U.S. Coins 1905 – 2005
Eric Leonard, Vice President & Webmaster
www.crescentcitycoinclub.org
Timeline – 100 Years of Pocket Change
Relics, Renaissance, Reinvention, and Remarkable
Relics
Liberty Heads, Morgans, and Barber Coins
- Obverse: Allegories of Liberty; female figures wearing crowns, Phrygian Caps, laurels, and even war bonnets!
- Reverse: Mostly scrawny or spread eagles; also wreaths and a Roman numeral.
- Overall: Repetitious; half-hearted tribute to ancient coinage and American values.
Best of the Relics: Morgan Dollar 1878 – 1921
Designer: George Morgan
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
Mint: Philadelphia, Carson City, Denver, New Orleans, San Francisco
Obverse: The model for Lady Liberty was a philosophy instructor named Anna Williams who taught in a school near the Philadelphia mint. She lost her job when it became public that she posed for the coin.
Reverse: The eagle has upraised wings that frame the words, “In God We Trust” first added to U.S. coins in 1864.
Enter… Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt
He felt that American coinage was an embarrassment; he knew the power of imagery and admired ancient coinage.
Roosevelt disliked Barber Coins
Charles Barber was the Chief Engraver of the Mint
Charles Barber was overly traditional and more interested in designing coins that were easy to mint rather than artistic statements of American values.
Roosevelt Admired Ancient Coins and Art
Roosevelt felt strongly that American coins should have the same strength of message that ancient coins exhibited.
The “Beautiful Head” of Pergamon was carved in 165 B.C. and was thought by Roosevelt to be a model for Liberty. Other classic images that influenced the face of Liberty: Athena (Greek goddess) & Libertas (Roman Goddess)
You can see the resemblance with the “Beautiful Head” and proposed designs commissioned by Roosevelt created by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
Renaissance
Glorious Liberty, Indians, and a new symbol of Liberty
- Obverse: Allegories of Liberty (except Abraham Lincoln); male and female figures wearing crowns, Phrygian Caps, laurels, and even war bonnets!
- Reverse: Realistic eagles in flight and rest; also buffalo, wheat, and Roman faces.
- Overall: Imaginative; boldly influenced by ancient coinage and American values.
Roosevelt Felt Indians Symbolized America
Roosevelt felt strongly that American coins should have uniquely American symbols.
Inaugural Medal and the Gold Eagle
Roosevelt commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens to design his inaugural medal of 1905.
The reverse was later used on the $10 Gold Eagle!
The Legacy of Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Models and Final Form of the Double Eagle
Varieties of the Double Eagle
Roosevelt felt that Roman numerals were more fitting for a coin based on ancient Greek and Roman design.
Also, he did not appreciate the motto “In God We Trust” on coins because of separation of Church and State.
On both counts, he was overruled.
Adolph Weinman, Student of Saint-Gaudens
Adolph Weinman was born in Germany in 1870 and came to America in 1880. He studied under Saint-Gaudens.
Winged Liberty or “Mercury” Dime
1916 – 1945
Obverse
Lady Liberty is wearing a Phrygian cap with wings that symbolize “freedom of thought.” But people mistook her for the Greek god Mercury who was male and had wings on his feet!
Reverse
The faces, Roman symbol of authority, is a bundle of rods with an axe. An olive branch is behind the faces which represents a desire for peace. At the time, America was being pressed by Europe to join World War I.
Walking Liberty Half Dollar
1916 – 1947
Obverse
Lady Liberty with outstretched arm walking toward the rising sun draped in an American flag carrying a bundle of oak and laurel branches. She is wearing a Phrygian cap, Roman symbol of freed slaves.
This obverse is for silver bullion coins which began production in 1986.
Reverse
The American Bald Eagle perched on a mountain ledge with a pine sapling (an early symbol of “Young America”) in its right talon.
Saint-Gaudens One Cent Coin
Saint-Gaudens designed a one cent coin that was never minted.
Instead, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham
Lincoln, Victor David Brenner was commissioned to redesign the cent using a “specific symbol of Liberty.” It was argued that Lincoln was the “human embodiment of Liberty.”
Lincoln Cent Obverse
Brenner had previously sculpted a bronze plaque in honor of Lincoln.
