The design for each medallion is sculpted by artist Fred Kreitchet. Beginning
with a ten inch plaster model, Kreitchet sculpts
in high bas-relief all the various figures and details of the design. In
"Liberty/Peace," issued in 1986, you’ll see the meticulously carved faces of
some forty immigrants and the word "peace" inscribed in 16 translations
representing 22 languages. Former president Ronald Reagan referred to this
design as a "labor of love." Mr. Kreitchet himself immigrated to the United
States in 1956. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University
of Pennsylvania. The artist also teaches, and does extensive commission work
including the Philadelphia Zoological Society’s "Treehouse" project which won
the AIA (Architectural Institute of America) Gold Medal Award. More recently,
Mr. Kreitchet was commissioned to create a life size moose for an outdoor
installation by Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness, New Hampshire.