The architects of the First Spouse coin series had a bit of a quandary to solve when it came to presidents who were bachelors or widowers when they took office. Should they feature the deceased spouse for the widowers? But she was never a First Lady, so how can you paint her as equal to the Ladies who did serve with their husbands? And what about the bachelors? Should they use the presidents' favorite girlfriends?
Obviously something more generic was needed in these cases, and with Thomas Jefferson's First Spouse coin, we see the first of the "non-spouse" designs. These designs will all (except one) be based on renderings of Miss Liberty that appeared on U.S. coins that circulated during the president's term of office. The exception will occur for the First Spouse coin for President Chester Authur, which will depict suffragette Alice Paul.
Personally, I don't like the idea of re-using classic coin designs in this manner. This was a wonderful opportunity for Congress (who determines the images on our coinage) to honor some of the important women throughout U.S. history. Instead, we're getting repeats of the national goddess which teaches us nothing new about our past. I wonder if we can get the Presidential $1 Coin Act (pdf doc) amended. Write to your Congressperson!
Obviously something more generic was needed in these cases, and with Thomas Jefferson's First Spouse coin, we see the first of the "non-spouse" designs. These designs will all (except one) be based on renderings of Miss Liberty that appeared on U.S. coins that circulated during the president's term of office. The exception will occur for the First Spouse coin for President Chester Authur, which will depict suffragette Alice Paul.
Personally, I don't like the idea of re-using classic coin designs in this manner. This was a wonderful opportunity for Congress (who determines the images on our coinage) to honor some of the important women throughout U.S. history. Instead, we're getting repeats of the national goddess which teaches us nothing new about our past. I wonder if we can get the Presidential $1 Coin Act (pdf doc) amended. Write to your Congressperson!