President Theodore Roosevelt was shown the plaque during a visit to Brenner’s studio to discuss the design for a Panama Canal medal. Roosevelt was so impressed that he cancelled Saint-Gaudens’ redesign of the cent.
Lincoln Cent Reverse
Designed by Victor Brenner and originated in 1909 (100th anniversary of the birth of Lincoln), the original reverse had two curved heads of long-beard wheat flanking the denomination and inscription. The motto is positioned radially across the top.
Designed by Frank Gasparro and originated in 1959 (150th anniversary of the birth of Lincoln), the Lincoln Memorial is in the center with denomination below, inscription and motto above. This is the only U.S. coin with the same person on both sides!
Indian Head “Buffalo Nickel”
James Fraser, the designer of the Indian Head Five Cent or “Buffalo Nickel” used three different Indian chiefs to form the composite image on the obverse:
- Chief John Big Tree, a Seneca
- Chief Two Moons, a Cheyenne
- Chief Iron Tail, a Sioux
The Seneca was the model for the nose and forehead, the Sioux was the model for the cheek and chin, and the Cheyenne for the hair and headdress.
The buffalo on the reverse was a bison in the New York Zoo called “Black Diamond” which was sold for $700 in 1915 at the age of 20.
sed to 750 pounds of meat. His hide measured 15’ x 15’ and was made into a robe and his head was mounted.
Standing Liberty Quarter
Designed by Hermon MacNeil, the model for Lady Liberty was a 22 year old woman named Dora Doscher.
Two types of Standing Liberty Quarters were produced:
Type 1 with a partially nude Lady Liberty (1916 only).
Type 2 with chain mail on Lady Liberty and a redesigned eagle (1917 – 1930). Lady Liberty is holding an olive branch in her right hand for peace while carrying a shield for defense.
Peace Dollar
1921 – 1935
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as a beautiful woman wearing a crown similar to the one worn by the Statue of Liberty.
Designer Anthony DeFrancisci used his wife Teresa as the model.
Reverse: The eagle is at rest clutching an olive branch while looking into a rising sun suggesting the dawn of peace.
The Peace dollar was issued to mark the termination of hostilities between the
United States and Germany following World War I.
Reinvention
Heroes of History symbolize Liberty
Reinvention
Heroes of American History symbolize Liberty
- Obverse: Liberty symbolized by heroes of American history who actually lived!
- Reverse: Heraldic and landing eagles, torch, Monticello, and the Liberty Bell.
Overall: Honorable; bold statements of American values and accomplishment.
The Washington Quarter Obverse
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington, John Flanagan a pupil of Saint-Gaudens was commissioned to redesign the quarter.
Washington Quarter Reverse
The reverse displays a heraldic bald eagle standing on a bundle of arrows (reminiscent of the faces) above two laurel branches. In 1975 and 1976, in commemoration of the bicentennial of the United States, the reverse was changed to depict a Colonial drummer with a victory torch encircled by 13 stars.
Beginning in 1999 and continuing for 10 years, five states per year will be featured on the reverse of the quarter in the order of their admission to the Union.
Louisiana Quarter Features the Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase is considered one of the greatest real estate transactions in history.
On April 30, 1803, the United States, then just 27 years old, purchased from France all the lands drained by the Mississippi River for $15,000,000.
Even President Thomas Jefferson didn’t know how much land he was buying from Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. As it turns out, 827,987 square miles were purchased which would eventually become all or part of 17 states:
| Louisiana | Missouri | Arkansas | Iowa | Minnesota |
| Kansas | Nebraska | Colorado | North Dakota | South Dakota |
| Montana | Wyoming | Oklahoma | New Mexico | Texas |
| Mississippi | Alabama |
Thomas Jefferson is honored on U.S. Coins & Currency
Thomas Jefferson – Author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd President of the United States, Broker of the Louisiana Purchase, Commissioner of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Jefferson Nickel
1938 – Present
Obverse
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Jefferson, Felix Schlag was commissioned to redesign the nickel.
Reverse
Monticello, Jefferson’s home that he personally designed, inspired by the Greek Parthenon.
From 1942 through 1945, because of nickel shortages during World War II, the “nickel” was made without any nickel at all. It was composed of 56% copper, 35% silver, and 9% manganese. The large mint mark on the reverse indicates the change of metal.
Eisenhower Dollar
1971 – 1978
Designer: Frank Gasparro
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as General and President Dwight David Eisenhower.
