Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin
Thomas Jefferson came of age in a confusion of currency. The gold and silver of many kingdoms filled the gap created by a chronic scarcity of British coins in the American colonies. Jefferson's memorandum books reveal that he loaded friends bound for England with precious metal of all shapes and nationalities. In 1769 he handed Matthew Maury, seeking books for Jefferson and ordination for himself in London, three gold Portuguese half johannes (joes), two gold German ducats, and a silver coffee pot, weighing twenty-two ounces.1 A year later, one of Jefferson's most troublesome legal clients finally paid him in a motley mixture of silver and gold — half joes and moidores from Portugal, doubloons and pistoles from Spain, and 308 English half crowns.2
- Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin Release Date
- Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin 1801-1809 Worth Money
- Zachary Taylor Dollar Coin
- How Much Is A Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin Worth
- Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coins 1901-1909
To compound the disorder of the situation, each colony had its own rates of exchange. On crossing the border from Virginia to Maryland in 1775, Jefferson had to note in his memorandum book the new values of Spanish dollars and pistareens and Portuguese half joes, as well as English guineas and shillings.3 But for Jefferson, even a purely British system would have been an ordeal. He described the mysteries of arithmetic for an American school boy, 'puzzled with adding the farthings, taking out the fours and carrying them on; adding the pence, taking out the twelves and carrying them on; adding the shillings, taking out the twenties and carrying them on.'
1993 Silver Dollar 'Thomas Jefferson 250th birth Anniversary' (THOMAS JEFFERSON ARCHITECT OF DEMOCRACY LIBERTY IN GOD WE TRUST 1743 1993 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MONTICELLO E PLURIBUS UNUM ONE DOLLAR) KM# 249 coin and its complete list of years and varieties with prices and values. Thomas Jefferson Second Amendment Commemorative Coin: This Thomas Jefferson coin recognizes the 225th anniversary of the Second Amendment, which resulted in large part from Jefferson's insistence that all Americans should have the right to bear arms. The special-edition piece is exquisitely layered in 24K gold and includes a depiction of. This commemorative con is very special and worth looking for!How much is worth?To check out our errors & varieties coin lists, preferred email support, links. Presidential dollar coins (authorized by Pub.L. 109–145 (text), 119 Stat. 2664, enacted December 22, 2005) are a series of United States dollar coins with engravings of relief portraits of U.S. Presidents on the obverse and the Statue of Liberty on the reverse. After Washington, the presidents to be honored on dollar coins this year will be John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Bailey said the striking of the Adams coin, expected to roll out in.
'But when he came to the pounds,' Jefferson continued, 'where he had only tens to carry forward, it was easy and free from error.' Jefferson began advocating decimal reckoning as an orderly alternative to the currency chaos in 1776. In 1784, after his 'Notes on the establishment of a Money Unit,' he recommended a system with the advantages of convenience, simplicity, and familiarity. The Spanish dollar was convenient in size, its decimal division would make computation simple, and its multiples and subdivisions would accord with already well-known coins. '[E]ven Mathematical heads,' he admitted, 'feel the relief of an easier substituted for a more difficult process.' Jefferson's lucid arguments overwhelmed rival plans and the United States soon became the first nation in history to adopt a decimal coinage system.4
Jefferson was one of the earliest Americans to consider a decimal currency. He gave it, in 1784, its most articulate and persuasive expression in his 'Notes on Coinage.' Congress, convinced by these arguments, adopted it with little dissent. It was eventually implemented because of the agreement of major figures in the U.S. government with the basic principles of Jefferson's argument. Jefferson also became part of the realization of the system through his involvement with the establishment and first years of the U.S. Mint.
- Lucia Stanton, 1994
Chronology
1760s. There are several references to Jefferson winning or losing small amounts of money by playing cross and pile, a heads-or-tails coin-tossing game. He also played pitchers, which involved throwing horseshoes, quoits, coins, etc. at a target.5
1769. Jefferson asked a friend (Matthew Maury, who was going to England to be ordained) to buy him some books in London. To provide the funds for the purchase, Jefferson gave Maury 3 half-joes (Portuguese coins), 2 German coins, and a silver coffee pot, with a combined worth of 17 pounds.6
Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin Release Date
1776. In September, Jefferson drafted the revised report of a Congressional Committee on the value of gold and silver coins. Like the original report, it advocated reference to the Spanish dollar for a table of values. What was new about Jefferson's version was its expression of values in decimalized divisions of the dollar.7
1784. Jefferson wrote 'Notes on the establishment of a Money Unit, and of a Coinage for the United States,' advocating the Spanish dollar as the basic unit, divided decimally.8
1785. In Paris, in the summer, Jefferson had his 'Notes on Coinage' printed. He sent 100 copies to Charles Thomson to put in the hands of 'every member of Congress when they should enter on the subject.' A few days before Jefferson wrote to Thomson, Congress had already adopted the dollar as the money unit, with decimal division.9
1786. David Salisbury Franks, who had recently been in North Africa, gave Jefferson 'Moorish coins.' Jefferson insisted on paying for them and paid Franks sixty livres (the equivalent of ten dollars) for the coins.10
1786. Probably in December, Jefferson, along with James Watt, Matthew Boulton, and Ferdinand Grand, witnessed at the Hôtel de la Monnaie, in Paris, the new coining process of Jean Pierre Droz (1746-1823). Grand obtained for Jefferson two sample coins and Jefferson sent these to Congress with David Salisbury Franks. Jefferson was unsuccessful in his later efforts to secure Droz and his method for the fledgling U.S. mint.11
1790. On April 4, Jefferson submitted his 'Report on Copper Coinage,' advocating an American mint and the methods of Jean Pierre Droz.12
1790. On July 4, Jefferson drafted his final report on Weights and Measures as part of his hope that the unit of money would be an integral part of a decimalized system of weights and measures.13
April 1792. The U.S. Mint was established.
