Assistant Secretary & Under Secretary Treasury Medals of the U.S. Mint
I recently purchased a 1932 Ferry K. Heath Assistant Secretary of the Treasury bronze medal. It had been on one of my "saved searches" on eBay for years and I quickly decided to snatch it. Little has been written about "assistant secretary" and "under secretary" medals, probably because they were not struck in large numbers (as treasury secretary medals are) and were only done so briefly in the early 1930's. Sadly, the best information about mintages or numbers can be found in scant auction records whenever one comes up for sale. Typical numbers are usually in the dozens, of that at all. I have never found a reasonable explanation as why they were struck at all, save being a reflection of the bureaucracy at the time. I also read that they were sometimes struck off for the pleasure of the person honored, as long as they paid the mint for the total medals struck. Anyway, Ferry K. Heath was assistant secretary for Herbert Hoover's administration. The medal was designed by chief engraver John Sinnock in 1932. Exactly why Sinnock was designing such an insignificant medal during the depths of the depression begs to be answered. Maybe someday we'll find out more about these things. Such information would be greatly appreciated when and if ever published in a book on U.S. Mint medals. Until then there is R. W. Julian's masterwork "Medals Of The United States Mint 1792-1892" which was published by the Token & Medal Society (TAMS) in 1977 and limited to 3000 copies. A 2nd volume, spanning 1893 to present day, would probably be revealing and would shed light on interesting and obscure pieces such as these. And to those who avoid collecting U.S. Mint medals because they are continuously being re-struck in large numbers, you are mostly correct, but there are hidden gems out there worth looking for. Happy hunting!
