Weinman Takes Two Out of Three
Back in 1892, design changes were implemented for the dime, quarter dollar, and half dollar. As the most widely circulating silver coins within the United States, these coins were seen as a tangible representation of the country. With the prior designs in place for more than 50 years, it was time for a change. All three coins would adopt the same obverse design by Charles E. Barber featuring the head of Liberty. Although this was a change, it was not very well received.
After a period of only 25 years, the designs were to be changed once again. This time all three denominations would feature different designs. Rather than having the Mint’s chief engraver prepare the designs, leading artists of the day were called upon. The Director of the Mint invited Hermon A. MacNeil, Albin Polasek, and Adolph A. Weinman to create designs for the coins. The presumed goal was to have one artist design each coin. The submission of designs yielded a different result with Weinman’s designs selected for the dime and half dollar and MacNeil’s design selected for the quarter.
The Mercury Dimes, as they would come to be called, featured Liberty in a winged cap to represent “Liberty of thought”. This peculiar headpiece led the series to its common name. The reverse featured fasces and an axe, which represented authority, with an olive branch in the background. The series was well received by the public with many first year of issue coins saved as souvenirs, although the Denver issue would have a prohibitively low mintage.
Weinman’s other design was for the Walking Liberty Half Dollars, like the ten cent piece, the new design was adopted in 1916. The obverse design featured an elegant full figure depiction of Liberty in a flowing dress. She walks towards a rising sun carrying a bouquet of olive branches with a flag draped across her shoulders. The reverse featured an eagle on a rocky outcropping. This design has been viewed as one of the most beautiful in the history of U.S. coinage.
MacNeil’s design for the Standing Liberty Quarter had the shortest duration within circulation. Liberty was depicted standing within a gate on the obverse, with a flying eagle pictured on the reverse. The series was cut short when the denomination was selected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Washington in 1932.
The famous sculptor Albin Polasek did not have any of his designs chosen. Although he remains a well known and celebrated artist, he has no coin designs to his credit.
The Incredible Shrinking Dollar Coin
How do you get a dollar coin to circulate? The United States government has been trying to answer this question with little measure of success for many years. Initially silver dollars were used as backing for silver certificates and did circulate within the western states where hard money was preferred.
Five years after the silver content was removed from circulating coinage, the US Mint issued the first dollar coins struck in a composition of copper and nickel. The Eisenhower Dollars had the same 38.1 mm diameter that had been used for actual silver dollars, despite containing no precious metal content. Although the Ike Dollar was minted for eight years, it did not widely circulate since it was viewed as too heavy and bulky to be practical.
In 1979, the US Mint attempted to solve the problem of size by shrinking the dollar coin. The Susan B. Anthony Dollar would have a diameter of only 26.5 mm. The weight was reduced from 22.68 grams for the prior series to only 8.1 grams. At the time of release, the convenience compared to the old dollar coin and current paper dollar notes was touted.
The efforts were for naught, as the reduced size replaced inconvenience with confusion. Since the coins were close in diameter to the quarter dollar, which was 24.3 mm, the public was quickly frustrated with the new Susan B. Anthony Dollars and shunned them in retail transactions. circulating coin production took place for two years before being halted. The coins were minted only for collectors for one more year in 1981, with an additional odd reprise in 1999.
Long Tradition Broken by Supply Constraints
Following authorization granted by Congress in 1985, the United States Mint began production of a new series of gold coins. Targeted towards precious metals investors the coins would be struck in 22 karat gold and contain even weights of pure gold. Sizes included one troy ounce and fractional weights of one-half, one-quarter, and one-tenth ounce. When the first bullion coins were available to the public in 1986, a proof version was also sold to collectors.
Striking Gold Eagles for both precious metals investors and coin collectors became a long standing tradition. Each year the bullion coins would be distributed through a network of authorized purchaser would would acquire the coins based on the price of gold plus a fixed markup. The collector coins would be offered in limited quantities directly from the US Mint to the public, generally at fixed prices.
Offerings of Proof Gold Eagles continued each year from 1986 to 2006, when the coins celebrated their 20th anniversary with a special offering. A popular set containing a proof, uncirculated, and reverse proof version of the 2006 Gold Eagle sold out within a few weeks. Just a few years after this high point, collectors experienced a let down, when the proof coins were canceled in 2009.
The US Mint cited the continuing increased demand for bullion coins. By law, these coins must be minted in quantities needed to meet full public demand. Supply constraints were limiting the number of precious metals blanks that the Mint could acquire. Since the proof versions were not legally mandated, production was canceled in favor of striking more bullion versions.