Design for Anwar El Sadat Congressional Gold Medal Unveiled
On Sept. 17, the United States Mint unveiled the designs for the Anwar El Sadat Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony led by Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Management,…
On Sept. 17, the United States Mint unveiled the designs for the Anwar El Sadat Congressional Gold Medal during a ceremony led by Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Management, David Eisner. The ceremony was held in the Department of the Treasury’s Cash room and among attendance were members of the Sadat family along with representatives from Egypt and other nations.
“We are eternally grateful for President Sadat’s contributions towards peace in the Middle East,” said Director Ryder. “Through this medal, the United States honors a courageous man of principle, vision, and wisdom, who brought hope and unity in a world filled with conflict and divisiveness.”
On Dec. 13, 2018, Congress authorized this award in recognition of Sadat’s achievements and contributions to peace in the Middle East. He was the first Arab leader to visit Israel and engaged in negotiations with Prime Minister Begin, which resulted in the “Camp David Accords.” Soon after negotiations, they signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty at the White House on Mach 26, 1979. This resulted in Egypt becoming the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel.
The medal’s obverse, designed by United States Mint Chief Engraver Joseph Menna, portrays a large portrait of Anwar El Sadat facing right with the inscription “ANWAR EL SADAT” incused along the right border. According to the U.S. Mint, the composition is designed for the portrait to be sculpted in the manner of ancient Egyptian relief, with the figure inset into the surface of the medal and its features sculpted flush with the medal’s surface. The reverse, designed by Artistic Infusion Program Artist Donna Weaver, features the Unknown Soldier Memorial and Anwar El Sadat’s tomb with the inscriptions “HE LIVED FOR PEACE AND DIED FOR PRINCIPLES,” “ANWAR EL SADAT 1918-1981,” and “ACT OF CONGRESS 2018.”
The Anwar El Sadat Congressional Gold Medal design will be struck at the United States Mint at Philadelphia.
For more information about the Anwar El Sadat Congressional Gold Medal, visit www.usmint.gov.
