Attractive medal issued at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Gilt silver, 66 mm x 66 mm, 177 gm, designed by Adolph A. Weinman and struck by the US Mint at Philadelphia. The front depicts Columbia, with arms spread wide holding the United States flag, beside a youthful maiden representing the Louisiana Purchase Territory; against a rising sun, the girl is disrobing the cloak of France, the material decorated with bees, the emblem of Napoleon, with raised text and date encircling the image, “Universal Exposition-Saint Louis-United States of America, MCMIV." The reverse shows a large eagle with wings spread above a tablet, “Silver Medal, Louisiana Purchase Exposition," with two dolphins below symbolizing the nations' eastern and western boundaries, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Includes the original maroon presentation case. Weinman later designed the Walking Liberty half-dollar and Mercury dime. An exceedingly early and handsome award.
