Today, coins are still designed by master sculptors. Evidently it is no trifling matter to make Greek art conform with modern numismatics.” The production of the coins was seriously delayed, and Saint-Gaudens, who had been in poor health, died three months before any Double Eagles were minted. Saint-Gaudens later lamented, “I am grieved that the striking of the die did not bring better results. Inspired by the coins of Ancient Greece, Roosevelt suggested that the Double Eagle be designed in high relief-a decision that would lead to significant difficulties in the coining process. President Roosevelt, unhappy with the aesthetic quality of American coin-age, personally requested that Augustus Saint-Gaudens, one of America’s greatest sculptors, design the 20-dollar gold coin and corresponded with the artist throughout the process. On the reverse is a soaring eagle backed by the rays of the sun. On this coin, Liberty is depicted striding for-ward with torch and olive branch in hand, her dress and hair billowing out behind her. Widely considered to be the most beautiful Ameri-can coin ever minted, the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, produced from 1907–1933, also features the goddess Liberty. The goddess Libertas-associated with the overthrow of the Tarquin kings, the establishment of the Republic, and the manumission of slaves-was also adopted as the symbol of Revolutionary France in the form of Marianne. The eagle, sacred to Jupiter, was a symbol of Roman might and the emblem of the Roman legions. These motifs can be tied to the Neoclassicism of the Founding Fathers, who deliberately identified the new nation with Athens and Republican Rome. The first silver dismes were emblazoned with the eagle on one side and the bust of Liberty on the other. This 1903 photo shows a woman operating a coin press. Some worked as adjusters, weighing each coin blank and shaving off any excess metal. The Mint’s first female employees were hired in 1795, two years after the Mint was established. They were struck from Martha Washington’s own silverware. Numerous prototypes were minted and circulated before a consensus was reached, including one coin-designed by Benjamin Franklin-inscribed “Mind your Business.” The first official coins-silver dismes (dimes)-were minted in Philadelphia one year after the Coinage Act was passed. Though the need for a feder-ally regulated currency was recognized as early as 1777, debate had raged for years over what form that currency should take. Before that point, American commerce had relied on state-minted coins, foreign currencies like the Spanish dollar, and most STATES OF AMERICA” around.Congress passed the The Coinage Act on April 2, 1792, establishing the United States Mint and setting the U.S. The reverse has an eagle with outstretched wings with “HALF / DISME” and a five-pointed star below and the legend “UNI(ted). This obverse legend is attributed to Benjamin Franklin and suggests the connection between liberty, knowledge and hard work. The coins feature a bust of Liberty facing left with “1792” below the bust and the legend “LIB(erty). The ANA is fortunate to display two examples of this rare and historic coin, including the finest known example that may once have belonged to David Rittenhouse, first Director of the Mint. There are approximately 250 – 300 surviving half dismes today. New evidence suggests through die studies that there was a subsequent striking of several hundred more half dismes months later in October, when the new mint buildings were completed and the new striking equipment was being tested. The same memoranda record that he circulated the newly struck coinage of 1,500 half dismes (5 cent pieces) on his journey back to Washington, D.C., giving the nation its first experience of the new decimal coinage approved by Congress. The coins were received by then Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, who provided $75 silver, according to notes discovered recently by researchers in a memorandum book written by Jefferson. coins were struck for distribution in a basement close to the site for the new government facility. In July 1792, before work had been started on the new U.S. Ratification of the Constitution in 1789 gave the federal government the exclusive right to produce coinage and provided for the establishment of the United States Mint.ġ792 was a busy year for American numismatics - Congress established the United States Mint, approved a Mint Director, purchased a plot of land in Philadelphia, erected a building, hired employees and began experimenting with coin designs. Unfortunately, the war had left the country deep in debt, making progress difficult. At the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the founding fathers considered a monetary system for the new nation.
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