Heraldic Art Medals
Created by Robert T. McNamara
Very little known about Robert T. McNamara
Most of what we know is from Gino Sanfilippo's
TAMs paper from February 1997.
Quoted from "zoins" a collectors universe PCGS forum member writes:
This is a wonderful set and really has a great place is numismatic history. Robert T. "Bob" McNamara put together an amazing set. I think his designs are wonderful and it's amazing that he did the sculpting himself with no formal training.
Some good history on Bob McNamara has been put together by D.A. Smith and Gino Sanfilippo. Don A. Smith acquired an amazing collection of material in the goal of connecting with his father, as his father was a Heraldic Art.
Gino Sanfilippo which is a member of the Westerne Reserve Numismatic Club wrote:
With no formal training. Bob designed all the artwork and sculpted all but a few of the medallions himself (the only piece I'm sure he didn't sculpt is the Eisenhower "occasional piece," which is the work of Paul Vincze). He was meticulous in detail as well as in his research into the historical events depicted by his medallions. His idea was to create a continuation of commemorative half dollar size medallions similar to the United States commemorative coin series, which had ended in 1952. In 1961 the American Numismatic Association bestowed upon Bob the prestigious Edward T. Newall award. His most famous work to date is the 1971 W.R.N.C. counterstamp on 1956 Great Lakes Commemorative Half Dollars. This counterstamp, created for the fiftieth anniversary of the W.R.N.C., featured Moses Cleveland. Only 25 pieces were struck.
Example of the W.R.N.C Counterstamp
Photo Taken from internet archive Photo Taken from internet archive
First Press designed by McNamera and built by his neighbor Second Press owned by McNamera
Being a private mint. Bob also struck many tokens and medals for businesses and organizations. At one time there were three different presses being used. All of the "so called half dollars" were struck on a 1940s vintage converted hydraulic press which he purchased from Germany. It was a double arm, 150 ton swing screw press. This main press was recently sold to the Gallery Mint of Arkansas. It has been completely reconditioned and is again being used to strike more beautiful collectors' items.
All medallion planchets were supplied by Handy & Harmon and were half dollar diameter. They differed only in thickness. All pieces were struck in sterling silver and the first seven regular issues were also struck in 22 karat gold. Gold issues weighed 25.2 grams (389 grains). He explainsthat he has owned an American Bicentennial medallion struck over a South African Krugerrand; the undertype could clearly be seen. There were supposed to be a total of three test pieces struck.
1959 Alaska Admitted to The Union
An article by Don A. Smith:
https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/collector-keeps-fathers-legacy-alive-with-heraldic-art-medals.html
Taken from the link above CoinWorld had a short interview with D.A. Smith
Collector keeps father’s legacy alive with Heraldic Art Medals
D.A. Smith is a collector and researcher from Moorseburg, Tenn., with an unbridled passion for the prolific medallic art portfolio of Cleveland collector and medalist Robert McNamara. He can be reached via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
My interest in the late Robert McNamara of the Heraldic Art Medals Co. began in 2010 with the passing of my father. He was one of Robert’s original subscribers in the company’s Heraldic Art Medals mail-order program. When going through my father’s collection I found 61 of these medals, which I had never seen before.
They piqued my interest and so as a result it has been a four-and-a-half-year search for knowledge about Robert McNamara as well as an attempt to collect samples of all his works. It has been a very rewarding experience. The more I researched and learned, the more interested I became in both the man and his achievements. I just wish my father could see the collection I have assembled in his honor.
After I began my research my goal became that of both honoring my father’s memory and preserving the memory of McNamara and his work. When I started my quest there was very little information available anywhere, including the Internet, and I actually had no idea at the time of what I was getting into in my quest for a “complete collection” of Robert’s works or what that really meant. I found a lot of questions but no answers in the beginning of my search.
Over the last four and a half years, I have literally spent hundreds if not thousands of hours searching the internet, making trips to Cleveland, Ohio, where Robert lived, and searching for people who could share information about him.
In my travels, I attended many coin shows as I had hopes of acquiring medals that I didn’t yet have. I was fortunate to be able to meet people who knew Robert and his family personally, and learned a lot from those trips. As a result I wanted to share what I had learned with others and started my own website (www.heraldicartmedallions.com) to share that information for those who were also searching. I hope to update and add more information to that site in the very near future.
My time and efforts have paid off richly and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to assemble both the collection of medals that I have and the documents and library of articles and advertisements that I have.
Once I got interested in Heraldic Art Medals, I wanted to know as much about Robert McNamara and his works as possible. It’s a desire that still exists today as my search continues.
I will say that based on my research, Robert McNamara is definitely a person worthy of taking his place in the pages of numismatic history and of not only being remembered, but having his works of art preserved for future generations to be able to enjoy.
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