Celebrating America’s Car Culture

The White Mountains of New Hampshire where Littleton Coin Company is located is paradise for vintage car enthusiasts. Historically significant roads. Stunning scenic drives. Natural and architectural backdrops for posing with a classic car or truck. And, an annual outdoor show season!

Stephen, who works in Littleton Coin’s operations, and his wife are fans. “We like chatting with the owners about their restoration efforts.”      

Those opportunities tap into the couple’s lifelong interest in America’s car culture. When his wife and her sister were kids, they rode in the rumble seat of their uncle’s Model A for parades. Stephen “…grew up with muscle cars in the high school parking lot.” 

So, the couple took notice when the U.S. Mint starting celebrating America’s automotive history.

The Original Influencer

The U.S. Mint twice honored Indiana’s contributions to one of the country’s leading industries. The first occurred during the Statehood Quarter series. In 2002, it released the Hoosier State’s coin featuring an Indy 500 racing car.

Then in 2023, the mint pulled off a design feat by neatly packing three groundbreaking inventions on the reverse of a U.S. Innovation dollar. The top featured the first gas-powered automobile invented by Elwood Haynes and built in Kokomo. The middle image showed the distinctive long chassis for the luxe, and fast, eight-cylinder automobile designed and built by the Duesenberg  brothers in Indianapolis. It won the French Grand Prix in 1921 and the Indy 500 in 1922.

The third image on the bottom depicted an ultra-modern race car that is a nod to the aerodynamic design evolution of cars racing the 2.5-mile track known formally as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (As an aside: Drivers need to achieve 200 laps around the track to reach the 500-mile finish.)

All of which is a testament to Carl G. Fisher of Greensburg, easily the automotive industry’s first influencer. His fascination with the newfangled technology of gas-powered autos turned his attention away from repairing bicycles. Fisher made headlights for the early vehicles.

In tandem, he opened a dealership to sell the new conveyances. Then, in 1909, he had the speedway built as both a testing and racing track. Finally, in 1913, Fisher influenced the course of the coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway through his home state.

All of which is to observe: Fisher never wound up on a coin.

Af-FORD-able!

But over in neighboring Michigan, Henry Ford did!

Earlier this year, the U.S. Mint honored the invention of moveable parts for assembly line production that made Ford Motor Co. such a success. Take an extra minute to read Fasten your seat belt and discover the U.S. Innovation dollar for the Wolverine state, plus other coins that honor car inventors.

Stephen shared that one of his family’s favorite Ford vehicles was a black Lincoln Continental Convertible. Coming from a family with four siblings, Stephen recalled the iconic 1960’s model with fondness. Everyone enjoyed its roomy interior, cushioned suspension and, of course, its unusual rear-hinged passenger doors.

An Army vet for trained as an engineer, Stephen also had a similar level of appreciation for Ford’s classic F-150 that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025.

“It had a military-grade aluminum alloy body, which made it more resistant to dents and rust,” he added, “and its steel frame was perfect for towing heavy loads.”

Thanks to a special licensing arrangement with Ford, Littleton is able to offer truck fans this celebratory $2 Note colorized to show a vintage F-150. It’s one of 12 notes in our unique Ford Showroom Collection.

If you’re new to collecting automobila, you may want to know the F-150 is a nod to the original 1925 Ford Runabout. It was America’s first factory-built pickup and came with an adjustable tailgate, heavy-duty rear leaf springs, and a 4-cylinder, 40 horsepower engine.

Duck, Duck, Duck – Christmas!

Stephen’s Army stint also included a memorable experience with a WWII-era Jeep_® Willy. He set the scene explaining that “As a lieutenant, I was in charge of an earth moving platoon with bulldozers, graders, scrapers, dump trucks, backhoes, bucket loaders, and tractor-trailers…I wasn’t allowed to drive the vehicle assigned to me… and I didn’t want to tie up an equipment operator driving me around to the different construction sites.”

His solution? “I went to the base motor pool and signed out a Willy’s Jeep [vehicle] and drove myself for six months.” The rugged Willy proved why it had earned a reputation for versatility. “I had a blast bombing through the woods and trails of rural Virginia!”

Littleton’s licensing arrangement with FCA US LLC for use of all its historic Jeep brand images has so far produced a colorized note series showcasing WWII Jeep 4x4s, a complementary dollar coin series of Jeep vehicles in famous battles, a colorized Eisenhower dollar for the holidays, plus a growing collection of challenge coins featuring a cheerful yellow duck for the Jeep 4×4 ducking phenomenon.

Naturally, with Christmas coming, we think these smaller pieces are ideal stocking stuffers!  And, if you want to discover more about spreading kindness like Jeep vehicle owners, take a gander at this Heads & Tails blog. Tis the season!