Commems Collection Questions: Answer #13 - Monarch On The Isabella Quarter

NumisEd asked:


First, I'd like to clear up the roots/objectives of the coin.

Though they served as significant fundraisers for the overall 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, women were not accorded the same respect and attention at the Exhibition as the men. For example, space in the Main Exhibition Hall was denied to them for the display of works created by women. As a result, the Women's Centennial Executive Committee arranged for the construction of its own Women's Pavilion to exhibit the works by women the Committee had assembled.

From the International Exhibition of 1876 - Report of the Director-General of the United States Centennial Commission:

The Women's Department was a prominent and novel feature. The spacious structure erected under their immediate supervision, and with funds raised by women, was devoted exclusively to the exhibition of women's work and their industrial capability and capacity. It was left wholly to their direction, as well as the administration of the affairs of the department, subject only to the general regulations of the Exhibition.

When it came time for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, a Board of Lady Managers was created to oversee women's activities and exhibits at the Exposition. Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was a key driver behind the Board being formed to help ensure better representation of women among the Exposition's management - something lacking in 1876. The Board may have "advanced the rights of women" within the context of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, but such a role beyond the Exposition was not directly part of its mandate.

The US Congress allocated funds to the Board of Lady Managers for its activities (including construction of its pavilion); a portion of this allocation was delivered in the form of $0.25 coins. This was done at the request of Mrs. Bertha Potter Palmer, President of the Board of Lady Managers, who made the request when she appeared before Congress during a Hearing regarding the Exposition. At the Hearing, regarding the coin's design, Palmer stated "On one side we want the head of Queen Isabella, as a recognition of her assistance to Christopher Columbus in coming to this country." The statement did not raise any concerns at the Hearing as such a design was a logical parallel to the Exposition's half dollar design that depicts Christopher Columbus. (You can read more about the Hearing and appropriation here: 1893 Isabella Quarter - Appropriation Roots.)

The quarter could be purchased at the Women's Building at the Exposition, but was not merely a "token of the women's pavilion" nor was it the primary source of funds for the building's construction. US Government appropriations paid for the building's construction costs.

The coin's enabling legislation did not specify design details for the coin - nor did it refer to the coin as the "Isabella Quarter" - it was referred to simply as a souvenir 25-cent coin to be provided to the Board of Lady Managers as part of its operational appropriation. Finalization of the coin's design, with Queen Isabella on the obverse, came after the coin's Congressional approval.

Reaction to the coin would likely have been very different had proposed designs for the coin featured a British Monarch - Henry VII was the King in 1492 - considering the past US-UK colonial ties, but the American colonies did not fight for their freedom from Spain. As a result, and considering Queen Isabella's role in the financing of Columbus' voyage, the coin's designs did not face Congressional push back once they were announced. It also needs to be remembered that the coin was to commemorate events from the 1490s - well before any monarch ruled over American colonists (there weren't yet any colonists!). There wasn't a link between Queen Isabella, the desire for independence and the American Revolution.

1893 Isabella Quarter



For more discussion of the Isabella Quarter's designs, see:

- 1893 Isabella Quarter - A Closer Look At Its Design