# 59742 - 2004 Ronald Reagan Gold Plated Medal First Day Cover

 

Issued July 4, 2004 – the year President Reagan passed away.  Includes official presidential medal struck by the US Mint, layered in 24k gold with a quote from his 1981 Inaugural Address inscribed.

 

 

Ronald Wilson Reagan, who was known as the “Great Communicator,” was born to a poor Illinois family on February 6, 1911.  He was interested in drama as a boy and got a sports broadcasting job after graduating from college.  A screen test at Warner Brothers in 1937 led to an acting career that lasted nearly 30 years.  He appeared in over 50 films and served as President of the Screen Actors Guild.

 

Politically, Reagan started out as a liberal Democrat.  By the early 1950s, however, he was a conservative, and he joined the Republican Party in 1962.  He was elected governor of California in 1966 and again in 1970.  As Governor of California, he earned a national reputation for his genuineness and sense of humor.

 

Proclaiming the values of work, family, patriotism, and self-reliance, Reagan won a landslide victory in 1980, becoming the 40th President of the United States.  After only a few months in office, the popular President was wounded in an attempted assassination. 

 

Termed the “Reagan Revolution,” Reagan’s time as President ushered in a new era of conservative thought and “helped create a safer, freer world.”  His administration introduced the greatest across-the-board tax cuts in U.S. history as well as “Reaganomics,” a series of policies that cut government spending and inflation. 

 

After winning the 1984 election with the most electoral votes in history, Reagan adjusted the income tax code, leading to one of the longest periods of peacetime prosperity.  His administration was also pivotal to the later fall of the Soviet Union and end of the Cold War.  Since his administration, Reagan’s popularity has continued to rise and his influence and ideals are still prominent in today’s Republican Party.