American Art Collaborative

Congress authorized a special gold medal honoring the sacrifice of the citizens of the French city of Verdun during World War I. The Commission of Fine Arts held a limited competition for medal designs in early 1920, and this medal is one of Paul Manship’s proposed designs. On the obverse, a female figure holds a shield inscribed with the initials of the Republic of France; on the reverse, a French and an American soldier cross bayonets before the city’s walls. Below, the motto reads “They Shall Not Pass.