Financial History 149 Spring 2024 | Page 31

Michael Castle ( R-Delaware ), a member of the House Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy , introduced legislation for the Statue of Liberty to appear on a new dollar coin . On October 21 — at a hearing before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy , Trade and Technology — Treasury Department officials championed a new dollar coin that would be visibly different from the quarter . At the hearing , Mint Director Philip N . Diehl said 30 months would be needed to start mintage of the new coin .
On December 1 , 1997 , President Bill Clinton signed the 50 State Commemorative Coin Act . Section four of that act , the “ United States $ 1 Coin Act of 1997 ,” authorized the production of a new dollar coin . It read , in part , that the coin should be “ golden in color , have a distinctive edge [ and ] have tactile and visual features that make the denomination of the coin readily discernible .” The act also authorized the Treasury Secretary to restart production of the SBA dollar to meet the demand for dollar coins until mintage could start on the new golden dollars . Overall , 41,368,000 Susan B . Anthony dollars were struck carrying the year 1999 .
Photo of Randy ’ L Teton , official model of the Sacajawea dollar coin , by Moz Studios .
Actor Michael Keaton , pictured here in 2014 , starred in a series of TV commercials promoting use of the Sacajawea dollar in 2000 .
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Subject Selection for the Coin
The act left the decision about the coin ’ s imagery up to Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin , who appointed a nine-member Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee . He said the coin should present the depiction of one or more historic women and that living women could not be chosen . After reviewing many suggestions from the public , on June 9 , 1998 , the committee decided on Sacajawea , the Shoshone guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition .
After the committee made its recommendation , Representative Castle continued to advocate for the Statue of Liberty design , per his earlier legislation . He submitted a letter to the House of Representatives , in which he detailed his objection to Sacajawea , noting that the “ goal in creating a new dollar coin is to make it more distinctive with a popular design that would encourage its wider use by the public .”
In November 1998 , the General Accounting Office conducted a poll on behalf of Castle to determine which design was more popular with the American public . The results : 65 % favored the Statue of
Sacajawea dollar and Lincoln cent in original wrapper from the 2000 Cheerios promotion .
Stack ’ s Bowers Galleries www . MoAF . org | Spring 2024 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 29