Department of Commerce Silver Medal Department of Commerce Silver Medal The Department of Commerce Silver Medal is the second highest of three honor awards of the United States Department of Commerce. Since 1949, the Silver Medal is presented by the Secretary of Commerce for exceptional service. The award may be presented to an individual, group, or organization in the Commerce Department for noteworthy or superlative contributions which have a direct and lasting impact with the department. The annual Department of Commerce Gold and Silver Medal Awards ceremony is held each fall at the Ronald Reagan Amphitheater in Washington, D.C.. An individual and members of a
Medal for Merit the joint declaration of the United Nations and of other friendly foreign nations", the medal has not been awarded since 1952. The first medals were awarded to John C. Garand and Albert Hoyt Taylor on March 28, 1944. The Medal for Merit is currently listed as seventh in order of precedence of U.S. civilian decorations, below the Silver Lifesaving Medal and above the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal. Civilians of foreign nations could receive the award for the performance of an exceptionally meritorious or courageous act or acts in furtherance of the war efforts of the Allies against the Axis