The Depository

The Nickels

2004 Nickels

Thanks to the Westward Journey Nickel Series. America's nickel has changed for the first time in 66 years! Two new designs took their turns on the back of the nickel in 2004, while the image of President Thomas Jefferson on the front was the same as the image on earlier nickels. But the front of the 2005 nickels show a new image of Jefferson as well.

The new designs celebrate two events of about 200 years before: the Louisiana Purchase and the westward journey of Lewis and Clark.

When Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States, he bought a piece of land from France called "Louisiana, an area much larger than the state of Louisiana today...so large, in fact, that buying it made the United States twice as large as it had been before. Since Thomas Jefferson was already on the nickel, it was the perfect coin on which to celebrate the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1804, President Jefferson sent a group led by Lewis and Clark to explore this land, to describe the flora (plants) and fauna (animals) they saw, and to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean if there was one.

2004

Jefferson had a medal made as a token of peace, which we call his "Peace Medal." The explorers were to give the medals as gifts to the Native American chiefs they met as a sign of peace.

The design that was used on Jefferson's Peace Medal is used on the first of the new nickels, The Peace Medal Nickel. It shows the hand of a Native American and the hand of a European-American clasped in a friendly handshake below a crossed pipe and tomahawk. the words. "Louisiana Purchase" are inscribed above the date of the purchase, 1803.

The second nickel of 2004 shows the keelboat that was part of the transportation for Lewis and Clark's expedition. In this Keelboat Nickel design, captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are standing on deck at the start of their famous trip.

from http://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.cfm?fileContents=cointNews/newNickel.cfm


2004 Thomas Edison Commemorative Silver Dollar


Of all the inventions that Thomas Alva Edison worked on during his 60 year career, the light bulb was one of the hardest. His light bulb burned a little wire called a "a filament" to make light., But every material he tried to use just burned up too quickly.
But Edison was a born inventor, curious and hard-working,. His recipe for a genius was one percent inspiration and 99 percent persparation. After many trials and thousands of notes. he found that the best filament for his light bulb was a specially treated cotton thread. Even that filament burned for only a few hours in 1879... But with more work , light bulb filaments were made to last for hundreds of hours each , lighting homes and cities around the world. Today cities glowing with Edison's light can be seen from outer space!

Edison created or helped refine probably more modern wonders than any other one person. The work that sprang from his Menlo Park, New Jersey, lab earned him the nickname "The Wizard of Menlo Park." This commemorative coin honors Edison for his outstanding work

On the Silver Dollar is Edison holding one of his first light bulbs 125 years ago the light bulb itself is featured on the back of the coin.

2005 Nickels

The new design on the front of the 2005 nickels features a new image of Thomas Jefferson. The word "Liberty" appears in a style that is like Jefferson's own handwriting.

The first new 2005 design on the nickel's reverse (back) features the American bison, also called a buffalo. This animal used to roam the plains in such great numbers that the animal was noted often by Lewis and Clark in their journals. This buffalo also reminds us of the American Indians who counted on the animal for food, clothing, and shelter, and of all the wildlife that the explorers wrote about and brought back to the United States as a record for science.

The second reverse design shows a view of the Pacific Ocean, the goal that the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached after more than a year of hard travel. The scene surrounds a quote written by Captain Clark: "Ocean in view! O! The Joy!"

Hopes were dashed when the Expedition proved that the Missouri River was not part of the Northwest Passage across the continent by water and that there were two mountain ranges to cross instead of one. Still, less than a century later, the continent was crossed by telegraph and railroad lines that brought the eastern and western coasts together in ways hard to imagine in Lewis and Clark's time. Today, with cars, airplanes, telephones, and computers, the distance between coasts seems even shorter..but the steps that Lewis and Clark took were among the first to bring them so close together

from http://www.usmint.gov/kids/index.cfm?fileContents=coinNews/newNickel.cfm


2006 Nickels

Just as Lewis and Clark came full circle, returning to the East and Jefferson's home in Monticello, the "Return to Monticello" Nickel brings the Westward Journey Nickel series back to its beginnings: Thomas Jefferson on the front and his home, Monticello, on the back. And yet, how the coin has changed!

The final obverse design in the series features a new portrait of Jefferson. And, instead of the usual side view, Jefferson faces forward. This design marks the first time a presidential bust on a circulating American coin is not shown in profile.

The reverse design, although very much like the pre-2004 design, is actually very different. The new image takes advantage of the advances in coin-making technology to produce a crisper, more detailed Monticello than has ever been seen on the five-cent coin.

more information about coins at
http://www.usmint.gov/gov/kids/index.cfm?fileContents=coinNews/newNickel.cfm

Lewis & Clark Bicentennial Silver Dollar

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson Purchased the vast area called "Louisiana" and asked his 27 year-old secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to form an expedition to check out this new land.
Lewis invited his friend William Clark to co-lead the expedition.

