Some of the artifacts in the National Corvette Museum’s collection are actually small collections themselves. One notable example is a set of medallions celebrating the Corvette’s 40th anniversary, which was donated to the Museum by George Biederman. Produced by Pacific Mint in 1993, the set includes a total of 60 medallions, each one showing an image of a Corvette and the crossed flags emblem that corresponds to the Corvette’s generation. The medallions are 1.25 inches tall, two inches wide, and .125 inches thick. They are made of sterling silver, although a coating of translucent enamel covers the top of each one. This coating gives the medallions the appearance of large, brightly colored postage stamps.
Collectors could order the medallions by mail on a month-to-month basis. The set is divided into three cases, each holding 20 medallions. To get the total number to 60, Pacific Mint released two medallions for several Corvette model years, often to represent the coupe and convertible body styles in the set. Other medallions feature special edition or landmark Corvettes like the 25th Anniversary Edition from 1978 and the 1990 ZR-1. The final medallion in the set depicts the 40th Anniversary Corvette, released in 1993.
The National Corvette Museum’s automobile collection includes several of the cars featured in the Pacific Mint set, including a 25th Anniversary Edition Corvette donated by Craig and Sharon Conde. This car’s most distinguishing attribute is its two-toned silver paint, which consists of bright silver on the upper surface and dark silver on the lower surface, separated by silver pinstriping. Although the car also came with aluminum wheels and sport mirrors, the silver paint was what ultimately set this Corvette apart from others in 1978. A total of 15,283 25th Anniversary Corvettes were sold, and their production began the custom of General Motors periodically releasing special Corvettes for the car’s milestone anniversaries. As the Corvette turns 72 this month, enthusiasts have no shortage of collectibles celebrating the evolution of America’s Sports Car.
