Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1965 General Macarthur Quarter

In early September 1965, John Waldemar Wydler (R-NY) introduced an amendment to the Coinage Act of 1965 in the House of Representatives that called for the placement of "a likeness of the late General of the Army Douglas MacArthur on one side." MacArthur's quote "Duty, Honor, Country" (originally spoken at a 1962 speech given by MacArthur at West Point when he was accepting the Academy's Thayer Award) was to be included. A parallel amendment proposal was introduced by Representative John Irving Whalley (R-PA) approximately two weeks later. Each amendment was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency.

General Douglas MacArthur had died a year+ earlier on April 5, 1964 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; he was being treated for biliary cirrhosis (a condition which destroys the bile ducts in the liver and thus allows bile to build up in the liver to a toxic level). MacArthur was 84 at the time; he was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on January 26, 1880.

MacArthur graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1903 - he was first in his class. His first military commission was with the US Army Corps of Engineers as a Second Lieutenant; his first assignment took him to the Philippines - at the time, a Territory of the US. (The Philippines would play a significant role in MacArthur's military life.)

MacArthur had a distinguished military career, serving in leaderships positions during World War I, World War II and in Korea. During his career, he earned two Distinguished Service Crosses (WWI), a Distinguished Service Medal (WWI), seven Silver Stars (WWI) and two Purple Hearts (awarded in 1932) for two separate mustard gas attacks he survived during WWI. In World War II, he received the Medal of Honor - the highest military award of the United States - for his actions in defense of the Philippines. He also was promoted to the rank of Five-Star General in 1944 after liberating the Philippines from the Japanese - he returned to the islands to make good on a promise he made in 1942 when he was forced to leave the Philippines in advance of the invading Japanese. (Note: MacArthur is just one of five to achieve the rank of Five-Star General of the Army.)

Following MacArthur's death, a 50-member Commemorative Coin for MacArthur Committee formed and worked to secure signatures on a petition that called for a MacArthur coin. The Committee was spearheaded by Stewart Smith of Baldwin New York; he helped gather ~4,000 signatures on the Committee's petition. Representative Wydler remarked that is was the work of Smith and the Committee that inspired him to introduce his Coinage Act amendment.

During his Extended Remarks on his coinage proposal, Wydler argued that MacArthur's popularity would be a boon to the public's acceptance of the new "cupri-nickel" coinage at a time when it was generally believed that the new silverless coinage would be spurned by the general public.

Neither of the two amendments was ever reported out of Committee or considered further - George Washington made the transition from silver to copper-nickel clad and continues in place to the present!

At the time, MacArthur had previously been recognized numismatically via a Gold Congressional Medal (in 1962).

1962 Congressional Medal for General Douglas MacArthur - Bronze Copy

(Image Credit: PCGS CoinFacts. Fair use, education.)

At the time, the Mint struck full-size and small bronze replicas of the medal for public sale. The small version of the medal was struck again by the Mint recently for inclusion in the 2013 5-Star Generals Profile Collection.


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, see: Commems Collection.