Fall 1792. The U.S. Mint was placed under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State — Jefferson at the time. At Jefferson's suggestion, David Rittenhouse was named its first director.
- Chronology compiled by Lucia Stanton, 1994
Further Sources
- Jefferson, Thomas. 'Notes on Coinage.' PTJ, 7:150-202. Transcriptions available at Founders Online.
- Peterson, Merrill. Thomas Jefferson and the New Nation. New York: Oxford University Press, 1970. See pages 276-78.
- Stanton, Lucia. 'The Currency of Reason.' In Monticello Keepsake 55. Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, 1994.
- Taxay, Don. 'Thomas Jefferson and the Founding of the Mint.' In Studies on Money in Early America, edited by Eric P. Newman and Richard G. Doty, 209-16. New York: American Numismatic Society, 1976.
- Thomas Jefferson Foundation. Monticello Classroom. 'Jefferson and American Money.'
- 1.MB, 1:143. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 2.MB, 1:154. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 3.MB, 1:397. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 4. Notes on Coinage, March-May 1784, in PTJ, 7:175-88. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 5. See, e.g., MB, 1:139, 1:140, 1:144, 1:150. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 6.MB, 1:143. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 7. Notes for the Report on the Value of Gold and Silver Coins, [September 2, 1776], in PTJ, 1:511-14. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 8. Notes on Coinage, March-May 1784, in PTJ, 7:175-88. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 9. Jefferson to Thomson, July 14, 1785, in PTJ, 8:295. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 10.MB, 1:648, 1:648n90. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 11.MB, 1:650, 1:650n96. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 12.PTJ, 16:345-49. Transcription available at Founders Online.
- 13.PTJ, 16:602-75. Transcription available at Founders Online.
The obverse of the coin features a profile image of Thomas Jefferson, which was based on the medallion portrait of 1805 by Gilbert Stuart. The profile had been created in a classical manner to look like a coin or medal and was considered one of the best likenesses of the him. The obverse inscriptions include “Thomas Jefferson”, “Architect of Democracy”, “In God We Trust”, “Liberty”, and the dual date “1743” and “1993”.
The reverse features a view of Thomas Jefferson’s home Monticello. Both sides of the coin were designed by T. James Ferrell. The reverse inscriptions read “United States of America”, “Monticello”, “E Pluribus Unum”, and the denomination “One Dollar”.
The 1993 Thomas Jefferson Commemorative Silver Dollar was minted in proof at the San Francisco Mint and uncirculated at the Philadelphia Mint. Surcharges raised from the sale of coins went to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation to carry forth Jefferson’s bold vision through education and the preservation of Monticello. A portion of the surcharges also went to the Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest to preserve Jefferson’s retreat home.
In addition to individual coin sales, the US Mint offered a special Coin & Currency Set to pay tribute to Jefferson’s role in creating America’s decimal coinage system. The special set contained the uncirculated silver dollar, a 1994 matte proof Jefferson Nickel, and a crisp 1976 $2 bill. This set sold 167,703 units and was priced at $34.00 during the pre-issue discount period and $39.00 during regular pricing.
Coin Specifications
Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin 1801-1809 Worth Money
Designer: T. James Ferrell
Weight: 26.7300 g
Composition: 90% Silver (0.7736 ounces of silver)
Diameter: 38.1 mm
Maximum Authorized Mintage: 600,000
Zachary Taylor Dollar Coin
1993-P Uncirculated Thomas Jefferson Silver Dollar
Pre-Issue Price: $27.00
Regular Price: $32.00
Final Mintage: 266,927
How Much Is A Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coin Worth
1993-S Proof Thomas Jefferson Silver Dollar
Thomas Jefferson Dollar Coins 1901-1909
Pre-Issue Price: $31.00
Regular Price: $35.00
Final Mintage: 332,891