It's a solid 3-inch round medallion, 1/4-inch thick, and weighs about 2 pounds in my hand. I got a nice letter that still sits with it. I was in the Renaissance art show at the Mint right before things really started shutting down. I have no idea what art I did was in the show.
I did conceptual product design art for them for a wide variety of collectible products. I had done all my work traditionally, as there were only a few who were doing stuff digitally. I think there were only two guys who did everything completely digitally in there at that time. Everyone else was mostly using traditional art mediums.
I was there from June 1997 to September 1999. I started as a freelancer, then several months later was invited into the in-house art department where I had a cubicle. They let me go (with a bunch of other creatives in late '99), and I was then doing freelance for them in 2000 to 2001. What happened then is what just happened just recently with Disney getting rid of the in-house conceptual design department for Marvel Studios. They gutted the department and are just bringing people back on a contract basis per-film.
Things were slowly changing there at the Mint in the fall 1999, you could feel a shift in the air there.
Luckily, there was a bright spot!
I had, literally, just done my Scooby-Doo audition around that time... and it changed everything...
Talk about perfect timing! It was an absolute game-changer for me! The last three months of 1999 were the start of non-stop Scooby-Doo projects for me that led straight through into Summer of 2001!
I still have fond memories of The Franklin Mint!
I would also get some freelance work a couple years later when one of the Mint's art directors had started working for The Bradford Exchange!
Some new photos of the award are below and I added it to my awards list on my LinkedIn profile.
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