Fellow American medallic artists Jamie Franki and Heidi Wastweet have once again pooled their talents to design the American Numismatic Association’s 135th anniversary convention medal for 2026 recognizing the “Steel City” of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The 2026 issue marks the artists’ third collaboration, following their highly successful artistic partnerships for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, convention in 2018 and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, convention  in 2025.

According to the ANA’s project narrative, the 2026 anniversary medal “honors a monumental turning point in numismatic history while celebrating the industrial spirit of the ‘Steel City.’ Following the United States Mint’s decision to stop striking the one-cent coin for circulation, the 2026 medal recognizes the legacy of the historic 1943 steel cent, originally struck to conserve copper for military equipment during World War II.

“The medal masterfully reimagines Victor David Brenner’s classic cent composition to showcase quintessential landmarks of Pittsburgh.”

The Bureau of the Mint terminated production of Lincoln cents in 2025 at the direction of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after President Donald Trump ordered the denomination be eliminated from circulation output since the costs to produce and distribute the coins into commerce was nearly four times its face value.

Lincoln cents are still being struck at the Denver and Philadelphia Mints for inclusion in annual Uncirculated Mint sets and in Proof finish at the San Francisco Mint for inclusion in annual regular Proof and silver Proof sets.

The obverse of the ANA medal “depicts industrial steelworkers constructing a giant penny made of riveted sheet metal. Behind their work-in-progress, stylized elements of Pittsburgh’s iconic skyline rise into view, seamlessly blending Brenner’s classic framework with the city’s manufacturing heritage,” according to the design narrative.

Inscribed around the top border above Lincoln’s portrait is WORLD’S FAIR OF MONEY. Lincoln’s portrait bisects the convention dates, AUGUST 25 ~ 29 and 2026. Franki’s and Wastweet’s designer’s initials appear in the field just below 2026.

The medal’s reverse design illustrates “one of Pittsburgh’s famous Duquesne Incline railcars, artfully occupying the exact position held by the Lincoln Memorial on the traditional cent. The design honors the historic 1877 funicular, a cable-driven, counterbalanced railway system that still lifts passengers 400 feet up Mount Washington for iconic views of the city’s skyline and three rivers.”

Inscribed along the top border is AMERICAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION. Below is 135th • ANNUAL /  • CONVENTION • / PITTSBURGH.

DUQUESNE INCLINE is inscribed on the side of the railcar.

There is a second funicular railway in Pittsburgh — the 156-year-old Monongahela that connects Station Square in the city’s South Side to Mount Washington on Grandview Avenue.

Franki (https://studentunion.charlotte.edu/franki) is one of the most prolific designers in the history of the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money medals program. Franki is recognized as the designer of the 2005 Westward Journey, Bison Reverse for the 5-cent coin and the obverse of the new portrait Jefferson 5-cent coin introduced in 2006 and continued into current use for the denomination.

Wastweet has sculpted and designed thousands of coins and medals over the span of a long, impactful career in the medallic arts. Wastweet (www.wastweetstudio.com/) is a past president of the American Medallic Sculpture Association, a former member of the Citizens’ Coinage Advisory Committee with special experience in medallic sculpture, and was selected as the winner of the prestigious 2024 ANA Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture.

Franki and Wastweet have also served stints as outside artists contributing their talents to the U.S. Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program (www.usmint.gov/learn/artists?)

Medals and convention bars can be ordered directly through the World’s Fair of Money platform, with a form accessible from https://www.money.org/worldsfairofmoney-collectibles/.

Quantities are limited.

The official convention medals are available in bronze (2.75-inch medal) for $90.

Convention bars are available for $6.50 each, or as a bar and pin holder set for $22.50 per set.

Collectibles will be mailed after Sept. 7, 2026.

Medalcraft Mint in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is striking the ANA convention medal. Medalcraft Mint is noted for the production of a number of presidential inaugural medals.