In May of 1804, the Lewis and Clark expedition of about 50 men left St. Louis, Missouri, calling themselves "The Corps of Discovery". Over the following two and a half years, thirty-three of the explorers not only reached the Pacific Ocean and returned, but kept detailed journals of all the plants, animals, lands, and peoples they met with along the way. Lewis and Clark's expedition opened a new chapter in the history of the growth of the United States.

Lewis and Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" are American Heroes, and their expedition was a triumph for the young United States. What a model of harmony the Corps of Discovery is for America today, as an American Indian Woman, an African-American Man, and dozens of mixed-heritage soldiers all worked together to make their mission succeed. They not only mapped a route across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, but made friends with the learned about the Indian Nations along their route.

Part of making friends meant giving gifts like blue beads, iron tools, flags, and uniforms...but above all, silver "Peace Medals," stamped with the sign of peace that everyone knows; hands clasped in friendship. Presidents had given such medals before, and presidents after continued to give them through most of that century.

To celebrate that adventure of 200 years ago, a new commemorative silver dollar has been created.
Donna Weaver, one of the sculptor/engravers at the United States Mint, created the coin's designs.

On the front, captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark stand on a stream bank planning another day of travel and exploration.

The design on the back includes two feathers and seventeen stars, symbols that also appear in the insignia of the national Coucil of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, the group sponsoring the coin along with the National Park service. The feathers stand for the many American Indian cultures that explores met; the seventeen stars are for the number of states in the Union in 1804 and during the journey

A circle in the center surrounds the design used on Jefferson's Peace Medal. In addition to the symbloic handshake of Peace, the Peace Medal design shows a pipe crossed with a tomahawk and the motto "Peace and Friendship"

www.usmint.gov

Quarters Issued in 1999

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Constitution Bicentennial Commemorative Silver Dollar (1987)



Flip the Mint Seal here, with the September coin, a Constitution Bicentennial Silver Dollar ... and a tricky question too. Most people think of July 4th as our country's birthday, because that's when the Declaration of Independence was approved. But September 17th is just as important. Do you know why?
It's because September 17, 1787 is the day our Constitution was approved. And the Constitution is the document that stated how our country would be set up and run. Though the Declaration of Independence said we would rule ourselves, it was the Constitution that said how.
Once again, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, this time with James Madison as the main writer. One decision they made was that we would have a president instead of a king. That decision was easy, but the rest were not. The toughest problem was how to give small states as big a "say" as the large ones. It was finally decided that all states would have two senators in the Upper House of Congress, plus a number of representatives based on state population in the Lower House. Despite some opposition, the Constitution was approved in June 1788.
Our Constitution is so important that Congress issued two coins to celebrate its 200th anniversary: a silver dollar and a five dollar gold coin. Eleven sculptors from around the country were invited to submit designs for the silver dollar. The winning design for this coin belonged to Patricia Verani from New Hampshire.

Obverse: A quill pen like the one James Madison used is shown laying on pieces of paper representing the Constitution, with "We the People" written over it.
Reverse: The reverse features a group of people representing all of us whose rights are protected by the Constitution.

1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial Half Dollar


This month's coin is special for sure, and in lots of ways. First of all, what it honors is not so much a document, like the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, but a policy (a statement about what to do as a nation) called the Monroe Doctrine.
The Monroe Doctrine said, basically, that nations on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean should stay separate. At the time it was issued (December of 1823), some European nations were talking about starting new colonies in the Americas or trying to regain control of countries there that had just become independent. The Doctrine said the United States was willing to stand up for these countries and, at the same time, stay out of European affairs unless they were dangerous for American nations.
In creating this policy, President James Monroe had help from his Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, and that's why both men are pictured on the coin. In October, Monroe had written to his Virginia neighbor, former president Thomas Jefferson, to ask his advice. Jefferson agreed with the policy. President Monroe's doctrine, part of a talk he gave to Congress, set our nation's foreign policy for many years afterward.
Another special thing about this coin is the image on the back. In place of a simple image of the North and South American continents, the artist showed two women posed to look like the continents! Pretty cool, huh? The major ocean currents are shown flowing around these figures.
There's also a city name that you don't see on a coin very often: Los Angeles, the home of the motion picture company that asked for the coin to be made, and the city where it was no doubt first sold. Between the dates in the lower left, you can see a quill pen in front of a scroll, suggesting the Monroe Doctrine. There's also a triple ridge around the rim, another feature you don't see often. All these things add up to one special half dollar!

Obverse: On the front: busts of two presidents, James Monroe and John Quincy Adams. Adams was Secretary of State at the time.
Reverse: The figures-shaped-as-continents design had already been used in other places, like a seal for the Pan-American Exposition of 1901. The major ocean currents are also shown.

