• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

What is the first US Mint dead president coin / pattern?

5 posts in this topic

There was an Andrew Jackson piece that was believed to be incluced in the 1834 King of Siam Proof set. That dime sized medalet is known in gold and silver, but Jackson was alive when it was issued. I don't fault Jackson for a miniute that the piece was struck during his presidency. The idea was to promote U.S. trade and diplomatic interests in Asia.

 

Beyond that there were Indian peace medals that date back to Jefferson's time. But those pieces were not coins. And in the same venue there was the Washington before Boston medal that Congress awarded to George Washington although once again that's a medal, not a coin.

 

But yes, to answer your question, I believe that pattern was the first proposal to show a U.S. president on a coin ALTHOUGH patterns are not considered to be coins. (i.e. legal tender)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great info Bill! I didn't know about the Jackson medalet until just now but it's good to know more about that exciting time during US history. Thanks for the response (thumbs u

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no evidence that the Jackson medalet was originally included in the King of Siam proof set as far as I know. (It definitely was not in the set when it was re-discovered in 1962, nor was there one in the proofs that came from the C A Watters estate which were most likely the remains of the Sultan of Muscat set.) If I recall from Bowers book on the 1804 dollar there did appear to be evidence that the set contained two quarter eagles, one with motto and one without. (From the reimbursement the mint had to receive for the coins to balance accounts. The amount fits if there were two quarter eagles, one at the old tenor and one at the new. If the set had contained the medalet t reimbursement would have been done differently since the bullion for the medalet would have been accounted for differently.) One of the quarter eagles and the half dime were missing when the set was re-discovered and the Jackson medalet and another half dime were added to the set to fill the holes back in the late 1980's. Ether way the Jackson medalet is exactly that, a medalet, and in no way could it be considered to be a dead president coin or pattern.

 

The 1863 Washington two cent may be a good contender, if it is not a pre-dated piece-de-caprice, and the next best bet are probably the 1865 Washington and Lincoln pattern five cent pieces. And of course the first actual dead president coin was the 1899 Lafayette dollar.with Washington's bust on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites