Medallion Commemorates Bedford 250th Anniversary

This medallion honors Bedford County of Virginia and its 250th anniversary celebration, which begins in January 2004. Designed by historian Peter Viemeister, it is 1.5 inches in diameter, 22K gold plated, and contains one troy ounce of .999 pure silver. “Like the county it honors”, he said, ”this new keepsake symbolizes excellence.”

One side represents the shield of the Fourth Duke of Bedford, then Britain’s secretary of state, for whom the county was named when it was established in 1754, and derives from an old print of the original coat of arms in the Bedford Public Library. The original shows a crown-topped shield with animals on each side, a motto beneath, and a goat above. Features of the design have changed over the years to better represent life of the area. For example, above the portico of the courthouse is a version that deleted the animals surrounding the shield and substituted stalks of corn and tobacco. A Bedford Historical Society book mark enlarged the motto, ‘Che sara sara’ for legibility. That motto, popularized by Doris Day in a song, means “whatever will be will be.” Viemeister replaced the goat with a cow because there are far more cattle in Bedford than goats.
 
The other side of the medallion includes the dates 1754-2004 and ‘semiquincentennial’ which, the designer notes, “is a word meaning ‘250th anniversary’.” Portrayed is the Bedford County Courthouse, the center of the justice system, based upon a 2003 photograph. This structure, the County’s fifth courthouse, was originally built in 1932, and substantially enlarged and renovated in 2002. 
 
This elegant medallion, in a protective capsule, comes in a velvet drawstring pouch.

Price is $39.00. Virginia residents add $1.75 sales tax.
Packing and shipping $4.50.

Privately conceived and produced in very limited quantity by
Hamilton’s P.O. Box 932 , Bedford VA 24523

Craftsman prepares medallion die.