All Medals

The obverse bears standing figures of European settler, at left, and Native American, at right, against background of topographical map of New York and New Jersey. Above, DIVIDED BY NATURE UNITED FOR MUTUAL WELFARE; below: THE PORT OF / NEW YORK; signed at lower left, KILENYI.

The reverse shows Bayonne Bridge with seals of New York and New Jersey below with scrolls labelled: "NEW YORK" and "NEW JERSEY". Above, BUILT AND OWNED BY THE PORT OF NEW YORK AUTHORITY; inscription BAYONNE / BRIDGE / DEDICATED 1931. The small diameter variants have a tiny W&H CO. under the New Jerswey ribbon.

In 1931, the Port Authority opened two major bridges, the George Washington Bridge on October 24th and the Bayonne Bridge on November 14th. The George Washington Bridge Dedication was a big affair commemorated with a gold medals, a silver medal, bronze medals in 2 sizes, and a hanging badge.

The dedication of the George Washington Beidge was a major political event. The Governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a man with serious Presidential aspirations, was one of the major participants in the ceremonies.

Three weeks later, the major state election now past, the Port Authority ordered only enough medals to service the needs of the Bayonne Bridge Dedication on the day. That was still a sizable number as there were around 4,000 invited guests.

Furthermore, there was the small issue of a short notice name change. On Oct. 31st, the Port Authority changed the name of the bridge from the Kill van Kull Bridge to the Bayonne Bridge. This added a time constraint that would also have mitigated against a larger number of medals than absolutely necessary being produced before the opening two weeks later.

All variants were produced by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintages are reported for any of the variants but due to the number of invited guests the number of the small diameter variants should be in the thousands.

The obverse bears a streamlined car with stylized wing extending vertically up. Top right and bottom left, TO THE ADVANCEMENT OF - MOTOR TRANSPORTATION; signed under car, NORMAN BEL GEDDES © 1933.

The reverse bears a stylized piston and laurels. In uppper right quadrant, 2-line legend around edge, COMMEMORATING / THE TWENTYFIFTH; in lower left quadrant, 2-line legend around edge, ANNIVERSARY OF / GENERAL MOTORS - 1908 - 1933.

This iconic machine-age medal is a perfect example of the Streamlined style that dominated architecture and design in America from the late 1920s to the end of the 1930s. It was designed by Norman Bel Geddes but sculpted by Rene Paul Chambellan. Its main variant was commissioned by General Motors to be distributed during its 25th Anniversary celebrations and at the 1933 Chicago World Fair of Progress.

The General Motors romance brochure that accompanied some medals included the following words about the design:

"The face of the medal shows a speeding automotive body behind which a wing rises perpendicularly. Since the medal is to be used as an award in future years and the car of the future is merely a guess, this car is an abstract streamline form without doors or windows. The conventionalized wing symbolizes General Motors interest in air transportation. The wing being static; the car, by contrast, seems to move more swiftly ... The reverse of the medal shows a combustion chamber ... since it is the heart of the motor. It too has been conventionalized."

The medal was manufactured in different variants. The relatively common ones measure 76mm in diameter and are struck in bronze or silver-plated bronze. The medal is most commonly encountered in its large silver-plated form. The bronze and the smaller 38mm and 29mm variants are much less common. The smallest was inscribed across the reverse G.M. - MENS / CLUB and only given to GM executives. In the thirties it was of course a fairly safe bet that executive positions would be limited to men. A mounted plaque version measuring 9 inches in diameter was given to some dealers in the 1950s.

Completely intact silver-plated variants are hard to come by; the silver layer did not stand the test of time on most pieces and it is almost unheard of to see one without at least rubbing on high points.

Just as the design is unmistakably Bel Geddes, the execution is unmistakably Chambellan. Before I knew that it was a Bel Geddes, I would have guessed it to be a Chambellan based on its lettering alone.

The medal was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York.