Coined
Liberty
by
Scott Rentschler
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headband have now been replaced by a politician (Abraham Lincoln),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 coinfacts.com.
Reprinted
with permission from Awakening
to Liberty.
July
1, 2010
Scott
Rentschler [send him mail]
is an electrical engineer and lifelong student who enjoys reading
and writing about (among other things) libertarianism and Austrian
economics in his spare time. Visit his blog at awakeningtoliberty.blogspot.com.
Copyright
© 2010 Awakening
to Liberty
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