In 1986, the Thomas Jefferson Institute sold “freedom medals” to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The bronze medals were designed locally and sold for twenty dollars. Designed by Scott Howson, they were cast by Wegner Metal Arts, where a twenty-five-step process was required to create them.
About three inches in diameter, one side depicted the likeness of Jefferson, while the other depicted the dates he drafted the statute in Fredericksburg. Dr. Leidecker said that they had originally petitioned Congress to issue the medal in 1977, which was the actual two hundredth anniversary of the drafting of the statute. Unfortunately, they denied the request. Leidecker remained dedicated to the project, and all those years later, he finally saw his efforts come to fruition. “We celebrate people,” he said in an interview with the Free Lance-Star. “Why not celebrate their ideas?”