Celebrating the Republic: A Call for Broader Representation in Coin Themes
Casabrown
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Hello My Friends
As a former Chair of the CCAC and a collector of modern proof and mint state circulating and commemorative coins, I wrote a guest commentary to appear in the August 19, 2024 issue of Coin World. A Word version is attached.
I am interested in hearing your thoughts on how to best celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the US in 2026, by including Americans beyond numismatists.
Many thanks
2
Comments
Sorry but can not open or read MS Word document.
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Contents of document:
Celebrating the Republic: A Call for Broader Representation in Coin Themes
As a former Chair of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), I had the privilege to participate in early discussions on how the US Mint would commemorate the semiquincentennial of the United States. These discussions, enriched by the input of various governmental agencies, highlighted the diverse perspectives and robust opinions within the CCAC.
Upon reading the Coin World report on the CCAC recommendations to the Treasury Secretary, I felt a mix of anticipation and apprehension. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, proposed as themes for two of the quarters, undoubtedly mark pivotal moments in our nation's history. However, my concern lies in how we narrate additional stories of our nation from these early beginnings. Reflecting on Benjamin Franklin's famous words, "A republic, if you can keep it," it seems fitting to include noteworthy events where the nation has strived to uphold the republic in our celebration.
The United States has experienced numerous monumental events since its founding. As a veteran, I recognize the profound impact of wars, such as the Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Additionally, despite our current political divisions, many historians argue that the Civil Rights Movement, Women's Suffrage, major sporting events like the Olympics, and scientific and technical advancements such as the invention of the telephone or the development of vaccines and space exploration, should also be celebrated as key contributions to the republic.
Numismatists, especially those focused on modern commemorative coins, benefit from learning about these historic events. Unfortunately, these themes are often absent from circulating US coins, limiting public awareness. While I do not have all the answers, I propose three suggestions:
1. Broader Themes for Additional Quarters:
o Efforts to Achieve a More Perfect Union: Highlight flashpoints or inflection points where Americans have shaped the country’s future or defended its founding ideals.
o America’s Strength Against International Tyranny: Showcase achievements like Jesse Owens' historic performance at the 1936 Olympics or the heroism displayed during the 1946 D-Day invasion.
o Celebrating Women’s Contributions: Recognize figures such as those from the phenomenal female African American mathematicians (celebrated in the 2017 "Hidden Figures” movie), whose scientific achievements were crucial to space exploration and serve as role models for youth to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
2. Public Engagement in Coin Design:
o My appointment to the CCAC was to represent public interest and, as a result, I was often inspired by inquiries from citizens. Despite the US Mint’s efforts to involve the public in selecting themes for coins, many numismatists and the public remain unaware of their role in this process. This indicates a need for a thorough review of the US Mint's strategies for educating the public about how stories and history are communicated through coins and medals.
Collaboration with Communication Experts:
o The US Mint could benefit from partnering with experts across various industries to enhance public education on current and future coin themes. Lessons learned from the State Quarters Program (1999-2008) should inform the marketing of initiatives like the American Women Quarters program. As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, it is crucial to embrace Franklin's wisdom: “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Incorporating these suggestions can help ensure that the commemoration of our nation’s semiquincentennial is as inclusive and representative of our rich history as possible, representing the beginning and providing stories of how challenges were met over the history of this nation.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Those themes do not necessarily have to be expressed in coin designs themselves or even in 2026. Even after 2026, there are opportunities that exist afterwards. One idea I have been kicking around for the 2030s would be having Seated Liberty Quarters and Half Dollars being the only circulating Quarter and Half Dollar design between 2037 and 2041, but I would have various coin and chronicles sets being sold to the general public during that time, including in retail stores and school book fairs which would include various events between 1837 and 1891. This way, we do not have 5 Quarter designs every year in perpetuity and have a break and a static Half Dollar every year for a bit, while also getting America's story out there. I would even have the series run between 2037 (200th anniversary of the start of Seated Liberty circulating coinage) and 2041 (150th anniversary of the end of Seated Liberty circulating coinage). Also the general public can now get an idea of our coinage history.
The events surrounding 1776 should be able to stand alone as an historical theme without being watered down with "interpretive" themes that have nothing to with 1776. There's a relentless effort to distort/remove actual history and replace it with modern interpretations. This proposal is just more of that. Also, D-Day was 1944, not 1946.
