Trylon and Perisphere

The obverse bears view of iconic Trylon and Perisphere; at upper right, a full length figure of George Washington emerges from cloud banks. At bottom, NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1939; at right, ©

The reverse bears three panels; top panel shows Trylon and Perisphere over radiant sun; above, THE WORLD OF TOMORROW; the middle panel shows view of Manhattan skyline as seen from the World's Fair grounds with legend TODAY; bottom panel shows view of New Amsterdam with legend YESTERDAY; signed at top right corner of bottom panel, KILENYI

The edge bears the marks ROBBINS CO. / ATTLEBORO - BRONZE.

This was the official medal of the New York World's Fair of 1939-40. The 190m-tall spire-shaped Trylon contained the (at the time) longest escalator and the 54m-diameter Perisphere housed a diorama called "Democracity" which depicted an topian city-of-the-future. A moving sidewalk transported spectators past the exhibits.

A much rarer version of the medal exists in which the year is 1940 rather than 1939.

The medal measures 63.5mm in diameter and was struck by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts.

The obverse bears view of iconic Trylon and Perisphere; at upper right, a full length figure of George Washington emerges from cloud banks. At bottom, NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR / 1940; at right, ©

The reverse bears three panels; top panel shows Trylon and Perisphere over radiant sun; above, THE WORLD OF TOMORROW; the middle panel shows view of Manhattan skyline as seen from the World's Fair grounds with legend TODAY; bottom panel shows view of New Amsterdam with legend YESTERDAY; signed at top right corner of bottom panel, KILENYI

The edge bears the marks ROBBINS CO. / ATTLEBORO - BRONZE.

This was the official medal of the New York World's Fair of 1939-40. The 190m-tall spire-shaped Trylon contained the (at the time) longest escalator and the 54m-diameter Perisphere housed a diorama called "Democracity" which depicted an topian city-of-the-future. A moving sidewalk transported spectators past the exhibits.

This is the much rarer version of the medal that shows the year as 1940 rather than 1939.

The medal measures 63.5mm in diameter and was struck by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts.