Commems Collection Modern: What If? 2017 Pan-Pac International Exposition / Panama Canal - Part II

Continuing from Part I


As with the previous bills (112th Congress), Pelosi's 113th Congress bill proposed a multi-coin collector program, but with notable differences. It included Gold Half Eagles (Round and Octagonal, up to 75,000 of each), a Gold Quarter Eagle (up to 50,000), a Gold Dollar (up to 50,000) and a Silver Half Dollar (up to 350,000).

For comparison, the previous collector coin program proposal called for Gold Half Eagles (Round and Octagonal, up to 50,000 each), up to 500,000 Silver Dollars and up to 500,000 Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Clad Half Dollars.

The new bill's gold coins were to be struck on planchets of 0.900 fine gold; the Silver Half Dollar planchet was to be 0.999 fine silver.

The Pelosi bill included specific design parameters for each of the denominations, as well as a general over-arching design requirement: "the coins...should be close likenesses of the five coins issued by the San Francisco Mint at the opening of the Pan-Pacific Exposition."

Specifically:

Gold Half Eagles

"The $5 octagonal gold coins minted under this Act and the $5 round gold coins minted under this Act shall be a close likeness of the octagonal Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin and the round Panama-Pacific Exposition $50 gold coin, respectively."

The coins were to depict Minerva on their obverse and an owl perched on a pine branch with four pine coins on their reverse. The inscriptions "PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION" and "SAN FRANCISCO" were to encircle the central design near the rim. On the octagonal coin, "in the eight angles of the vertices" the design was to include "eight stylized dolphins that form an outer circle." (The dolphins would have to be quite small to fit on a Gold Half Eagle coin with a diameter of just 0.850 inches.)

Gold Quarter Eagle

"The two and one-half dollar gold coins minted under this Act shall be a close likeness of the Panama-Pacific Exposition two and one-half dollar gold coin."

The coin's obverse was to present Columbia riding sidesaddle on the back of a Greek mythological hippocampus (seahorse), with a caduceus in her left hand. The reverse design was to depict an eagle perched on a plaque that is inscribed "E Pluribus Unum" and "United States of America".

Gold Dollar

"The $1 gold coin minted under this Act shall be a close likeness of the Panama-Pacific Exposition $1 gold coin."

The obverse design was to present the left-facing profile of a canal worker wearing a cap - symbolic of "Labor". The coin's reverse was to present two dolphins symbolizing the connecting of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (via the Panama Canal), with the inscriptions "PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION" and "SAN FRANCISCO".

Silver Half Dollar

"The half dollar silver coins minted under this Act shall be designed to be a close likeness of the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition half dollar coin."

The coin's obverse was to depict Columbia scattering flowers towards a sunset on the Golden Gate; the flowers were to be drawn from a cornucopia held by a cherub. The reverse design was to present an eagle surmounting a US Shield with an oak branch (left) and olive branch (right) flanking. The oak branch was to represent "stability and strength", with the olive branch being symbolic of peace.

The final designs were to be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts. The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee was to serve in a design review capacity.

One interesting aspect of the bill concerned the proposed half dollar coin. The bill authorized a Copper-Nickel ("CuNi") Clad Half Dollar for circulation (with the same design as the silver version) as an option for the Secretary of the Treasury. The circulation half dollars could be issued annually from 2017 through 2021. The gold and silver collector issues were to be issued during the 2017 Calendar Year.

The Issue Prices of the gold and silver collector coins were to include per-coin surcharge:

- $35 per coin for the Gold Half Eagle
- $20 per coin for the Gold Quarter Eagle
- $15 per coin for the Gold Dollar
- $10 per coin for the Silver Half Dollar

Collected surcharges were to be paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society "for the design and construction of appropriate exhibitions in the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, including the necessary adaptive reuse of the Old Mint, commemorating the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, as well as the development of appropriate exhibitions at the Palace of Fine Arts on the grounds of the former Panama-Pacific International Exposition."

Note: Surcharges collected from sales of the 2006 San Francisco Old Mint commemorative coin program - Gold Half Eagle and Silver Dollar - were paid to the same San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, for the "purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum."

As noted above, Pelosi's bill was referred to the House Committee on Financial Services, but did not progress further. As a result, the coins of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition would not be resurrected on their centennial anniversary (or, more accurately, their near centennial anniversary).

As I stated in my previous post about the related proposed coin program - "I'm not generally a fan of re-using previous coin designs" on new coins (to me, medals seem more appropriate). Also, I still question how effective the designs of the original $50 gold coins would have transferred to the much smaller "canvas" of the Gold Half Eagle. I was OK with this one not moving forward.


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories and posts about the original 1915 coins, see: Commems Collection