The U.S. Mint has officially unveiled its designs for next year’s semiquincentennial circulating commemorative coins.
The coins were authorized by the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act (CCCRA), which was signed into law in 2021, and were required to depict designs “emblematic of the U.S. semiquincentennial” — whatever that means.
Among the coins unveiled were quarters depicting the Mayflower Compact, George Washington and the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence, James Madison and the Constitution, and Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address. There was also a newly designed half dollar featuring the Statue of Liberty, as well as a dime that features Lady Liberty and is a nod to the popular Mercury Dime. There’s also the final series of Lincoln cents, which are already fetching big bucks online.
Curiously, the Mint’s December 10 announcement did not include any designs for a dollar coin.
It could be that the Mint is waiting to unveil the rumored Trump Dollar.
Or maybe they’re still considering alternative designs? (Doubtful, given how long the whole process takes.) Anyway, some of these suggestions are serious. Some… not so much.
Hail To The Chiefs
It’s hard to believe that Theodore Roosevelt hasn’t been on any circulating coins, the Presidential Dollar Coin program notwithstanding.
After all, he remains one of the most fascinating and venerated figures in American history, possessing a loyal cult following and being held up as the ultimate example of manliness and rugged individualism. One of the best and most popular presidents of all time, if anyone could guarantee the success of the unpopular dollar coin program, it’s him.
Plus, from a numismatic standpoint, the elder Roosevelt was responsible for some of the most beautiful and beloved coins in American history. Just because he was a manly man doesn’t mean he couldn’t appreciate beauty and elegance.
Unlike Roosevelt, Harry Truman was widely despised when he left office in 1953. Originally selected as the running mate of another Roosevelt, Truman has been largely vindicated by history and today enjoys a reputation as one of our best presidents.
He’s also the only president between 1933 and 1963 not to be featured on a circulating coin (FDR, Eisenhower and JFK). That seems a bit unfair.
And, of course, if the Mint is looking to avoid political controversy (doubtful considering the coin they’re reportedly planning), they can always consider some of our fictional presidents.
Maybe they’d like a design of Mount Rushmore featuring four of our best pop culture presidents (Jed Bartlett from The West Wing, Thomas Whitmore from Independence Day, Selina Meyer from Veep and David Palmer from 24).
Or they might want to honor President Camacho from Idiocracy. Considering how a lot of people believe that movie was prescient, maybe that coin would be more appropriate.
Do You Believe In Miracles?
The Mint has already started striking sports-related coins and medals. In October, they released a quarter honoring tennis great Althea Gibson as part of their ongoing American Women’s Quarter program. Then, in December, Trump signed a bill authorizing commemorative gold medal for the 1980 U.S. Men’s hockey team. Other sports-related coins over the years include a 1997 Jackie Robinson silver dollar, baseball and basketball Hall of Fame coins, and various Olympic and World Cup-related commemoratives.
With all of these historic sports coins already available on the market, maybe the Mint should consider these great pop culture moments? Like when Rocky Balboa went to the Soviet Union, pulled off a shocking upset of the seemingly indestructible Ivan Drago, and then helped end the Cold War after the bout.
“During this fight, I’ve seen a lot of changing, in the way you feel about me, and in the way I feel about you. In here, there were two guys killing each other, but I guess that’s better than twenty million,” Rocky said to a standing ovation from the crowd, which included the Mikhail Gorbachev expy watching in the General Secretary’s box. “I guess what I’m trying to say, is that if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change!”
Inspiring words, indeed. Right up there with “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” and “Ich bin ein Berliner!” Definitely worthy of a coin.
And for a more underrated moment, consider the 1994 Junior Goodwill Games final from D2: The Mighty Ducks where Team USA The Ducks triumphed over the bigger and vastly more talented, tough and skilled Russian Icelandic team. Hey, it was a weird time. Rocky had just ended the Cold War and we didn’t know who our next enemy would be. Iceland seemed like a natural choice — at least when it came to hockey. (Of course they’ll be great at hockey — they have “ice” in their names!)
