Coined Liberty

In the last chapter of The Dollar Meltdown, Charles Goyette makes a fascinating observation about what has been depicted on American coins over the years:

America's earliest coins portrayed Liberty. Not rulers and politicians. Just Liberty. A symbolic representation of the country's highest ideal. In the beginning Americans had an affair of the heart with Liberty. She was their muse and they were aflame in their love for her. They talked about her everywhere, in their churches and taverns and town squares. But she hasn't appeared on our circulation coinage for more than sixty years, not since the beautiful "Walking Liberty" half-dollar. It represented Liberty striding gracefully into the rising sun of the future, arm extended in peace and carrying a bounty of riches. It was a beautiful representation, well chosen, because abundance accompanies Liberty wherever she goes. Our devotion to her would be no less if it were not true, but it is one of her secrets: Liberty creates prosperity.

Today's coinage, looking each year more like subway tokens, celebrates the state. Just as words replace deeds and paper substitutes for gold, politicians have displaced ideals. The American state, which was created to serve Liberty, is now commemorated instead.

If you are like me, you have probably never seen most of the portrayals of Liberty on early American coins. Therefore, I thought it would be instructive for us to look at a few examples of American coinage through the years, contrasting the early portrayals of Liberty and prosperity with the more recent portrayals of politicians and state monuments.

"Classic Head" Liberty Penny (1808-1814)
On the obverse, Liberty in her original feminine, mythological form. On the reverse, a wreath (perhaps symbolizing peace, prosperity, or good will).


"Indian Head" Penny (1859-1909)
On the obverse, Liberty has been replaced with a male Indian, but at least the word "Liberty" is still prominently written across the headband. Wreath still on reverse.

"Lincoln/Wheat" Penny (1909-1958)

On the obverse, the male Indian and his prominent "Liberty" headband have now been replaced by a politician (Abraham Lincoln), and Liberty is now relegated to a conspicuously minor role to the left of Lincoln's profile. On the reverse, wheat--a symbol of prosperity.


"Lincoln/Memorial" Penny (1959-Present)
On the obverse, we still have the politician Abraham Lincoln. On the reverse, however, wheat has now been replaced with a political monument: the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.


"Liberty Head" Nickel (1883-1913)
On the obverse, Liberty in her original feminine, mythological form. On the reverse, a wreath.


Buffalo Nickel (1913-1938)
On the obverse, Liberty has once again been replaced by a male Indian, with the word "Liberty" taking on a minor role to the right of the Indian's profile. On the reverse, a buffalo in keeping with the Indian theme.


"Jefferson Head" Nickel (1938-Present)
On the obverse, the male Indian has now been replaced by a politician (Thomas Jefferson), with the word "Liberty" still relegated to a minor role to the right of his profile. On the reverse, we now have a depiction of a political monument: Monticello, Jefferson's estate just outside Charlottesville, VA.


"Draped Bust" Liberty Dime (1796-1807)
On the obverse, Liberty in her feminine, mythological form. On the reverse, an eagle and a wreath.


"Mercury Head" Dime (1916-1945)
This is an interesting one. On the obverse, Liberty appears to have been replaced by the god Hermes/Mercury, who is typically portrayed wearing a winged cap. Most online sources appear to claim that the figure is not Hermes/Mercury, and that it is in fact Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap that just happens to have wings on it. I suppose that might be true, but when I perform an image search for "Phrygian cap," none of the hits show wings attached to the cap. A winged cap appears to be associated primarily with Hermes/Mercury. However, since I don't know much about mythology, I won't speculate as to why Liberty was replaced with Hermes/Mercury. On the reverse, the eagle and wreath have been replaced by a fasces (symbolizing military power) juxtaposed with an olive branch (symbolizing peace).


Roosevelt Dime (1946-Present)
On the obverse, Hermes/Mercury has now been replaced by a politician (Franklin Delano Roosevelt). On the reverse, the olive branch remains, but the fasces has been replaced by a torch and an oak branch (symbolizing liberty and victory, respectively).


"Standing Liberty" Quarter (1916-1930)
On the obverse, Liberty in her feminine, mythological form. On the reverse, a soaring eagle.


"Washington Head" Quarter (1932-Present)
On the obverse, Liberty has now been replaced by a politician (George Washington). On the obverse, there is still an eagle, but now it is grasping a bunch of arrows in its sharp talons (symbolizing war) above a wreath or olive branch (symbolizing peace).

I could continue with many more examples, but I think you get the point by now. Something disturbing has clearly happened to the symbolism on our coinage over the years, especially beginning in the 1930s. That was right around the time FDR seized and outlawed Americans' gold and put America on the fast track to a command economy via his New Deal. Interestingly, while our political leaders moved our monetary iconography away from Liberty and toward state-worship, the government simultaneously decreased the precious metal content of our coins and increased the base metal content. Today, all of our coins are flimsy, light, cheap-looking tokens made entirely of base metals.

Perhaps most revealing of all is the fact that there are still two popular American coins that depict Liberty in all her mythological beauty: the American Gold Eagle and American Silver Eagle. That should tell us something important about the relationship of Liberty to real money.

[Note: Most of the coin images displayed in this post are from www.coinfacts.com]