Post Your Coins And Medals With Conjoined Portraits

Very interesting!

Thank you for sharing the additional photos and details, too.

Very nice!

The 1951 Carver-Washington commemorative half dollar is the last conjoined portrait coin of the classic-era US commemorative coins. The obverse of the half dollar presents right-facing portraits of George W. Carver (front) and Booker T. Washington.

George Washington Carver


Booker T. Washington


The coin was an amendment to / extension of the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial coin series (1946-51) and was issued "to commemorate the lives and perpetuate the ideals and teachings of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, two great Americans." (Public Law 82-151)

Booker T. Washington was a teacher, speaker, author, promoter, school administrator and tireless advocate for equality for African-Americans. He was not overtly aggressive with his approach - something that angered some other civil rights activists of the day - preferring, instead, to work toward equality through better education, workplace advancement and increased economic opportunities for African-Americans plus personal financial contributions in support of civil rights made quietly behind the scenes.

George Washington Carver was also a teacher and advocate for racial harmony. In addition, he was a dedicated scientist, inventor, leader and man of service to his fellow man. Carver created over 100 products made from peanuts, and also created dozens that made use of sweet potatoes. He introduced and promoted the concept of crop rotation to help farmers maintain nutrient-rich soil (after seeing the negative impact of repeated plantings of cotton).

I think the strength of his character is well-presented in the prepared statement of Senator James John Davis (R-PA), read during the Hearing for the proposed George Washington Carver National Monument, "Patient scholar, creative scientist, humble servant of man and God, George Washington Carver was one whose humbleness toward knowledge, whose tolerance toward men, and whose reverence toward God, molded him into one of the world's beloved figures. His ceaseless quest for learning led him always into the paths of service."

While the coin certainly honors two important American figures, I believe their memory was done a disservice by the coin's design. While the obverse with its conjoined portraits is certainly acceptable, the coin's reverse design, IMO, is likely the most unprofessional of all designs depicted on a US commemorative coin. The map of the continental US does not include all of the states and shows some that are badly misshapen. The coin's reverse design was certainly sub-par (at best).

The coin was designed by Isaac Scott Hathaway, an African-American artist whose significant talent was well beyond the misshapen map - to this day, I wonder how "the map" could have happened considering the detailed, realistic and life-like sculptures Hathaway created for figures such as Paul Laurence Dunbar, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, among others.

1951-54 George Washington Carver - Booker T. Washington Half Dollar





You can learn more about the Carver-Washington coin here:

- 1951-54 Carver-Washington Half Dollar
- Carver vs. Carver-Washington
- 1951-54 Carver-Washington - Coins with Stars Thread


View other of my posts about the original Booker T. Washington half dollar and other commemorative coins and medals here: Read More: Commems Collection.

@AcesKings: Thanks for posting! You have an attractive set!



Some might say "Yes" but the figures on the Mount Rushmore coins are not true conjoined portraits. Numismatically speaking, conjoined portraits are when two or more portraits are presented one behind the other. On Mount Rushmore, and its coins, the "head shots" of the presidents are side-by-side, not one behind the other.

I'm wrapping up my US commemorative coin-based look at conjoined portrait coins with a pair of One Peso commemorative coins struck for the US Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1936, The coins were issued to mark the Philippines' transition from US Territory to US Commonwealth on November 15, 1935 as an interim step on its way to full independence in 1946.

The first Peso features portraits of Manuel Quezon (forward portrait), the first president of the Commonwealth, and Frank Murphy, the last US Governor-General of the Philippines.

1936 Frank Murphy-Manuel Quezon Commemorative One Peso


Manuel Quezon - While Serving as Philippines Commonwealth President

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, http://www.loc.gov/pictures. Public Domain.)

Quezon (1878-1944) had a long history in Philippine politics. He won election to the Philippines National Assembly in 1907 where he served one term and then was selected to serve as one of two Philippine Resident Commissioners in the US Congress; he served in the position during four consecutive Congresses (61st - 64th) from December 6, 1909 to October 15, 1916. He then returned to the Philippines where he was elected to the Philippines Senate, serving as its President; he served from 1916 to 1935, leaving the position after being elected as the Commonwealth's first President (his term began on November 15, 1935). Quezon and his family fled the Philippines after Japan invaded the islands in 1942, and moved to upstate New York, where he lived and administered the Philippines government-in-exile. Quezon did not live to see the end of World War II or the Philippines become an independent nation, he died on August 1, 1944 from TB complications (an infliction he had suffered from since 1901).

Frank Murphy - While Serving as US Attorney General (Post Philippines)

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, http://www.loc.gov/pictures. Public Domain.)

During his career, Frank Murphy (1890-1949) was a successful lawyer, the mayor of Detroit, the Governor of Michigan, the US Attorney General and a US Supreme Court Associate Justice. In between his time as Detroit's Mayor and Michigan's Governor, Murphy served as the last Governor-General of the Philippines under Franklin Delano Roosevelt; he served in the position from 1933 to 1935; he served as the High Commissioner to the Philippines from 1935 to 1936 (after the Philippines became a Commonwealth).

The second Peso depicts Quezon and US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR); Roosevelt is shown behind Quezon's portrait but his portrait is moved out from behind Quezon's to show more of FDR's profile.

1936 Franklin Delano Roosevelt-Manuel Quezon Commemorative One Peso


Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Portrait Painting

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, http://www.loc.gov/pictures. Public Domain.)

Very briefly, the first elected office for Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) was as a member of the New York State Senate in 1910; he was re-elected in 1912. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him as Secretary of the Navy in 1913 (as a reward for his support); he served in the post until 1920. He later was elected as Governor of New York in 1928 and re-elected in 1930. He was elected as the 32nd US President in 1932, defeating Herbert Hoover, and served from January 1933 until his death on April 12, 1945 - he is the only US president to be elected four times. He was the sitting president at the time of the Philippines transitioning from Territory to Commonwealth.


For far more detailed and informative biographies on each man featured on these coins, have a look at the following:

- Frank Murphy (Detroit Historical Society)
- Manuel Quezon (US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives)
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR Library and Museum)


For more on the 1936 Commemorative coins for the US-Philippines, check out:

- 1935 US-PI Commonwealth Commemorative Coins



2

Fantastic examples!

I agree, Mt. Rushmore is a bit of a stretch.

1865 Bolivia.
½ Melgarejo.