2008 Martin Van Buren


was the first president who was born an America citizen, the first from the state of New York, and the first whose parents were Dutch rather than British. His interest in politics began at his father’s tavern in Kinderhook, New York, where politicians like Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr would stop as they traveled.
He served in the United States Senate and was governor of New York before he became Andrew Jackson’s secretary of state. He served as vice president during Jackson’s second term and was easily elected president in 1837.
Rather than allowing federal funds to be held in a national bank or even in state banks, Van Buren insisted on creating a federal treasury system for that purpose. He also headed off disagreements with Great Britain, keeping the country out of war. But an economic depression had taken hold soon after he entered office and it lasted for most of his term. He lost the election to a second term in 1841.

2008 Andrew Jackson

was the first president elected from a state west of the Appalachian Mountains (Tennessee). At the age of 13, he served a South Carolina regiment during the Revolutionary War. Jackson later became famous as a hero of the War of 1812. His sternness as a commander earned him the nickname “Old Hickory.”
As president, Jackson worked to strengthen the executive branch and vetoed more bills than the six prior presidents combined. He was chosen to run for a second term, but in a different way from previous presidents. Instead of Congress holding a special meeting to pick a candidate, Jackson’s party held a convention. Jackson was elected for a second term.
He strongly believed in the power of the federal government over states’ rights so the country could stay united. During Jackson’s term, Congress enacted a tariff on certain goods. When one state didn’t agree with the tariff, Jackson took a strong stand against the state’s refusal to pay.
President Jackson authorized three new branches of the United States Mint in 1835. The branches were opened in the Southern cities of New Orleans (Louisiana), Charlotte (North Carolina), and Dahlonega (Georgia).

2008 John Quincy Adams

The sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams grew up in the world of politics. His parents were Abigail Adams and her husband John, the nation’s second president. As a child, John Quincy often went to Europe with his father, who served as a diplomat there during the American Revolution. He became a diplomat himself, and eventually president as well.
Adams’s election was only by a slim margin. It was finally decided in the House of Representatives by one vote. As president, Adams helped to boost the economy and make it easier to trade among the states by setting up a system of roads and canals. For example, the Cumberland Road was extended into Ohio.
Adams ran for a second term as president, but lost the election. He then went on to serve in the House of Representatives for nine terms! He and the 17th president, Andrew Johnson, are the only two former presidents (so far) who later served in Congress.

2008 James Monroe

Virginia native James Monroe was overwhelmingly elected the 5th President of the United States in 1817. Monroe, you see, fought in the Revolutionary War; supported the Bill of Rights; and served as a US diplomat in Europe, as governor of Virginia, as senator, as secretary of state, as secretary of war, and as a negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase. His experience made him an excellent candidate for the presidency.
Under his administration, the country enjoyed peace and a healthy economy. As a result, the years of his two terms are known as the “era of good feelings.”
As president, Monroe laid the foundation for American foreign policy in an 1823 message to Congress. This policy, which warned European powers against expanding in the Western Hemisphere, became known as the Monroe Doctrine.
To keep the balance between free states and slave states, he helped devise the Missouri Compromise. The Compromise also set a boundary line across the country. Above that line (36 degrees 30 feet north latitude), no Louisiana territory could introduce slavery

2005 Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Silver Dollar


But maybe you never heard of the Continental Marines. Congress created this service in November of 1775 to help the colonies fight the Revolutionary War. The Marines mostly fought in places like the Bahamas, where only ships could go. But they also fought on the mainland. For instance, they fought alongside the Continental Army in the second battle of Trenton in 1776.
And did you know that our Revolution was not fought only on American soil? In 1778, some Marines under John Paul Jones raided Great Britain! Twice!
After the Revolutionary War ended, America sold all its war ships and put an end to the Continental Marines and the Continental Navy. Now here's that big July: In July of 1798, Congress and President John Adams brought the Continental Marines back with the name we know it by today: The United States Marine Corps.
During World War II, Allied forces set out to recapture the Pacific islands that the Japanese had taken. The last island left to recapture was Iwo Jima. When soldiers raised the American flag on Iwo Jima, a photographer captured the event. The photograph was used as a model for the sculpture that became the Marine Corps War Memorial. The famous photograph was also used to create the obverse image on this commemorative coin.
In its 230 years, the Marine Corps has fought for American freedom and peace all over the world. The Corps' motto is "Always Faithful," which in Latin is "Semper Fidelis"...or, as the Marines like to say, "Semper Fi!"
Obverse: This image commemorates the raising of the American flag over Iwo Jima during World War II.
Reverse: This side shows the well-known insignia of the United States Marines.