Grant Memorial coinage
The Grant Memorial coinage are a gold dollar and silver half dollar struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1922. The two coins are identical in design and were sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser. They commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was a leading Union general during the American Civil War and later the 18th president of the U.S.
About Grant Memorial coinage in brief
The Grant Memorial coinage are a gold dollar and silver half dollar struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1922. The two coins are identical in design and were sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser. They commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was a leading Union general during the American Civil War and later the 18th president of the U.S. Congress authorized only 10,000 gold coins, but also authorized 250,000 half dollars. All the gold dollars and most of the half dollars sold, though some half dollars were returned to the Mint for melting. The half dollar with star has long been priced higher than most commemoratives; its rarity has also caused it to be counterfeited. Money from the coins was used to help preserve Grant’s birthplace, but other planned projects were not completed. In 1922, commemorative coins were not sold by the government—Congress, in authorizing legislation, usually designated an organization which had the exclusive right to purchase them at face value and vend them to the public at a premium. In the case of the Grant Memorial coins, the responsible group was the Association, sometimes called the Grant Commission, of which Hugh L. Nichols was the chairman. The Association was incorporated in 1921 to conduct the celebrations in Clermont County, Ohio, where Point Pleasant is. The profits would go to pay the cost of centennial celebrations, and if possible, to construct the community buildings as memorials to Grant in Georgetown and in Bethel, Ohio.
It called for the striking of 200,000Gold dollars to help finance a road 5 miles in length to be known as the General Grant Memorial Highway, leading from New Richmond, Ohio to Point Pleasant. The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives by Charles C. Kearns of Ohio on May 11, 1921. It was called up on the calendar on October 17, 1921, to the House’s unanimous consent, to be struck on the next day. The Grant Commission had been established in May 1921, and that it was prepared to purchase all the coins and resell them through the hundreds of banks in Ohio. The gold dollars would be struck from bullion already on hand, and would be sold for no premium, but the government would be paid for the face value of the coins, and Thomas L. Wingo of Arkansas asked whether the gold bullion was already in hand and was informed that since the coins were struck as bullion, no premium would be charged. The House agreed to this, and the bill was passed by unanimous consent on October 18, 1921; it was then called up again on October 19, 1921 and struck on October 20, 1922. Grant’s family moved to Georgetown, Ohio the following year; his father was able to get him an appointment to the U States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1839. Grant fought in the Mexican–American War. He resigned from the Army in 1854, and attempted several civilian trades with limited success. He was more successful once the Civil War began and he re-entered the military.
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This page is based on the article Grant Memorial coinage published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
