As a kid, I built a good number of World War II ship models. I wasn't into airplane models nearly as much as I was into ship models. It might have been my dad's service on multiple ships during WWII or it might have been the "cool factor" of recreating the mighty warships in miniature. In any case, I recall spending hours building them and staging "battles" against those of one of my friends.
So, full disclosure up front, this is the story of a Silver Dollar that I would have supported had it been struck two+ decades ago.
Battleship USS New Jersey, Circa 1985
(Image Credit: Department of Defense, Visual Information Center. Public Domain.)In June 1999, during the First Session of the 106th Congress, Rodney P. Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), in the House of Representatives, introduced a bill that called for silver dollars to be struck to financially assist with costs to move the USS
New Jersey and permanently berth it in New Jersey. In July, Robert G. Torricelli (D-NJ) introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
The House bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services. and then further referred to its Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy. The Senate bill was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The bills included a detailed Findings section:
"Congress finds the following:
(1) The U.S.S. New Jersey was launched December 7, 1942, the start of nearly 50 years of dedicated service to our Nation prior to final decommissioning in 1991.
(2) After commissioning, the U.S.S. New Jersey was sent to the Pacific, and played a key role in operations in the Marshalls, Marianas, Carolines, Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, with a particular highlight being the U.S.S. New Jersey's service as the flagship for Commander 3d Fleet, Admiral William "Bull"' Halsey, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944.
(3) After the Allied victory in World War II, the U.S.S. New Jersey was deactivated in 1948 until being called to service for the second time, in November 1950.
(4) The U.S.S. New Jersey served two tours in the Western Pacific during the Korean War, serving as flagship for Commander 7th Fleet.
(5) After her valiant service during the Korean War, the U.S.S. New Jersey was again mothballed in 1957, only to be reactivated again in 1968 to serve as the only active-duty Navy battleship.
(6) The U.S.S. New Jersey served a successful tour during the Vietnam conflict, providing critical major-caliber fire support for friendly troops, before again being decommissioned in December 1969.
(7) The U.S.S. New Jersey's service to our country did not end with the Vietnam conflict, as she was again called to active duty status in December 1982 and provided a show of strength off the coast of Nicaragua, in Central America in 1983.
(8) The Navy again called upon the U.S.S. New Jersey to provide critical support by sending her to the Mediterranean in 1983 to provide critical fire support to Marines in embattled Beirut, Lebanon.
(9) The U.S.S. New Jersey continued to serve the Navy in a variety of roles, including regular deployments in the Western Pacific.
(10) The U.S.S. New Jersey was decommissioned for the fourth and final time in February 1991.
(11) In 1998 Congress passed legislation to decommission the U.S.S. New Jersey and permanently berth her in the State of New Jersey.
(12) The State has strongly endorsed bringing the U.S.S. New Jersey home, and has issued commemorative license plates and taken other steps to raise funds for the costs of relocating the U.S.S. New Jersey.
(13) The New Jersey congressional delegation is united in its support for bringing the U.S.S. New Jersey home to New Jersey."The bill called for the minting of up to 500,000 0.900 fine silver dollars dated "2002." The issue price of each coin was to include a $10 surcharge, with the collected surcharge funds to be paid to the U.S.S. New Jersey Battleship Foundation in Middletown, New Jersey.
Neither bill was reported out of committee, however, and each died for lack of action with the adjournment of the 106th Congress. No additional attempts were made to secure a coin in future Congresses.
Other funding sources were found, however, and the USS
New Jersey was successfully moved from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (Bremerton, Washington), through the Panama Canal and up the East Coast of the US to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where it was refurbished (1999-2001); it was originally built at the Philadelphia yard between mid-1940 and December 1942. The battleship was then moved to New Jersey and berthed at Camden (Bayonne also attempted to win the rights to be the home of the ship). Today, it is operated as a museum ship under the management of the Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey, Inc. Learn more about the ship and museum here:
https://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more classic-era and modern What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 09/05/2023 12:50 pm
