A Business Where Clinton Shines

President-elect Bill Clinton struck a blow for small business, and a small business is striking a medal for him.

Hoffman & Hoffman, a Carmel, Calif., company, is minting the official inaugural medal, featuring Clinton on the front and a pastoral scene with the presidential seal suspended in the sky on the back. The company nearly doubled its usual work force of 20 to produce tens of thousands of medals it expects to sell.

Clinton and wife Hillary reportedly chose the design from five entries. Giants such as Franklin Mint traditionally win.

Co-founder Charles Hoffman had confidently commissioned a sculpture for the medal well before the election. “I felt akin to Clinton because we were two guys building our business from scratch,” he said.