Very interesting comments and thanks for catching the typo
It's not "interesting" if you apply a consistent standard.
Let's take the 1997 Jackie Robinson commemorative program for example. Instead of letting that stand on it's own, respecting and honoring Jackie Robinson and his accomplishments, imagine if a committee of people decided that we need to honor "courage in baseball" and one of the coins must include a representation of Pete Gray, the one armed player who played for the St Louis Browns in 1945. You know, because we need to be inclusive and he represents the courage of handicapped players.
I think you would rightly understand that as diminishing Jackie's accomplishments no matter how worthy Pete Gray's accomplishments are.
If you want a Jesse Owens or "hidden figures" coin, then advocate for that as a separate program and stop trying to diminish (and disrespect) what our founding fathers accomplished in 1776. Let it stand on it's own as an historical achievement.
While I do not agree with your perspective, I respect your view.
Understandably, one cannot please everyone all the time. Yet, decisions are necessary to determine which themes capture best how one celebrates pivotal events. As a collector of proof and mint strike commemorative coins, I have been fortunate to see a more comprehensive range of historical events and individuals than is captured in circulating coins. By using a few examples, I am making the point of a more inclusive telling of our history available to a much wider audience than numismatists.
I hope my comments speak to more inclusive themes and not just modern themes.
Thank you for your comments.
I appreciate the OP coming here for comments and feedback. However, I am not optimistic about this program after reading his post.
The 250th anniversary of 1776 is (or should be) exactly that. The history is known and established. It should not be used as an excuse to promote narratives or agendas.
Right now we are in the middle of two coin programs (quarters and Native American dollars) that celebrate specific segments of the population. Is every future coin program going to be used to divide the population by demographics?
The events of 1776 should be commemorated, along with the values and ideals and rights of our Nation's founding.
Respectfully, let me suggest that the bold comment above is the problem. You're approaching it from the wrong perspective. The goal shouldn't be to please anyone. The goal should be to commemorate the historical even at hand, whatever that is.
In the Jackie Robinson example above, no one was trying to please anyone. It was just a straight forward program to commemorate his achievements. The idea that we need to "please" people, or "include" people who had nothing to do with the event at hand, is why these programs are not well received.
The events being commemorated occurred in 1776. Almost everything you mentioned in your original post happened decades or centuries later. Clearly you are looking to use the Semiquincentennial to promote alot of other things.
As @Manifest_Destiny mentioned, your goal should not be to "please" anyone. If you just commemorate the events that actually occurred 250 years ago then no one can complain.
If you want to recognize a laundry list of mostly worthy individuals, why not have a separate coin program for them. Maybe use the quarter for that since the denomination has already been hijacked for almost every conceivable purpose.
I'm starting to wonder if the CCAC has outlived it's usefulness. Most anything designed by committee leaves something to be desired.
I think the Civil War, D-Day, space exploration and other historical events (along with contributors to each) should be commemorated separately.
Many of these have already been commemorated on their respective anniversaries - some very recently.
Celebrating 250 years does include what occurred in 1776 as foundational. However, it does not have exclude sharing pivotal events or individuals that challenged or fostered maintaining the Republic. If this celebration is just for numismatists, who by the way vary in their perspectives, then there would have been no value in consulting the public by the US Mint or by in the role of Congress in authorizing the themes on circulating and commemorative coins and medals.
It is important that numismatists, whose views vary widely, and Americans become more knowledgeable and involved in the complicated processes of themes and designs of circulating and commemorative coins and medals. These processes include Congress, the US Mint, relevant stakeholders, and the Commission on Fine Arts and not just the CCAC.
You keep suggesting that "numismatists" are the problem. I would suggest that agenda-driven bureaucrats and activists are the problem. Modern numismatics has been hijacked by special interests.
It sounds like you are trying to commemorate everything except what happened 250 years ago.
You talk about "sharing pivotal events or individuals that challenged or fostered maintaining the Republic". Your meaning is pretty clear.
Again, if you just commemorate the actual events that occurred 250 years ago then tyere is no controversy. But, you seem absolutely determined not to do that.
Incidentally, virtually no one aside from coin collectors knows or cares what is on our coins, including circulating coinage. Most people can't name the people on our coins, and all these special circulating coin programs go almost entirely unnoticed by the general public.
