John F Kennedy's Harvard medallion likely to fetch $25k at auction

WASHINGTON: A bronze medallion, awarded to the former US President John F Kennedy during his time as a student at the Harvard University, is up for auction in the US and may fetch over USD 25,000.

The Harvard Crimson bronze medallion, measuring 38 millimetres in diameter, features a raised Harvard seal - a quill and a scroll.

The medallion, which was personally owned by Kennedy, also has raised lettering on the front, reading: "1873, The Harvard Crimson." The reverse is engraved, "John F Kennedy, '40."

"One of Kennedy's prized personal possessions, this remarkable Harvard Crimson pendant derives from his important college years and is a true museum-quality piece," according to the RR Auctions in the US.

The Harvard Crimson is Harvard University's daily student newspaper, for which Kennedy served as business editor during his studies there.

In 1940, Kennedy graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts in government, concentrating on international affairs.

His thesis, 'Appeasement in Munich,' about British participation in the Munich Agreement, soon became a bestseller under the title Why England Slept.

He criticised the British 'appeasement' toward Nazi Germany in a letter published in the Crimson on June 9, 1940, in which he observed:

'The failure to build up her armaments has not saved England from a war, and may cost her one. Are we in America to let that lesson go unlearned?'.