Anyway, Gordon Bombay’s team of scrappy underdogs managed to scratch, claw and arguably cheat their way to a regulation draw against the Icelandic team (I still don’t know how Robertson managed not to get ejected for using an actual lasso during the game).
That led to a shootout in which Bombay decided to bring in Julie Gaffney, his backup goaltender, to face Iceland’s best player on the decisive penalty. The rationale? Bombay knew what move he would use to try and score.
So instead of just telling his current goaltender what to do, he went with his completely cold backup who hadn’t played a single minute in the tournament. Of course, Gaffney is clutch and demonstrated her skill by making the save — even when the Icelandic player ended up doing a slightly different move than what Bombay had predicted. Maybe she should have been playing all along, Coach. At least Coach Orion recognized this in D3 and made her the starter.
Oh Say Can You See?
The Mint has already issued a coin commemorating the writing of “The Star Spangled Banner” during the War of 1812.
So how about a coin dedicated to the actual performance of the anthem?
For instance, there was Jimi Hendrix’s legendary rendition at Woodstock in 1969. Controversial at the time, Hendrix’s heavily distorted and virtuosic performance was seen as a political statement and a form of protest against the Vietnam War — even though Hendrix denied it and said he was just interpreting the anthem in his own way.
Today, it’s seen as a juxtaposition of some of the less savory aspects of America while underscoring the beauty and importance of the values underpinning it. Seems important given today’s circumstance.
As for a more straightforward performance, consider Whitney Houston’s memorable version from the 1991 Super Bowl. Taking place days after the start of the Gulf War, Houston’s soaring and uplifting rendition hit all of the right notes, and served as a beacon of hope and rallying cry.
Houston was also the perfect choice for the song. A notoriously hard song to perform live (see below), Houston made it look easy, thanks to her operatic range and silky smooth voice. This was also right before Houston’s career took a downturn and her personal life began spiraling out of control.
Her version was so popular and in demand that it was released as a single and even hit the Billboard Top 20 — a record for a national anthem.
On the flip side, there have been some equally memorable versions but not because they were good. Like I said before, the song is very hard to sing live and if you don’t have the goods, you’ll get exposed.
Take Fergie. Her Marilyn Monroe-esque interpretation at the 2018 NBA All Star Game has been described as “unusually sultry,” a “smoldering hot mess” and just plain “awful.” Several players and celebrities in attendance were openly laughing while Charles Barkley spoke for many when he said he needed a cigarette after that performance.
Her performance was so bad, she even felt a need to apologize for it. “I wanted to try something special for the NBA. I’m a risk-taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best,” she said. (She’s certainly correct about being a risk-taker. How else do you explain this?)
Her version has become so infamous that it has even been immortalized into a children’s book. So why not a coin too?
And it’s not like her voice cracked during her performance. The same can’t be said for Carl Lewis.
In 1993, Lewis “sang” the anthem before a New Jersey Nets vs Chicago Bulls game. Starting with his long, drawn out opening note, Lewis seemed to think he was Johnny Gill singing the intro to “Can You Stand The Rain.”
It was all downhill from there. At one point, Lewis’ voice cracked so badly he actually acknowledged his mistake and promised to make up for it. Spoiler alert: he doesn’t. In fact, towards the end, perhaps gun shy about trying to hit another high note, Lewis bails out and sings a much lower note than he’s supposed to— drawing audible groans from the audience.
Players were visibly laughing and Charley Steiner memorably cracked up on SportsCenter, calling Lewis “Francis Scott Off-Key.” Meanwhile, Michael Jordan found the floor fascinating and seemed transfixed by the grains and patterns on the hardwood surface. Trying not to lose his composure was probably the biggest challenge he faced in his career besides the Bad Boy Pistons.
Ultimately, these examples all demonstrate how difficult it is to sing the anthem well, let alone coming up with a memorable version. That definitely makes it coin worthy.
Bonus Round:
In honor of my two books, I humbly present these coins.
One for Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House (2018).
And one for my upcoming book Supreme Pressure: The Defeat of John J. Parker and Birth of the Modern Supreme Court Confirmation Process. It’ll be out in March so stay tuned for that!
