Most collectors of the modern United States ("US") commemorative coin series are familiar with the 1994 Women in Military Service Silver Dollar that was part of the three-coin "Veterans Program" released by the US Mint that also included Silver Dollars honoring Vietnam Veterans and Prisoners of War. What might not be as familiar of a topic is that prior iterations of the Women in Military Service coin proposal would have created a much different coin program.
Things began in August 1992 when Mary Rose Oakar (D-OH) introduced her "Women in the Armed Forces" coin bill in the US House of Representatives ("House"). It called for coins "in commemoration of women who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States" with designs symbolic of the same.
Oakar's bill sought a three-coin program - Gold Half Eagle (up to 300,000), Silver Dollar (up to 1,000,000) and a Silver Half Dollar (up to 2,000,000) - with each coin to be made available in Proof and Uncirculated versions.
The coins were to carry the following surcharge amounts:
- Gold Half Eagle: $35 per coin
- Silver Dollar: $8 per coin
- Silver Half Dollar: $2 per coin
Collected surcharge funds were to paid to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and "used to create, to endow, and to dedicate the Women in the Armed Forces Memorial."
If funds remained after erecting the Memorial, they were to be deposited into an account to be used in support of the "placement of commemorative works on certain Federal lands in the District of Columbia and its environs."
Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Coinage. The Committee did not report the bill for further consideration, however.
A companion bill (with the same coin provisions and sponsor/beneficiary) was introduced in the US Senate in October 1992 by Arlen Specter (R-PA). The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, but progressed no further.
Women in Military Service to America Memorial
To continue the Women in Military Service story, see:
What If? 1992-93 Women in Military Service - Part II.
Posted 09/25/2025 07:19 am
