Congressional Gold Medal

== Process of awarding ==
A difference between a Congressional Gold Medal and a Presidential Medal of Freedom is that the Presidential Medal of Freedom is personally awarded by the [[President of the United States]], while Congressional Gold Medals are awarded by Acts of Congress. Congress may, however, authorize the President to present the award.

Per committee rules, legislation bestowing a Congressional Gold Medal upon a recipient must be co-sponsored by two-thirds of the membership of both the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and the [[United States Senate|Senate]] before their respective committees—the [[House Committee on Financial Services]] and the [[Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs]]—will consider it.<ref name=CRS />

[[File:Congressional Gold Medal presented to Col. Charles A. Lindbergh.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Medal awarded to [[Charles Lindbergh|Charles A. Lindbergh]] in 1930]]

A Congressional Gold Medal is designed by the [[United States Mint]] to specifically commemorate the person and achievement for which the medal is awarded. Medals are therefore different in appearance, and there is no standard design. Congressional Gold Medals are considered non-portable, meaning that they are not meant to be worn on a uniform or other clothing, but rather displayed.

In rare instances, miniature versions have been made or converted for wear on clothing, suspended from a ribbon. Examples are the [[Cardenas Medal]] for [[Frank H. Newcomb]], the Jarvis Medal for [[David H. Jarvis]], the [[Jeannette Medal]] for the men of the [[Jeannette Expedition|''Jeannette'' expedition]], the [[Byrd Antarctic Expedition Medal]] for the men of the [[Richard E. Byrd#First Antarctic expedition (1928–1930)|First Byrd expedition of 1928–1930]], and the [[NC-4 Medal]] for the men who completed the first transatlantic flight in May 1919. The latter was authorized in 1935 by {{USPL|74|43}} allowing the Secretary of the Navy to authorize—at his discretion—the wearing of commemorative or other special awards on Navy or Marine Corps uniforms, in military-sized form.<ref>{{cite wikisource |title = United States Statutes at Large|volume = 49|wslink = United States Statutes at Large/Volume 49/74th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 82|date = 1936|location = Washington|publisher = [[Government Printing Office|GPO]]|page = 162|scan = Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 49 Part 1.djvu/207}}</ref>

Often, [[bronze]] versions of the medals are struck for sale by the U.S. Mint, and may be available in both larger and smaller sizes. In at least one case, the John Wayne Congressional Medal, private dealers bought large numbers of the bronze version. They were then [[gold plate]]d and resold to the public for a significant profit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n04a23.html|title=John Wayne Congressional Medal |website=www.coinbooks.org}}</ref>

The Congressional Gold Medal is distinct from the [[Medal of Honor]], a military decoration for extreme bravery in action, and from the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]], presented by [[NASA]] for extraordinary accomplishment in United States space exploration.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/spacemedal.htm|title=Congressional Space Medal of Honor}}</ref>