A lot has happened at the US Mint since 1979

On my post, dated 11/14/09, I established how the ?Libertas Americana? medal influenced the ?Liberty Cap? design on our earliest coinage. However, the ?Liberty Cap? design very nearly found its way onto our circulating dollar coin in 1979.

Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro, himself influenced by the ?Libertas Americana? had a ?Liberty Cap? dollar ready for minting in 1979 to replace the Eisenhower Dollar. However, due to political considerations, President Jimmy Carter chose to memorialize Susan B Anthony as the first non-idealized female depiction on our circulating coinage.

As a young collector in 1979, I had hoped for the Liberty Cap Dollar, as were many other people within the coin collecting community. Even Frank Gasparro personally favored the Liberty Cap Dollar, but US Mint employees serve at the pleasure of the President, and the Susan B Anthony Dollar went into circulation in 1979. The collecting community that is the bread and butter of the US Mint was snubbed for political considerations. I still remember how disappointed I was.

Much has changed at the US Mint since then as the floodgate of commemorative coins opened wide in 1982 under President Ronald Reagan. Additionally, the mint began issuing silver and gold American Eagles in 1986 that are still popular today using classic designs! For a collector who loves classic designs, I could not be more thrilled!

As with the old commemoratives, too much of a good thing has saturated the market with commemoratives no one wants. Under the leadership of Mint Director Edmund C Moy, the US Mint has streamlined its offerings and retooled as evidenced by the recent successes of the Lincoln Dollar Commemorative coin and cents, and the St Gaudens UHR, all coins that I currently own.

In a quote taken from the book that comes with the UHR, Edmund C Moy states, ?I hope the world will look back and declare the 21st century the unsurpassed neo-renaissance of American coin and medal design?. So far, I could not be happier with the coins coming out of the mint, from the 50 state quarters, to the presidential dollars and first spouse coins, all the way to the UHR. Of particular interest to me are the classic designs used on the first spouse coins of widower presidents!

Under the leadership of a mint director that understands the value of classic art in coin designs, I still hold out hope that Frank Gasparro?s rendition of the ?Liberty Cap? design will find its way onto a coin at some point in the future. Attached to my post today is a picture of the coin that almost was.

On a side note, I want to wish everyone who has spent countless hours preparing their sets for the upcoming competition all the best. Regardless of the results, Collector?s Society has become a much better community because of the efforts of everyone in the community! Happy collecting all!

Gary