered medal series is available in the book titled, The Dwight D. Eishenhower Appreciation Medals, by Darryl A. Gomez. This book includes detailed information about the individual medals (cataloged as DDE-01 through DDE-17), images, timeline of the three medal sizes, copies of key correspondences, official mintage numbers, and official destruction numbers. The book is available for purchase at amazon.com or createspace.com (search title or ISBN 1495348229).