2013 Native American Dollar Design Chosen

One of my favorite times is when new coin designs are released. Over the last several years the US Mint has released several new designs per year. The old Sacagawea Dollar has evolved into the Native American Dollar, and a new reverse design is released each year. The result is that we get to see several new designs every year. That, to me, is exciting!

The US Mint asked for citizen input as part of the design process. 45.5% of those voting chose the ultimate winner (the wolf, turkey, and turtle), with 31.9% choosing the crossed feathers design and the other designs finishing much further behind. The image portrays three animals which are symbols of the clans of the Delaware tribe. They are surrounded by a semi-circle of thirteen stars, which represent the original 13 Colonies.

Advertising ON Coins?

You hear a lot of rumors about strange images on coins. Was the Roosevelt Dime really a communist plot? Some people seemed to think so. Is the US Mint trying to promote atheism? Some said that the Presidential Dollar proved that.
But what about a coin that advertises a business?
I’d never given it much thought, but there actually is a US coin that displays the name of a business, but you’ll have to look at the coin pretty closely to see it!
The Franklin Half Dollar was minted from 1948 to 1963. It bore a bust of Benjamin Franklin on the obverse (heads) side of the coin, the word "Liberty," the inscription "In God We Trust," and the year the coin was minted. The coin's reverse (tails) side featured the Liberty Bell along with a small depiction of an Eagle and the inscription "E Pluribus Unum." That image of the Liberty Bell is what http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwe are talking about.
The “Liberty Bell” was manufactured by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry, in London England. It was delivered to the city of Philadelphia at a cost of 150 pounds, 13 shillings and 8 pence. The bell cracked on its very first test. Local founders John Pass and John Stow broke the bell down, added more metals, and eventually produced a bell deemed acceptable by the city.
That bell bears the inscription “Pass and Stow Philada. MDCCLIII.” (Remember the movie National Treasure?) And that inscription was duly reproduced on the reverse of the Franklin Half Dollar!
The Bell foundry no longer exists, but there is a business which still bears the name “Pass and Stow!” Their product line includes bicycle racks!

More information about the Franklin Half Dollar?

Chickasaw National Park Quarter -- the Release Ceremony

The US Mint held its release ceremony for the tenth coin in the America the Beautiful Quarters series, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter. Approximately 300 people, half of whom were students from local schools attended the ceremony in Sulphur, OK.



United States Mint Associate Director for Sales and Marketing B. B. Craig and Chickasaw National Recreation Area Superintendent Bruce Noble hosted the ceremony. Music was provided by the East Central University Clarinet Ensemble, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by the 5th Grade Class of Sulphur's Intermediate School. Dr. Amanda Cobb-Greetham spoke and the Chickasaw Nation Dance Troupe performed. Oklahoma State Representative Wes Hilliard and members of American Legion Post #148 also participated.

After the ceremony students received a coin as a memento of the ceremony, and collectors eagerly exchanged cash for freshly minted quarters.

Designed by Donna Weaver and engraved by Jim Licaretz, the Chickasaw National Recreation Area Quarter portrays the Lincoln Bridge, constructed in 1909 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth. Click Here for a Closer Look at the Coin's Reverse!

"When Americans receive this quarter depicting the Lincoln Bridge in their change they will hold a piece of our American story in their hands, this one about the beauty and history of a special place conserved for them in Oklahoma," said Craig.

Despite a brief rain shower at the very start of the ceremony the attendees were enthusiastic, and several were looking forward to attending the next ceremony celebrating the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico.