August 21, 2017

The eclipse of August 21, 2017 was the most widely experienced total solar eclipse ever seen in the United States. It is estimated that about 12 million people live within the path of totality, and that the population within the path doubled on Eclipse Day.

Eclipse Across America

The Eclipse Across America series of medals highlights nine key locations:

• landfall at Boiler Bay, Oregon;
• leaving land behind at Cape Romain, South Carolina;
• crossing the Continental Divide in Wyoming;
• maximum duration in the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois; and
• passage over five state capitals (Salem, OR; Lincoln, NE; Jefferson City, MO; Nashville, TN; and Columbia, SC).

The common obverse shows the path of totality from Pacific to Atlantic over a map of North America, centered on the point of greatest duration. Nine dots along the path indicate the nine key locations, each with its own location-specific medal. A trans-continental reverse lists the key locations and the times at which totality began at each.

The location-specific reverses share a similar design, with an eclipsed sun and the location's name in the center. The surrounding legend states the time at which totality began and the duration of totality. The legend rotates around the different reverses so that the central symbol in an eclipse sequence appears at the azimuth of the eclipse at that location. For example, in the Continental Divide reverse, the symbol appears at 136 degrees (with zero degrees at the bottom and 180 degrees at the top).

Wind River Eclipse

The high altitude and dry climate of Fremont County, Wyoming offered outstanding conditions for viewing the total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017. The eclipse center line followed the Old Yellowstone Highway and passed very close to the communities of Dubois, Crowheart, Pavillion, Riverton and Shoshoni. The entire Wind River Indian Reservation, home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho, experienced at least a short period of totality.

Each series features a common obverse The two series are linked by a medal combining the two obverses, and also by a location common to both: the Continental Divide.