Product code #1001-23

The 2023 Official State Medallion was designed by Alaskan artist, Marti Bennett. These medallions are 1 oz proof and are packaged in a box and airtite container.  Proof sets are also available, these proof sets contain the 5 different size medallions packaged in airtite containers and a gift box. You can choose between single gold relief (gold on the fronts only) or double (gold on both sides) in the drop-down menu. We only build a few of these sets each year.

A few words from the artist:

My husband Richard and I retired and moved from Washington State to Eagle River in 2019. Although I lived most of my life in the lower 48, I was actually born and spent my childhood in Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, where my father was a missionary-bush pilot, so Alaska has always felt like home to me. With much of my family living in Alaska, we visited often through the years, and my husband came to love the state as much as I did.  He delighted in being able to use his photography hobby in the Alaskan wilderness and wildlife. We knew this was where we would eventually end up living.

I had an interest in art from childhood, but never had the opportunity to get any training, so didn’t do much with it.  I ended up marrying an Idaho farmer, and–with raising a family on a busy farm– there just wasn’t time or space to indulge in artistic endeavors. Then in 1999, our youngest child left for college and I decided to deal with the empty nest by trying my hand at some kind of art.  I wanted to do something a little “different,” so—after doing some research and talking to different artists–I decided to try painting on glass.  I discovered a French-made paint that did not require a kiln for firing, but could simply be cooked in a home oven.  I loved working with this medium, and began really working at my art and developing a style of my own.  Being a lover of wildlife, this is naturally what I began painting.  My subject matter was most often ALASKAN wildlife.  Being blessed with a photographer husband (and after many photography trips to Alaska), I had access to a full library of ideas from which to work.

As time went on, I was asked to paint specific projects on other surfaces—metal, stone, wood, canvas—and this required learning to use a variety of other paints. Most often this was acrylic.  I continue to expand my artistic horizons with different mediums—most recently metal gold pans—but still choose to paint subjects that express my love of what God has created in Alaska.

#1001-23