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.
