Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1932 George Washington Gold $3

During the Second Session of the 71st Congress, Representative John Levi Cable (R-OH) introduced a bill that called for the issue of a gold $3.00 coin "in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington." The bill was introduced, not so coincidentally, on February 22nd.

The bill called for 300,000 gold $3.00 coins to be struck; with their design being left up to the "Director of the Mint, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury." The bill made no mention of the coin's specifications (e.g., size, weight, composition), though as the US had previously struck $3,00 gold coins, it would seem likely that the commemorative pieces would be struck to the previous standards: Size - 20.5 millimeter diameter, 5.015 grams weight and 90% gold, 10% copper composition.

Upon its introduction, the bill was immediately referred to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, but it never was reported out. The proposal took a distant back seat to the discussions regarding a new circulating 25-cent coin to commemorate George Washington.

While Congress' inaction meant the US would not get its first $3.00 commemorative coin, Washington's birthday bicentennial commemorations did result in the US getting its second commemorative quarter! (See the link below for a discussion of the George Washington circulating commemorative coin.)

1932 Washington Quarter Dollar



Unrelated to the coin proposal, Congress commemorated Washington's birthday, a Saturday in 1930, with a program of addresses by members of either Congress or the George Washington Bicentennial Commission. Representative John Quillon Tilson (R-CT) was the first to give an address, of which I include a line here that I found to be very interesting and pertaining to something to which I had never previously given any thought:

"George Washington was born at Wakefield, in Virginia, on what was then February 11, 1732, according to the calendar in use at that time; but in 1752 the Gregorian calendar was finally adopted by Great Britain, and so by the addition of 11 days February 22 became the day on which to celebrate his birthday. "


For more details on the Washington Commemorative Quarter, check out:

- 1932 Washington Quarter


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more "What If?" topics, see: Commems Collection.