Reverse: The eagle is landing on the moon holding an olive branch symbolic of peace. This is an adaptation of the Apollo 11 insignia. Apollo 11 was the first lunar landing which was accomplished on July 20, 1969.
Bicentennial Eisenhower Dollar
1975 – 1976
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as General and President Dwight David Eisenhower.
Reverse: The Liberty Bell is superimposed on the moon.
Dennis Williams designed the reverse which was selected from over 1,000 entries. The dual dated coins (1776-1976) were minted in both 1975 and 1976.
Roosevelt Dime
1946 – Present
Designer: John Sinnock
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, the only man elected
President 4 times. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 and the redesigned dime began circulation on January 30, 1946 (FDR’s birthday).
Reverse: A bundle of rods (reminiscent of the faces) with a flaming torch, symbolizing the eternal flame of freedom. On the left of the torch is a sprig of laurel (victory) and on the right a sprig of oak (strength).
Franklin Half Dollar
1948 – 1963
Designer: John Sinnock
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as Benjamin Franklin, the only man on U.S. coinage who was not a President.
Reverse: The Liberty Bell and a small eagle.
The small size of the eagle is in respect to Franklin’s opposition to the Bald Eagle as the symbol of America. Franklin did not support the idea of a bird of prey as the symbol for a country that stood for liberty and peace. He suggested the turkey!
Kennedy Half Dollar
Designer: Gilroy Roberts (obverse) and Frank Gasparro (reverse)
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as John
Fitzgerald Kennedy, World War II hero, Pulitzer Prize winning author, and President who was assassinated on November 22, 1963.Reverse: The Great Seal which was approved on June 20, 1782.
All But One Were Presidents
All of the men on U.S. coins were presidents, except Benjamin Franklin who was a writer, statesman, ambassador, inventor, and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Susan B. Anthony Dollar
1979 – 1981
Designer: Frank Gasparro
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as Susan Barton Anthony who participated in the suffrage movement which gave women the right to vote in 1920 (granted with the passage of the 19th Amendment – also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment) 14 years after Anthony died in 1906.
Reverse: Same design as the Eisenhower dollar.
The diameter was only 26.5 mm as opposed to 38.1 mm of previous dollar coins. Quarters are 24.3 mm, resulting in confusion and public dissatisfaction.
Remarkable
Glorious Liberty, Indians, and a new symbol of Liberty
Remarkable
State Celebration and an Expedition that Changed America
- Obverse: Liberty symbolized by heroes of American history who actually lived!
- Reverse: State selected heroes and symbols, eagles, and images of Lewis & Clark.
- Overall: Embraces the best of the past with the courage to change for the better.
50 State Quarter Program
1999 – 2008 (possibly longer)
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as George Washington, with some of the reverse devices moved to the obverse to make room for state designs
Reverse: State selected designs
Sacagawea Dollar
2000 – Present
Designer: Glenna Goodacre (obverse), Thomas Rogers (reverse)
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as Sacagawea with her infant son, Jean Baptiste.Reverse: The eagle volant is encircled by 17 stars representing the 17 states in 1804 when the Lewis and Clark Expedition began.
Sacagawea Dollar
A young Shoshone woman named Randy’L He-Dow Teton was the model for Sacagawea. At the time she posed, she was a 22 year old University of New Mexico college student.
In real life, Sacagawea was kidnapped by an enemy tribe at the age of 11 and sold into slavery. She was later traded to (or won in a bet by) a Frenchman named Toussaint Charbonneau who took her as his wife.
She was 15 years old and 6 months pregnant with Charbonneau’s child when she was hired by Lewis and Clark in 1804 to lead their expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase.
Comparison of the First and Recent Dollar Coins
The SBA and Sacagawea dollars have the same diameter of 26.5 mm, as opposed to 38.1 mm of previous dollars. Quarters are 24.3 mm, resulting in confusion and public dissatisfaction.
Jefferson Nickel – Westward Journey Series
Obverse: Liberty is depicted as Thomas Jefferson. Beginning in 2005, a departure from the stoic profile that has characterized the nickel since 1938.
Reverse: Various images from the Lewis and Clark Expedition commissioned by Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase.
In Summary… 100 Years of Pocket Change
Relics, Renaissance, Reinvention, and Remarkable
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