Video ANA Academy: The Lafayette Dollar: Big, Bold & Forgotten

Their videography skills leave something to be desired, but an interesting video none the less.

I was more interested in the "Forgotten" aspect of the coin, and their reasoning was mostly based on price of the coin at time of release ($2), and lack of interest in the (yet to be) series at the time.

I agree, but I think some other reasons could be; no central sales point or souvenir aspect like the Columbus/Isabella, a cause that many Americans at the time may have had little interest in supporting (a statue in a different country), and that it had been 7 years since the last commemorative.

I'd be interested in knowing how the coin was promoted, how someone would obtain one. Was it mail order from the mint, dealer ads in numismatic (or other) publications, newspaper ads, or what? No internet, no TV, no radio, etc., so how did the committee get the word out to the masses, or did they? When you're hoping to sell a novelty coin for about a full day's pay, in a time when numismatics wasn't a household word, I would think you'd need to be aggressive in your promotion.

Those are my thoughts on it's lack of popularity at release.

As for today, the Lafayette (IMO) is somewhat of an odd duck like the Isabella.

Thanks for the link!

Thanks Commems! Yes it does.

Do you have any thoughts as to the 'Forgotten' aspect of the Lafayette? It does seem to be a coin that is hardly spoken about in forums, even with it's high value.