Correct. Of course, there is a significant number of people who take umbrage in the fact that there was an American Revolution 250 years ago, giving rise to some sort of controversy. A Venn diagram would show strong overlap with agenda-driven bureaucrats and activists mentioned. They can be told to Pound Sand, of course, so that the coins can commemorate exactly the American Revolution 250th, no more, no less.
If you want to issue coins depicting interpretations of 250 years of American history, good, bad, indifferent, and dubious, dividing people by their reaction to and interpretation of it, I'd recommend peeing on that third rail when coming up with designs for another series.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I don't think that our views vary widely. As others have suggested, they do not match policies and politics.
I think we are at the point where many people want to go to a no frills back to basics circulating coinage. You can portray an inclusive story of America without a million different designs. In fact you could likely do it, with a new series wholly consisting of past designs other than the usual Weinman, Saint Gaudens or Morgan suspects with guides that relay information and allow people to put things in the proper context. The way you get the general public into numismatics is to showcase what people spent in the past and get the public curious about it. This is why every modern circulating program other than the state quarters has not been too successful. In fact state quarters ONLY had state pride going for it.
I'll state right off that I am scratching my head a little bit as to why there might be a controversy regarding what to commemorate within the designs of a series of coins celebrating the semiquincentennial. Therefore, my post might be off-target or perhaps only writing to the margins of what the CCAC has on its collective plate.
In my opinion, a series of circulating coins or commemorative coins that are celebrating the semiquincentennial should be centered around the events being celebrated and not around events that are historically far removed, either before or after the semiquincentennial. Those events that can be celebrated with respect to the Revolutionary War might be the battles, the people or the places involved with the War as well as the form of government formed in the decades immediately after the War. Anything beyond that is simply another specialty program that should have its own legislation and designs.
The USPS did it right, in my opinion, for the bicentennial . A wikipedia link to the USPS issues associated with the bicentennial is below-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicentennial_Series
The USPS issued stamps with specific people, battles and ideals on them that were present during the Revolutionary War era. They stayed within the historical scope of the time period. As someone in grade school when they came out, they taught me a lot about history and I was fascinated by them. I was also wildly enthusiastic about the Bicentennial coinage issued in 1975-1976, which similarly was largely restricted to special iconography from the era.
The idea of going much beyond this era to pluck people and events from history and then tie them into the semiquincentennial does not sit well with me. There are lots of folks and events worthy of celebrating, but have them on their own series or individual coins. I don't know how much good it would do to have a semiquincentennial coin have also an Olympic logo on it, or something else so non-adjacent to the events being celebrated, as this is now just a jumble of symbols and words thrown together. Coinage today does not teach folks that much since coinage today does not typically exist in our daily lives. I haven't paid for any goods or services with paper money or coinage in many years and cannot imagine that younger people, whom we are apparently attempting to educate, would have any use for it, either.
If we have a program for the semiquincentennial and events within that time period then restrict it to the events of the time period. Otherwise, just call it something else and have everyone ignore it, anyway.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Dr. Brown - thanks very much for the opportunity to provide some minor feedback. The semiquincentennial of independence leads me to behold and celebrate the one "significant event" in world history - America is the oldest nation as a full democracy, and was founded by men of culture, and various professions, capabilities, and skills. Ben Franklin was among other things a scientist, so the spectrum of freedom is quite broad. To celebrate freedom we can and should celebrate people who invested their freedom to make this great nation unique. Freedom is also contemporary; and the experience of freedom may not be taken for granted. Perhaps as other possible topics the Mint could also consider historical literature, music, culture, science, sports, etc., and here are also some unique figures in these fields for consideration - Dr. Fred Begay, Robert Frost, Chief Red Cloud, Dr. Susan LaFlesche, William Porter, Louis Tewanima, Jim Thorpe, and others.
Celebrate the founding of our nation, nothing more, nothing less. If anyone really paid attention to what numismatists have been saying for ten to twenty years, we wouldn't even have discussions like this. The overwhelming majority of people who are in the market for these items are seriously displeased about the way that these programs have to be "all inclusive" and "minority pleasing", when the majority of people are looking for historically accurate and visually pleasing coinage. Just look at all of the agrees on these posts.
For the semiquincentennial of the U.S., the designs should, in my opinion (and many other people's in this thread) be about the events and people that were influential in the founding of our nation.
