King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew unveiled the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional Gold Medal.

The medal unveiled Thursday morning at the U.S. Treasury in Washington is inscribed with “hero of heroes” beneath the likeness of the Swedish diplomat who rescued thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.

On the flip side, a depiction of a hand distributing the protective passports that Wallenberg distributed among Hungarian Jews is accompanied by the text, “He lives on forever through those he saved” and “One person makes a difference.”

Lew in his remarks noted that Wallenberg traveled to Hungary as part of an effort initiated by the U.S. War Refugee Board to protect Hungary’s Jews; the board was founded at the behest of Henry Morgenthau, like Lew, a Jewish U.S. treasury secretary.

“It is fitting that we are gathered here at the Treasury Department, just two floors below the very rooms in which the War Refugee Board was established, to pay tribute to Raoul Wallenberg,” Lew said. “A man who chose not to be indifferent to the suffering around him. Who put his own career and life at risk to arrange for the rescue of people he did not know, and whose legacy of courage and self-sacrifice touched not just the men and women that he was able to help, but also future generations.”

Also present at the ceremony were members of Wallenberg’s family and Annette Lantos, the widow of Rep. Tom lantos (D-Calif.), a Holocaust survivor who was saved by Wallenberg and led the effort in 1981 to confer honorary U.S. citizenship on the diplomat.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), who with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.) initiated the legislation that awarded the medal, also spoke at the ceremony.

A broad range of Jewish community groups convened as the Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Commission voted to advocate for the recognition in 2012, the centenary of Wallenberg’s birth. The commission was spearheaded by the Friedlander Group, a lobbying outfit.

Wallenberg disappeared while being escorted out of Hungary toward the Soviet Union. The Soviets claimed that he died of a heart attack in 1957, but other evidence indicated that he was killed in Lubyanka prison or that he may have lived years longer.

The Congressional Gold Medal has been conferred since the American Revolution to honor “the highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions.” It was first awarded to George Washington.

Medal winners need not be Americans. Past honorees include Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter; Natan and Avital Sharansky, who led activism on behalf of Soviet Jews; the Dalai Lama; and Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A medal issued by the Magnes Musuem in California, United States in 1982 depicts Raoul Wallenberg cloaking and protecting thousands. The 110 mm-diameter medal was designed by Marika Somogyi of the United States and cast in bronze with patina finish and bronze with patina finish proofs.

The 42.5 mm-diameter medal was issued by the Raoul Wallenberg Society in Hungary in 1990 in 925-proof silver in memory of Raoul Wallenberg and for the minorities.

The 42.5 mm-diameter medal inscribed with a Latin phrase describing Raoul Wallenberg: Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. The medal was designed by Gyorgy Bognar of Hungary, minted in 999-proof silver in different thicknesses and weights and issued by Fotex-American-Hungarian Company.

The 75 mm-diameter medal was issued by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation in the United States in 2000 in memory of Raoul Wallenberg, a hero without a grave. The designer was Cecilia Minces of Minces Silversmith Studio in Argentina and cast by Estudio Minces in Argentina in alloy, antique silver and gilded.

The medal honors Raoul Wallenberg as a righteous gentile diplomat. The medal was designed by Alex Shagin of the United States and Igal Gabai of Israel and issued by the Israel Government Coins and Medals Corporation in 2003-2004. The medal was struck by the Hecht Ltd in Israel in 59 mm-diameter bronze and 50 mm-diameter silver.

The one-sided 108 mm-diameter medal pays homage to Raoul Wallenberg. It was cast in bronze and issued privately by the designer Csari Lajos of Hungary.

These numismatic pieces of Raoul Wallenberg are found in Severin Szperling’s collection, a widely-known collector of Holocaust medals and coins.

Medal collector, Severin Szperling, is always searching for new medals. He can be contacted at Jam1442@aol.com with any new medals or information.

Photos and editing by Julie S. Keane. She can be contacted at JulieSKeane@msn.com.