Ever wonder about the U.S. mint's creation of patterns, trial strikes, piedforts and/or essai coinage? You know the mint's medalists, engravers and designers create different renditions of old coins, new coin ideas, etc. every year in order to hone their artistic skills so they may render excellent concepts when called upon to submit artwork for a new commemorative coin or changes to regular coinage whenever Congress authorizes the mint to do so. Many of these experimental (trial) strikes are to test the affect of designs on different metals or metal alloys. In doing research on this subject I came across some U.S. patterns and die trial pieces with Martha Washington as the subject. I hope you enjoy my findings. Here they are. Most photos courtesy of patterncoins.com. This first example is a dime believed to have been struck in 1965, though it's dated 1759. This is the Martha Washington dime. It is believed to be the first metallurgical trial coin using current cupro-nickel clad planchets. The Martha Washington obverse was designed by Edward R. Grove and the reverse by Philip Fowler. http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_48084562 This next example is a Martha Washington quarter also believed to be struck in 1965. It, too is struck on a C-N clad planchet. The Martha Washington obverse was designed by Edward R. Grove and the reverse by Philip Fowler. http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_78612331 This next example is the Martha Washington half dollar is, also, struck on a N-C clad planchet. The Martha Washington obverse was designed by Edward R. Grove and the reverse by Philip Fowler. http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_78709189 Guess what? 6 examples of the dime, quarter and half dollar are on display in the Smithsonian embedded in two blocks of blue lucite. Here'a look at one of the blocks: http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_4602669 Did you notice the exposure of the rims of the three denominations? The rims have an intermittently reeded edge - 6 reeds per block. This design has become the U.S. Mint's all-purpose design for testing new compositions and planchet sizes, both inside the Mint and outside, by companies contracted by the Mint including IDX Inc, PMX Industries and Olin Brass Corporation. Here's a close-up look at the coin's edge: http://uspatterns.com/j2184.html And now we come to a Martha Washington Dollar believed to have been struck in 1999. http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_48084562 This next example is, also, a Martha Washington Dollar, also struck in 1999, but not on a C-N clad planchet, but to test the golden colored manganese brass coated planchets which would later be used for the Sacagawea dollar. It resides in the Smithsonian too. http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_76698605 And what should the next coin be? Why, of course, the Sacagawea Doillar: (Image courtesy of coinfacts.com) http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/sacagawea_dollars/sac_dollars_by_date.htm 39 examples of the 2000 Sacagawea dollar were struck in 22 karat gold at West Point as a prelude to the Mint's eventual offering of a precious metal gold version of the "golden dollar" for collectors. A dozen of these coins went into orbit on the space shuttle Columbia on July 23, 1999 and still exist. Here's an image of a real gold Sacagawea Dollar courtesy of the U.S. Mint: http://store1.yimg.com/I/uspatterns_1979_5271866 Let's return to the subject of Martha Washington coinage. It would seem fit, with all those pattern Martha Washington coins, to see Grove's design gracing the initial First Spouse $10 Gold coin. However, the coin designs for the First Spouse coins were not selected by the mint, nor the authorization to create the designs given to the mint. The final design selection was turned over to a few politicians. Anyway here's the final selection for Martha Washington: Notice, when you click to flip the coin to see it's reverse, the inscription reads "FIRST LADY OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY" not FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/firstSpouse/?action=washington Let me know if you enjoyed this trivia... Clinker
Now, I'm going to be searching for information all about her. Thanks for posting another interesting trivia piece. Many Thanks Ben
This type of trivia is always welcomed by me. My philosophy is that if you don't keep learning, your brain will rot. I've seen it before and I don't plan on letting it happen to me. So with that, I say Thanks
I'm gonna sit around and watch 14 hours of crime dramas on TV. If that doesn't rot my brain, nothing will !
