The Eisenhower dollar coin ( 1971 – 1978 ) was a failure as a circulating medium with its 38.1 mm diameter . It was cumbersome and unpopular with the American public . The issue pictured is the silver 1974-S .
US Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro holds the plaster model of his Flowing Hair Liberty dollar , which was approved to replace the Eisenhower dollar .
Christina Gasparro Hansen , from the collection of the National Museum of American History
Mint Director Stella Hackel envisioned more benefits :
Coins are faster and easier to handle . The automatic merchandising industry will be able to offer a far wider range of products to the American consumer . It will broaden the scope of the vending machine industry and increase efficiency of automated coin returns for cashiers .
Assuming the role of soothsayer , the American Bankers ’ Association ( ABA ) foreshadowed problems with the new coin . A spokesman for the ABA accused the government of a “ piece-meal approach to the nation ’ s circulating coin and currency system .” Bankers believed “ there [ was ] a lack of fundamental market research and a master plan for the future of the dollar .” The ABA had concerns that the Treasury had no plan of action to promote circulation of a new mini-dollar coin , feeling it was ill-fated without an aggressive public information campaign . They cited the failure of the $ 2 bill in support of this claim .
The ABA wrote , “ There are certain long-term business interests which must be considered in any coinage change . Consumer substitution of dollar coins for dollar bills may work well on paper but not necessarily in practice . Fiscal responsibility demands that the Mint carry out studies before it changes its coinage .”
Strong support for the new mini-dollar came from the National Automatic Merchandising Association ( NAMA ). Testimony by NAMA stressed the importance for the convenience of millions of consumers “ who inserted close to 10 million coins every hour around the clock in vending machines in 1976 . The proposed coin blanks have been tested by industry experts at the request of the Bureau of the Mint and were found to be satisfactory . According to our studies , the lack of public interest in the current [ Eisenhower ] dollar coin is directly attributable to its cumbersome size and weight .”
A Beautiful New Dollar Coin
After approval of the standard clad metal composition , in 1977 , US Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro set to work preparing coin models based upon his medal for the 1969 American Numismatic Association ( ANA ) Convention in Philadelphia . Gasparro crafted a stunning work . The obverse featured a bust of Liberty modeled on the cent and half cent of 1793 , while the reverse presented a flying eagle suggesting the one upon Augustus Saint- Gaudens ’ famous double eagle ( 1907 – 1933 ).
According to a report in Coin World , in 2009 , Gasparro ’ s daughter donated her father ’ s collection of notes and sketches for the proposed coin to the Smithsonian ’ s National Museum of American History . Writes Jeff Stark , “ Within that collection
appears a newspaper clipping of a fashion model wearing an Albert Nippon designer suit . With the quick stroke of a pen , Gasparro turned the model ’ s profile into the portrait of a Flowing Hair Liberty , which progressed into a final sketch for the coin ’ s obverse .”
Gasparro ’ s sketches for the reverse design present numerous variations of an eagle in flight , busting through rays of sunlight in the background . The drawings also include 13 stars representing the original colonies . The final design is entitled “ The Coming of a New Dawn .”
The Commission of Fine Arts assessed the design . In a letter , dated April 29 , 1976 , Commission member J . Carter Brown praised Gasparro ’ s work :
I believe this would be a superb design for United States Coinage , rooted as it is in a great tradition , being based on the ‘ Liberty Cap cent ’ of 1794 , following Augustin Dupré ’ s Libertas Americana medal commemorating Saratoga and Yorktown ( 1777 – 1781 ).
Gasparro ’ s beautiful Flowing Hair Liberty design was slated to become the new mini-dollar coin . Formally approved by the US Commission of Fine Arts , it was publicized in the numismatic media and became very popular with coin collectors . However , this exciting new coin was doomed by overriding political considerations .
34 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2023 | www . MoAF . org