Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2023 Lincoln Memorial Centennial

I'll say it at the beginning...I wish this coin proposal would have succeeded.

In February 2022, during the 117th Congress, Darin LaHood (R-IL) - for himself and S. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) - introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that called for a commemorative Silver Dollar to help mark the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

US President Warren G. Harding at Lincoln Memorial Dedication Ceremony

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.)

(Note: It was President William Howard Taft that signed the bill that authorized the creation of the Lincoln Memorial; Taft signed the bill on February 11, 1911.)

As is the modern series norm, the coin bill included a "Findings" section:

The Congress finds the following:

(1) The year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, dedicated on May 30, 1922.

(2) The iconic Lincoln Memorial is a U.S. national memorial built in the style of a neoclassical temple in honor of the 16th President of the United States. Designed by Henry Bacon and sited on the western end of the National Mall across from the Washington Monument, the memorial contains a grand seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and includes inscriptions of passages from the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's second inaugural address.

(3) The most visited monument on the National Mall, the Lincoln Memorial provides visitors with a grand view of the Mall and meaningful and inspiring way to experience President Lincoln and his legacy. It has been the site of many important historical events, including Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

(4) Congress has invested significant funding to repair and restore the Lincoln Memorial over the years. The purpose of this Act is to build a long-term maintenance fund for future repairs and maintenance to augment the National Park Service budget and further protect and build upon Congress's initial investment in the memorial.

(5) Since 2007, the Trust for the National Mall has been the leading nonprofit nonpartisan philanthropic partner of the National Mall and Memorial Parks division of the National Park Service dedicated to bringing private and public resources and public awareness to support the preservation, restoration, and enrichment of the National Mall. The Trust will provide management of the maintenance fund in collaboration with the National Park Service.

(6) The Trust for the National Mall wants to honor the contributions of Abraham Lincoln to our great Nation. The Trust will promote and encourage support for this commemorative coin as a way to increase public awareness and appreciation for Lincoln's legacy and to inspire Americans to share in this important effort to preserve the memorial for generations to come.

The proposed coin program was a simple one: a single Silver Dollar design, to be available in Proof and Uncirculated versions with a maximum mintage of 500,000. The coins were to be dated and issued in 2023. (Why "2023" vs. "2022" - the Centennial year? By the time the Lincoln Memorial Centennial coin bill was introduced in Congress, the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor coin program (December 2020) and the Negro Leagues Baseball coin program (December 2020) had already been approved for calendar year 2022.)

The issue price of the SD was to include a surcharge of $10 per coin. Collected surcharge funds were to "be paid to the Trust of the National Mall and for the purpose of restoring and preserving the Lincoln Memorial."

The bill did not make it out of Committee and was never considered by the Whole House. The bill's lack of co-sponsors - it had just 20 - kept the bill from receiving full consideration. Disappointing (to me)!

If you ever find yourself in Washington, DC, I highly encourage you to make the time to visit the Lincoln Memorial. IMO, it's hard not to be inspired by a visit (even if you've been before!).

Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and US Capitol Dome at Night

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.)

A few notes about the Lincoln Memorial:

1) Henry Bacon patterned his design for the Lincoln Memorial after the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

2) The Memorial is 190 feet wide, 120 feet deep and 99 feet tall.

3) The Memorial was constructed with Colorado Yule marble. Construction began in 1914 and was dedicated on May 30, 1922.

4) Daniel Chester French designed the Lincoln statue housed in the Memorial's interior; it is 19 feet tall by 19 feet wide and weighs 175 tons. It was carved from Georgia White Marble by the noted marble carvers, the Piccirilli Brothers (Italian-Americans who emigrated from Italy and set up a studio in New York City). French supervised the Brothers' carving. (Note: French's original sculpture was enlarged by the Piccirilli brothers to its "monumnetal" size.) The statue took four years to carve.

5) The large Reflecting Pool to the east of the Lincoln Memorial is 2,030 feet long by 167 feet wide. Its depth ranges from 16 inches at the edges to 30 inches in the center. It was designed by Henry Bacon (same as Memorial) and built in 1922-23 (after the Memorial's dedication).

Lincoln Statue within Lincoln Memorial Interior

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.)


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, and other What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.