UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
In 1787 the Constitution of the United States mandated the creation of a new United States Congress consisting of two representative bodies, the Senate and the House of Representatives. This two-house or bicameral system was intended to be a compromise between the conflicting interests of large and small states and was an important step in the development of democratic government. With the addition of the executive branch (the president), an effective check and balance system was implemented. The first United States Congress to meet under the Constitution convened early in 1789 in New York City, then the capital of the United States. In 1800 Congress moved from the then-capital, Philadelphia, to the unfinished Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
The 200th anniversary of Congress operating under the U.S. Constitution furnished the reason to produce three commemorative coins. The original enabling legislation (Public Law 100-673 approved by President Ronald Reagan on November 17, 1988) authorized mintage of up to four million clad (92% copper and 8% nickel) half dollars, three million silver dollars, and one million gold $5 pieces.
The bill further provided that:
The Secretary shall make any bulk sales minted under the Act at a reasonable discount to reflect the lower cost of such sales. 50% of the first $40,000,000 in surcharges that are received from the sale of coins minted under this Act shall be deposited to theCapitol Preservation Fund …. The balance of the surcharges received by the Secretary shall be deposited in the General Fund of the Treasury for the purpose of reducing the national debt.
Surcharges amounted to $1 for each half dollar, $7 for each silver dollar, and $35 for each $5 gold coin. The legislation was later revised to provide that all surcharges (instead of 50% as originally specified) should become part of the Capitol Preservation Fund.
The Design
The 1989 Congress Bicentennial silver dollar was made of .900 silver. Designs were by William Woodward. Models of Woodward’s motifs were prepared by Chester Y. Martin of the Mint staff. Depicted on the obverse was a view from the pedestal level, looking upward, of Thomas Crawford’s Statue of Freedom (original name Armed Liberty) on the U.S. Capitol dome, with clouds and rays in the background. The reverse of the design depicted the ceremonial mace of the House of Representatives, consisting ofan eagle perched on a globe mounted on the top of a fasces. The mace is displayed in the chamber of the House of Representatives in the Capitol when the House is in session.
Purchase Options
Several purchase options were given, the following including silver dollars: (2) Proof 1989-S silver dollar. $25 preissue price (through July 17, 1989); $29 regular price. Sales amounted to 145,798 coins through this option.
(3) Two-coin set containing the 1989-S Proof half dollar and 1989-S Proof silver dollar. Pre-issue price $31.50, regular price $34. Sals amounted to 269,550 sets.
(5) Three-coin Proof set containing the 1989-S half dollar, 1989-S silver dollar, and 1989-W $5 gold. Pre-issue price $220) regular price $245. Sales amounted to 110,976 sets through this option.
(7) Uncirculated 1989-D silver dollar. Pre-issue price $23, regular price $26. Sales amounted to 37,242 coins through this option.
(8) Two-coin Uncirculated set containing the 1989-D half dollar and 1989-D silver dollar. Pre-issue price $27, regular price $29.50. Sales amounted to 57,054 sets this way.
(10) Three-coin Uncirculated set containing the 1989-D half dollar, 1989-D silver dollar, and 1989-W $5 gold. Pre-issue price $205, regular price $225. Sales amounted to 15,940 sets through this option.
(11) Six-coin Proof and Uncirculated set containing the 1989-D Uncirculated half dollar, 1989-S Proof half dollar, 1989-D Uncirculated silver dollar, 1989-S Proof silver dollar, and Uncirculated and Proof examples of the 1989-W $5 gold. Pre-issue price $435, regular price $480. Sales totaled 24,967 sets.
(12) Prestige Proof set containing the regular 1989 Proof coins plus the 1989-S Congress Bicentennial half dollar and 1989-S Congress Bicentennial silver dollar, Pre-issue price $49, regular issue price $52. Sales totaled 211,087 sets.
Production
Uncirculated 1989-D Congress Bicentennial silver dollars were produced at the Denver Mint and Proof 1989-S silver dollars of the same type were struck at San Francisco. Final distribution figures amounted to 135,203 Uncirculated Denver Mint coins and 762,198 Proof San Francisco Mint coins. On June 14, 1989, in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.G, a few pieces Were struck at a provisional minting facility set up as part of a ceremony.
A Curious Error
A number of 1989-D Congress Bicentennial dollars were made with the reverse oriented in the same direction as the obverse, rather than 1800 apart. Harry J. Forman provided this information: “I have handled 18 of these coins, and I have sold most in the $1,500 to $2,000 range. I doubt if more than 50 pieces are known, and I am sure the mintage can’t be over 200 pieces.” By April 1, 1991, Numismatic News staffer Alan Herbert knew of 29 specimens.
Numismatic Information
Collectors and the Market
Since their release in 1989, Congress Bicentennial silver dollars have been popular with collectors of modern issues.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
The 100th anniversary of the birth of Dwight David Eisenhower furnished the opportunity for the creation of a commemorative coin in 1990 •. Public Law 100-467, signed by President Ronald Reagan on October 3, 1988, provided for the production of up to four million Eisenhower Centennial silver dollars. Hopes were high that the issue would capture the fancy of the American public.
