By Stewart Huckaby for Heritage Coin News

1986 saw the introduction of a completely new type of US coin. Actually several, if you think about it - the Walking Liberty Dollar, and the Saint-Gaudens $5, $10, $25, and $50. I’m talking, of course, about the American Eagle series of coins - the US Mint’s ultimately successful entry into the well-established market for coins as bullion. These coins contained a specific amount of a precious metal; one ounce of silver, and 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 or exactly one ounce of gold. Face values? Yes, they were visible on the coin, but neither you, I, nor anyone we know has ever spent one of these pieces.

1997 saw the introduction of the Platinum American Eagle. Again minted in 0.1, 0.25, 0.5 or one ounce sizes, these were the first and, with the exception of a single commemorative piece, currently the only platinum coins minted by the US. Face Values were a slightly more logical $10, $25, $50, and $100, although again the face value meant nothing while the metallic content of the coin meant everything. I once owned one of the one ounce pieces, having bought it at what in retrospect must have been a serious bottoming out of the market at about $370, I sold it some years later for about $650, thinking I’d made a pretty good return. And I did… until you look at the price of platinum today and realize that it’s over $1,400. Wonder if I can get this coin back for what I sold it for?

The Platinum Eagle also saw a new design concept; instead of unchanging designs for the entirety of the coin’s run, the reverse of the proof coins changed every year. I suppose the folks over at Krause would back up the notion that it is necessary to have a complete year set of proofs to technically own a type set of US bullion coins. For most of us, though, owning a single platinum piece or perhaps a piece of each denomination is sufficient for our collecting needs; I’ve since bought a tenth ounce piece, and yes it’s a proof.

2006 saw another new type of bullion coin. While the silver and platinum American Eagle coinage had long been manufactured in virtually pure fineness, the gold American Eagle was minted in 22 karat gold, or .917 fine. To add a competitor in the market for pure gold bullion, the American Buffalo gold coin was introduced. One ounce of gold, .9999 fine, a $50 face value, and we’re already familiar with the design - much like the 2001 Buffalo Dollar, it’s essentially the same as what appeared on the nickel from 1913-1938. There are slight differences in the two modern designs other than merely the face value; E PLURIBUS UNUM has been returned to where it originally appeared on the nickel; IN GOD WE TRUST has been moved below the bison’s head; the reverse lettering is in a different, slightly bolder font, and the mintmark has been to the obverse.

Now, in 2007, there is an entirely new kind of coin. No, I’m not talking about the Presidential Dollars, which are circulating commemoratives much like Bicentennial coinage and the Statehood Quarters. The First Spouse coins are what I’m referring to, and while they clearly do not circulate and are intended for collectors, these are, in fact, bullion coins, yet analogous to circulating commemoratives. Minted in .9999 fine gold, each of these coins contains exactly one half ounce of gold. The face value is unusual for a half ounce gold piece, at $10; an equivalent American Eagle is $25. The reverse of each of these pieces is unique; while pertinent information such as the issuing country, the face value, the composition and fineness of the piece, and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM appears in a peripheral ring, the inner portion of the reverse contains a design unique to the issue, usually a second image of the First Lady pictured on the obverse. Figuring out which side is heads or tails might be a challenge!

I’ve seen three of the coins so far - Martha Washington, who has appeared on numerous US patterns, now appears on a true coin, as does Abigail Adams. However, the coin minted for Thomas Jefferson is different. As his wife had died some years before, Jefferson did not have a First Lady during his presidency. Instead, an image called “Thomas Jefferson’s Liberty” appears on the obverse. Many numismatists, particularly copper collectors will know the image; it is the Draped Bust version of Liberty used on copper coinage during the bulk of Jefferson’s 1801-1809 presidency. The reverse shows Jefferson’s gravestone, along with his epitaph. Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Chester A. Arthur, and of course the bachelor James Buchanan also did not have First Ladies, and we will other “images of Liberty” from their presidencies. My money is on the Capped Bust and Seated Liberty designs to reappear for Jackson and Van Buren respectively, and there are several images to choose from for Buchanan. Arthur’s coin is scheduled to feature Alice Paul, a suffragette who is a curious choice because she was not born until the waning days of Arthur’s presidency.

Additionally, two presidents had more than one First Lady, losing a wife and then remarrying while in office. Somehow I suspect that John Tyler’s and Woodrow Wilson’s wives will get along far better on our coinage than they might have had they known each other in real life.

Martha Washington First Spouse $10 Gold Coin
First Lady, 1789–1797

Born Martha Dandridge on June 2, 1731, the future First Lady of the United States married Daniel Parke Custis when she was 18 years old, and was a mother of two surviving children when her first husband died in 1757. She married George Washington two years later, and for much of the next 40 years, Martha Washington fulfilled her role of a military and political wife with ease and grace.

She and husband George retired from public life at the end of his second term as President, and lived out their lives at Mount Vernon, not far from the capital city that would soon bear their name.

Abigail Adams First Spouse $10 Gold Coin
First Lady, 1797–1801

Abigail Smith was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1744. As was customary for the time, Abigail did not receive formal education, but her quick mind and her curiosity for the world around her were nurtured in her family’s library, and her desire to read and learn was encouraged. She married John Adams, a young Harvard-educated attorney in 1764, and lived with him in Braintree, Massachusetts, while he built a successful law practice.

She joined him in Europe from 1784 to 1788 as he served as an American diplomat in France and as the first United States Minister to Great Britain. The couple returned to Massachusetts in 1788. After her husband became President, they were the first couple to live in the White House after they arrived in Washington in November 1800. Abigail returned to Braintree in 1801, now called Quincy, where she lived until her death in 1818.

Thomas Jefferson’s Liberty First Spouse $10 Gold Coin
President, 1801–1809

The Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 contains a provision to provide continuity of the First Spouse Gold Coin Program during those times in which a President served without a First Spouse. This provision applies to Thomas Jefferson, whose wife Martha died in 1782. Married in 1772, Thomas Jefferson was a widower for 19 years when he became President in 1801.

The gold coins issued to accompany any President who served without a spouse will each feature a design emblematic of Liberty on its obverse, as depicted on a United States coin originally issued during the President’s time in office. For Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, the selected image appeared on the Draped Bust Half-Cent coin from 1800–1808, and was originally executed by United States Mint Chief Engraver Robert Scot.

Dolley Madison First Spouse $10 Gold Coin
First Lady, 1809–1817

Dolley Payne was born in North Carolina in 1768, though her parents returned the family to their home colony of Virginia when she was still an infant. The woman who captivated Washington, DC, society, and is remembered as one of the most charming and entertaining First Ladies of her era, was raised in Philadelphia as a Quaker.

Dolley was a widow when she met Representative James Madison, co-author of the Federalist essays and often called the “Father of the Constitution.” The couple was married in 1794, and during her time in Washington, DC, while her husband served as Secretary of State, Dolley sometimes served as hostess in President Thomas Jefferson’s White House. She also served as First Lady during her husband’s Presidency.