God Bless, CRHer700
Do unto others what you expect to be done to you.
Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24
we absolutely need MORE special interest quarters. yeah….
CCAC front page. They've clearly moved away from their stated goal of representing the interests of citizens and collectors.
The former chair solicits feedback and when when the feedback doesn't agree with the already decided upon agenda, he sets himself up in an adversarial position against the people he's supposed to represent. It's truly sad that as Americans, we can't celebrate our semiquincentennial together without personal agendas, but here we are.
Since the universe of potential honorees is literally endless based on the proposed criteria, I nominate the recently departed William Post, inventor of Pop Tarts.
Just imagine, the mint could make its first rectangular coin. Maybe they could even find a way to make it edible. 🍽
That might be a good idea, unless you intend to use it for the semiquincentennial.
God Bless, CRHer700
Do unto others what you expect to be done to you.
Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24
So let it be REwritten; so let it be done.
Pharaoh Governmentankhamun.
Also, it's ironic that they claim to be impartial.
I wonder why US currency produced by the USA had not been used as a canvas in the same manner that post 1998 circulating coinage (i,e. cents, nickels, quarters and golden dollars), post 1981 modern commemorative coins and Postage Stamps have been used to memorialize, commemorate, celebrate persons, places, things and events sprinkled throughout the past 248+ years of US history.
There is the 1976-present $2 bill. I liked the old design better though.
The bottom line is: Don't give them any more ideas.
God Bless, CRHer700
Do unto others what you expect to be done to you.
Dubbed a "Committee Secret Agent" by @mr1931S on 7/23/24
My friends and even those who do not share my views,
The CCAC, which includes a professional numismatist among its eleven members, is but one of the stakeholders involved in coin and metal design after the themes are congressionally authorized. Themes are driven by citizens, who communicate their ideas to their elected representatives in the House and Senate. Everyone has the opportunity to provide their ideas.
Focusing only on the CCAC fails to understand all the relevant stakeholders involved in the determining the themes and providing input in the designs, reflecting the themes.
Again, here's the problem. CCAC member views should be private and have no bearing on decisions made my CCAC.
CCAC's "Mission and purpose" as stated above is to represent the interests of citizens and collectors in an impartial way.
It's truly sad that we live in an era where professionalism has been replaced by activism, and even sadder that it's promoted as a virtue.
Oddly enough, I also find the opening to the quoted post odd, but for a somewhat different reason. The post starts with a salutation for your friends and even those who don't share your views, which essentially says that the people who do not share your views are not your friends.
These need not be mutually exclusive pools of people. I can absolutely be your friend, but disagree with you on an issue. Please note that I am not picking apart any stance on this coinage issue with my present post, but just pointing out that simply disagreeing with someone on a topic does not preclude them being your friend or supporter.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
These are the 11 members. Count the numismatic representatives.
https://www.ccac.gov/aboutUs/members.html
At least he tries to engage us in the policy aspect of coins. But what I have found is that most people do not like the policy aspect of coins or have a wildly unrealistic view of the policy aspect of coins. All while the US Mint is the country's largest coin dealer.
Ten of the eleven members clearly have numismatic backgrounds, some professionally, others as collectors / ANA membership and the like.
"The vaccines work,” Trump said, adding that the people who “get very sick and go to the hospital” are unvaccinated.
“Look, the results of the vaccine are very good, and if you do get it, it’s a very minor form,” Trump continued. “People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine.”
Do your part, America 💉😷
More commemoratives... good job. Exactly what we need. Clearly all modern commems are highly desirable so we should keep making dozens more a year.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
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Thank you for your service as a veteran. Unfortunately I cannot make any significant honest replies to what you’re seeking as it’s baited for inevitable political considerations, which is prohibited here. That said, I can clearly observe the undercurrent and code words within your writings. I do not subscribe to that agenda and I do not feel that our coinage should be a new front for promoting a political agenda. I’d stick to celebrating what happened 250 years ago as I thought THAT was the theme after all.
Having fun while switching things up and focusing on a next level PCGS slabbed 1950+ type set, while still looking for great examples for the 7070.
Think of it this way, it may be a good thing that us coin collectors are less obsessed with what the US Mint does compared to other hobbies such as railfanning where they are so obsessed with agencies like the MTA, it is very unhealthy.