Commems Collection Modern: What If? 1982 George Washington Silver $10

As I discussed in my posts on the 1982 George Washington Half Dollar (Part I and Part II), Senator James McClue (R-ID) introduced a bill calling for a Washington half dollar after the House bill calling for the same was already under consideration by the Senate Committee on Banking. As a result, his bill was not considered and the House bill went on to be passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan.

The half dollar bill was not Senator McClure's only attempt to sponsor a coin honoring George Washington's birth anniversary. More than a week before he introduced his half dollar bill, McClure introduced a bill calling for a $10 silver commemorative coin.

An interesting facet of the bill was that it did not include a specific mintage limit. Instead, it included the phrase "...the Secretary shall mint and issue $10 coins pursuant to this section in quantities as are necessary to meet the needs of the public."

Without a future amendment, however, the mintage would have been limited to ~1.293 million coins due to the bill's specification of a coin weight of 26.73 grams - of which 90% was to be silver by established US coin standards - and a specified transfer of 1 million troy ounces of silver from the US' Strategic and Critical Minerals Stockpile for use in striking the coins.

The $10 coin was to have a diameter of 38.1 millimeters (mm), the same as a traditional silver dollar, and a thickness of 2.9 mm (vs. 2.4 mm for a traditional silver dollar). The thickness might have been a typo in the bill, however, considering the coin was to have the same weight, diameter and composition as a US silver dollar. A coin 0.5 mm thicker would have to be heavier or use an alloy lighter than copper - either variation would have been counter to the bill's specifications as written.

The proposed coin was to feature designs "emblematic of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the birth of George Washington" with a date of "1982" and the required inscriptions - "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", "LIBERTY", "IN GOD WE TRUST" and "E PLURIBUS UNUM".

The bill specified that the Treasury/Mint was to sell the coins at a price equal to actual costs plus a surcharge of up to 20%. Interestingly, the bill did not specify a recipient for the surcharge funds - e.g., reduction of the national debt. Presumably, the surcharge funds would have been deposited in the Treasury's General Fund.

The bill was referred to Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, but was not considered or reported out. Alas, collectors would not be given the opportunity to acquire the US' first silver $10 coin!


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories from the classic and modern US commemorative series, see: Commems Collection.