Presented here is an interesting, inexpensive and worthwhile (IMO) supplement to a collection of modern US commemorative coins that includes the 2004 silver dollar commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition -- it's a commemorative Lewis and Clark Trail map and promotional brochure prepared by the Lewis and Clark Interagency Partnership ("Partnership").
To get everyone on the same page, here are obverse and reverse images of the L&C silver dollar:
Obverse
Reverse
If you'd like to read more about the 2004 silver dollar, you can view a previous post of mine here:
Lewis and Clark Coinage & Currency Set.
The Partnership was an agreement between two dozen federal departments and agencies that came together to commemorate the L&C Bicentennial. The Partnership's lead effort was
Corps of Discovery II: 200 Years to the Future, an interagency traveling exhibit that toured the country via a tractor trailer with "museum-quality interpretive exhibits." The exhibit also included the
Tent of Many Voices, a portable space intended to showcase "live demonstrations, lectures, cultural presentations and audiovisual showings" that were "made in partnership with [American] Indian tribes, various federal agencies, state and local governments, federal agencies and the private sector." [Source: US Department of the Interior press release regarding the exhibit's launch, January 13, 2003.]
The
Discovering the Legacy of Lewis and Clark map and brochure was another of the Partnership's main projects. On one side of the fold-out piece is a detailed map of the Lewis and Clark Trail that highlights many of the historical landmarks, monuments, museums and interpretive centers along its path. On the other side of the map is found state-by-state descriptions of places to visit to learn more about Lewis and Clark, their expedition and members of the Corps. IMO, the Partnership did a very good job with the map/brochure. It is colorful, well-designed and printed on high-quality glossy stock.
As a member of the Partnership, the US Mint sent the map to customers on its mailing list beginning in September 2003; it was sent in the same package as the Mint's end-of-the-year Annual Catalog for 2003. The map was delivered to customers ahead of the availability of the 2004 L&C commemorative silver dollar program, but it likely planted a seed with some otherwise uninterested customers that flowered when the L&C dollar coin did become available on May 12, 2004.
Obviously, the map/brochure is not a coin, nor did it hold one of the coins, and so it isn't for every collector. It does, however, provide some additional historical background for the 2004 L&C commemorative silver dollar and has a honest connection to the US Mint. For collectors who like a bit of paper ephemera to go along with their US commemorative coins, I believe the
Discovering the Legacy of Lewis and Clark map and brochure makes for a terrific collection supplement.
Front Panel of Brochure
Map Side of Brochure with L&C Trail Shown
Back Panel of Brochure with Treasury Department/US Mint Listed
Posted 07/11/2020 6:47 pm
I always pick up those types of maps at rest stops. They're fun references to have in case I'm looking for trip ideas.
