Coins as a canvas – Honoring Black History Month

But first, a little history: Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, was originally celebrated in 1926 during the February week that holds the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The occasion was continued as a week-long celebration for half a century. Then, in 1976, it was expanded to the entire month of February.

From Booker T. Washington to Duke Ellington…

With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and African American History Month upon us, I got to thinking about the number of African Americans who have been honored on U.S. coins.

Booker T. Washington

The first African American ever honored on a U.S. coin was Booker T. Washington. Born into slavery in 1856, he worked hard and persevered to become a famed author and black educator who paved the way for the later Civil Rights movements. He also founded Alabama’s Tuskegee University in 1881, and served as its first president.

Then, in the 1940s, a former student of Washington’s named Sydney Phillips devised a plan to raise funds so that he could purchase the Virginia farm where Booker had been born. A commemorative half dollar was created depicting Washington, and priced to sell at $1 apiece. The coins were issued from 1946-1951, with most of the coins in the series boasting mintages under 8,000!

Just as that series was coming to an end, another commemorative coin – honoring TWO important African Americans – was in the works. Once again envisioned and created by Sydney Phillips, it featured profiles of both Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Carver had been an important botanist and colleague of Mr. Washington. These coins were struck from 1951-1954.

A new era in commemorative coins

The Carver-Washington half dollars marked the end of America’s classic commemoratives. Although modern issues began again in 1982, it wasn’t until 1997 that another African American graced a U.S. coin.

In 1997, Major League Baseball great and Civil Rights pioneer Jackie Robinson was honored on a silver dollar and $5 gold coin. That year marked both the 50th anniversary of his entry into the majors, and was also the year that his jersey number, 42, was retired across the league.

The following year, another commemorative was issued in honor of Black Revolutionary War Patriots. The obverse featured the presumed likeness of Crispus Attucks, whose death (along with four other men) at the hands of British troops in 1770 lit a fuse of rebellion that led directly to the American Revolution.

Two additional commemoratives – the 2007 Little Rock Central High School Desegregation and the 2014 Civil Rights Act of 1964 issues – didn’t depict specific African Americans, but both honored important milestones in civil rights history.

Duke Ellington

As for circulating coins, it wasn’t until the Statehood quarter series that a black man was depicted on a coin of the United States that was issued for circulation. In 2003, a man named York – William Clark’s slave – was featured alongside both Clark and Meriweather Lewis as part of the Corps of Discovery on Missouri’s quarter. Then, in 2009, Duke Ellington – a pioneer in jazz music – was shown on the reverse of the Washington, D.C. territory quarter (a shout out to Ellington’s 1899 birthplace). Today, each and every one of these issues has left their mark on the history of U.S. coinage – and they serve as a fitting tribute during African American History Month.