Post Your Coins Representing The Animal Kingdom.

Very nice!

Great examples!

2014 China
Panda 10 Ten Yuan Solid .999 Silver 1oz .

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@ Bvlro6
Very nice!

Nice examples!

I posted one of my Lafayette Dollar coins in the "Post Your Coins With Horses" thread (1900 Lafayette), but decided to add the first Lafayette Dollar I purchased to this "Animal Kingdom" thread. The coin marked the first time that I paid more than $1.000 for a coin, it will always have a special place in my collection.

The Lafayette dollar was sponsored by the Lafayette Memorial Commission ( LMC). The primary project of the LMC was to create a fitting monument to General Lafayette and to then give it to the people of France during the Paris Exposition of 1900. The commemorative coin was used as a fund-raiser to support the costs associated with the monument; school children from around the US also raised funds for the statue, with almost $50,000 coming from their efforts.

The reverse of the coin depicts a preliminary version of the equestrian statue of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette created by Paul Wayland Bartlett that was erected in Paris by the LMC. (More discussion of the statue vs. coin can be found here: 1900 Lafayette - Statue).

Lafayette Statue in Paris, France

Image is from the George Grantham Bain Collection held by the US Library of Congress. Image is in the Public Domain.

The coin was the first US commemorative dollar coin. In the modern series of US commemorative coins, the $1 coin has become the standard issue, supplanting the half dollar that was the most-often used denomination of the classic series.

1900 Lafayette Memorial Dollar


I've previously posted stories about the Lafayette coin here: 1900 Lafayette Memorial and here 1900 Lafayette Dollar - Revisited.

You can access stories about other commemorative coins and medals here: Read More: Commems Collection.

Very nice!

Canadian 2016 1.25 OZ Silver Bison