Coins that remind us what the 4th of July is really about
Sure the Fourth of July is about parades, fireworks and barbecues, but the official name of the federal holiday is Independence Day – commemorating the signing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence 239 years ago on July 4, 1776. This national celebration of the birth and preservation of our nation’s independence is a great time to take note of U.S. coins honoring those who gained our freedom over two centuries ago.
Special-issue coins recall birth of our nation
Coins from both the early era of U.S. commemoratives, from 1892-1954, and modern era, from 1982 to date, are tributes to the heroic and ultimately successful struggle by the fledgling United States to win independence from Great Britain – the greatest and most feared military power at the time. And for the country’s 200th birthday celebration in 1975, special bicentennial reverses honoring the birth of the nation appeared on circulating quarters, half dollars and dollars.
- The 1925 Lexington-Concord half dollar, honoring the 150th anniversary of the first battles of the American Revolution, depicts the Old Belfry in Lexington and the Minute Man statue in Concord. This coin is significant to me as I have relatives in those prominent Massachusetts towns who participate in Patriots’ Day reenactments and who’ve taught me well about their historic local sites!
Another early commemorative of note on the 4th of July is the 1926 American Sesquicentennial half dollar – celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and depicting the Liberty Bell, first president George Washington, and president at the time of issue, Calvin Coolidge.- For the nation’s 200th birthday in 1976, special bicentennial U.S. coins included Washington quarters depicting a Revolutionary War drummer on the reverse, Kennedy half dollars featuring Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed and adopted, and Eisenhower dollars bearing the Liberty Bell superimposed against the moon (representing 200 years of progress).
- Struck during the modern era of U.S. commemoratives is the 1998 Black Revolutionary War Patriots silver dollar – depicting the first African-American killed in the 1770 Boston Massacre and honoring all black patriots of the American Revolutionary War.
- Also from the modern commemorative era is the popular 2005 Marine Corps silver dollar – which honored the 230th anniversary of the establishment of the Marines in 1775 at the outset of the Revolutionary War and their crucial contributions to the American victory (the coin depicts the famous raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima by U.S. Marines).
Enjoy the true spirit of the Fourth!
While you’re taking in your own local parade, barbecue or fireworks on this Fourth of July, take time to consider the essence of this national holiday – a celebration of the birth of our independence 239 years ago and its preservation by some ten generations of American service men and women ever since.
I can’t help wondering what the atmosphere in Independence Hall must have been like after delegates from the 13 colonies signed their joint citizenry into certain war against the most formidable military and naval force in the world. The tenacity and accomplishments of our Founding Fathers and the American Continental Army were nothing short of extraordinary…
But equally worthy of honor during the holiday weekend are the men and women who have defended our freedom since then, and you’ll see many of them marching in Fourth of July parades throughout the country. My father is among the dwindling number of World War II veterans still alive today, and WWII vets have long been a proud part of the July 4th parade in the small nearby town where he lives. This stalwart group from “the Greatest Generation” has been reduced over the years from more than twenty to 4 or 5 (my late mother served during World War II in the Navy WAVES – “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service” – and paraded with the WWII vets for some 35 years). After marching valiantly for decades through numerous rainstorms that seemed to arrive soon after the town parade began, this small band of aging WWII survivors is now mercifully transported in a couple of classic convertibles!
Be sure to give all the active and veteran service men and women a salute as they march by in your local Fourth of July parade.
As we honor the 239th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, please share your thoughts on these or other U.S. coins of historical interest or significance to you.