Eisenhower was best known as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II and as the person who planned the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the largest military landing in history. Later he served as president of Columbia University and still later was elected president of the United States for two terms, 1953-1961. During his presidency Eisenhower held the first summit with Soviet leaders since the Yalta conference, was the first chief executive to have a televised news conference, balanced the federal budget (now, from hindsight, a remarkable accomplishment!), and initiated the interstate highway program.
Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890. On the 1990 centennial date various celebrations were held around the country including his birthplace in Dennison, Texas, his hometown of Abilene, Kansas, his retirement home in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The Coin Design
By this time, enough complaints had been received about designs, that Donna Pope, director of the Mint, again sought to, obtain a wide selection of design possibilities. Early in the Mint’s modem commemorative program, collectors lamented the fact that the best of new motifs lacked the artistry and appeal of certain coins of years before. Such negativism became particularly widespread during the 1983-1984 Olympic Games program (by contrast, the 1982 Washington half dollar-the first issue in the modern series-was well received). Mrs. Pope, who kept her finger on the pulse of the numismatic community and who was well aware of the importance that collectors played in the success of any commemorative program, sought to have pleasing motifs created for the proposed 1990 Eisenhower Centennial dollar.
Five outside artists as well as artists from the Mint Engraving Department staff were invited to submit designs for the coin. In August 1989, Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas F. Brady made final selections. John Mercanti of the United States Mint created the winning obverse design, a bust of President Dwight Eisenhower, an older man, facing right, superimposed on a younger bust as Eisenhower the five-star general, facing left.
The winning reverse by New Jersey artist Marcel Jovine, modeled by Mint sculptor-engraver Chester Y. Martin, showed Eisenhower’s retirement home at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The design competition for the 1990 Eisenhower dollar really wasn’t a competition in the usual sense of the word. Nicholas Brady made preliminary selections of designs for the dollar, apparently without consulting with the Commission of Fine Arts until after the fact. Commission member Diane Wolf was critical of the fact that the Mint “continues to bring designs for coins and medals after the design has been selected.” She also criticized the fact that the inscription E PLURIBUS UNUM appeared in a dif-ferent lettering style from the rest of the inscriptions. The serifs in the word PLURIBUS were removed to match the S in EISENHOWER.
Numismatic columnist Ed Reiter had this to say about the coin: Congress has authorized a commemorative silver dollar to honor former President Dwight D. Eisenhower on the 100th anniversary of his birth. Under other circumstances I would have no quarrel with such a coin. As a wartime hero and much admired president, Dwight Eisenhower certainly merited coinage recognition. He got that recognition when his portrait was placed on the circulating $1 coin . . . And, why, in heaven’s name, must the coin bear the likeness of his farmhouse in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-a building almost no one will recognize and that has so little to do with the public’s recollection of Eisenhower’s life?
What we need, it seems to me, is a special advisory panel that would study all proposals for commemorative coins and then make recommendations on which should be approved. This panel should include respected individuals with in-depth knowledge of American history. It also would make sense to have a representative from the Commission of Fine Arts. And coin collectors surely should have a voice.
Production
The mintmark on the Eisenhower Centennial Proof coin was “P” for the Philadelphia Mint, which is located in the same state as the Eisenhower home in Gettysburg. The Uncirculated version of the Eisenhower silver coin bore a “w” mintmark for the West Point Mint, said by the Treasury to have been especially fitting since he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Prices
The Mint announced that through February 28, 1990, the coin would be available at special pre-issue prices of $25 for a single 1990-P silver Proof, $23 for a single silver Uncirculated 1990-W, and $42 for the Prestige set, which included a Proof Eisenhower silver coin as well as one each of the regular design silver half dollar, quarter, dime, nickel, and cent. After February 28, coins would be available at participating banks and retailers at the regular prices. Regular prices (effective March 1, 1990)were as follows: 1990-P Proof dollar $29, 1990-W Uncirculated dollar $26, 1990 Prestige Proof set $46.
On March 21, 1990, it was announced that over one million Eisenhower Centennial silver dollars had been sold since January. Less than three months into this program, already one-fourth of the total authorized mintage had been sold, an encouraging sign. However, it developed that the beginning interest was the best interest, and soon sales slumped.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
UNDER FEDERAL LAW, IF YOU KNOWINGLY MISREPRESENT OR PROMOTE ONLINE MATERIAL OR IDENTITY THAT IS INFRINGING, YOU MAY BE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION FOR PERJURY AND CIVIL PENALTIES, INCLUDING MONETARY DAMAGES, COURT COSTS, AND ATTORNEYS’ FEES.
Remember: Photographer Mark Fisher is Based in New York,
And Works Through Out The United States and World.
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