Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-11

49, to be held In 1S!JJ.
These designs will be
submitted to the di-
rector On the mint, Mr. Preston, and by
him referred to the Secretary of the Treas
ury. The Treasury Department has taken
no official notice of the proposition Of the
society and Mr. Preston has not sanctioned
II officially But in conversation with me
few days ago, the director of the mint ex-
pressed very strongly the wish that new
designs could be adopted for all of the sill
yer coins; and there is little doubt that If
the competition next year produces any
thing satisfactory the Treasury Depart
ment viii Se very glad to adopt it, 1t re-
1uires no sanction from Congress at this
time to change the design of the silver dol
lar.
Congressional Action.
In the early history Of American coinage
a great many small changes were made In
coin designs at the within of the director
of the mint or his eDsrayer. Congress de-
termined to put a stop TO this and passed
a law providing that no change In the de-
signs OF the coins should be made oftener
IMAM once III twenty-five years without
special authority. This authority could
come only from Congress. Three years ago
Mr.. Leech. who was then director of the
mint, succeeded In getting Congress to
grant him permission to change the de-
signs fer the silver coins. Instead of en-
ployins an artist to get UP designs or In
trusting the work to the engraver Of the
mint. Mr.. Leech announced that there
would be a competition open to the world
and invited all professional and amateur
artists to submit designs to be judged by
a commission Of which August st. Gaudens
was the chairman. The great American
public let itself loose in this competition. The
artists for some reason held aloof. The
commission was flooded with crank designs
and ungraceful amat eur productions. There
were two designs only which were thought
to be worth honorable mention; and they
did not Come within the exact terms of the
competition. There was nothing which
the Commission thought worthy to be
recommended to the Secretary OF the Treas
ury for adoption. So Director Leech turned
over the work to the regular engraver of
the mint an1 he made the designs which
were adopted for the JO-cent, 25-cent and
1O-cent pieces. Nothing was done about
the dollar, and while Ii would be necessary
to go to Congress for another special act
for change in the three subsidiary coins,
the change in the design OF the dollar can
be made on the authority of the Secretary
Of the Treasury r-
Activity In the Art World.
The movement for the improvement OF the
designs for our coins Is in line with the ac-
ttyity which the art-world has shown in
puOllc matters IN the last rev years. some
Of the bcst-known American artists are
now at work on designs for a new currency
and tive designs have been adopted. Artists
as well as architects are busy trying to
open the work of designing public build
lnss to public competition. Now the artists
IN sculpture propose to reform the coin
designs Of the country. The movement to
this latter end though, did not originate
with the sculptors-. 1t was first proposed
some time ago BY the American Numis-
matte and Archaeological Society and a
Joint committee on the Improvement of the
United States coinage has been considering
the question actively for some time. This
committee consists of three members each
from six representative institutions. They
are:
Daniel Parish, Geo. F. Kunz, A. c. "a
briskie of the American Numismatic and
Archaeological Society; Charles L. Berg.
@. B. Post, Chas. r Lamb of the Architec-
gerald TisdaI. Prof s. Woolf, Prof H. R.
Johnson Of the College of the City of New
York; John Rogers. G.. w. Maynard, T.
Wood of the National Academy of Design;
DIN Warner, +. w. Ruckstuhl, Russell
Sturgis of the National Sculpture Society;
Kenyon Cox. Herbert Adams. Robert Reid
OF the Society of American Artists.
In addition to these six institutions. the
Cincinnati Museum Association and the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Phila-
delphia, have given their cooperation to
the movement This joint committee VIII
a j
next. and will discuss the adyisabiiity of
holding an exhibition of ancient and mod
ern coins to show the defects In our own
coins by comparison. 1t will consider also
the methods of foreign competition for coin
designs. and the reasons why artists re-
fused to enter on the competition of three
years ago Finally. 1t will be asked to urge
the a1visability OF having the artists
names appear on coins and medals.
Change Every Ten Years.
LIT 7rr1ft mt thara
shall be a change in coin designs at regular
intervals OF ten years.and that each new set
Of designs shall be typical of the decade
preceding. This Of course would require a
special act OF Congress. AS to crediting the
artist with the design of the coin, that is
scm ething which lies In the discretion of
the director of the mint. A great many
coins and Ill of the medals made at the
tint have been decorated with the names
Of the designers CT with some symbol by
which they could be identified. This is
more than the bureau of engraving and
printing proposes to do for the artists who
ere designing the new paper currency.
mis- currency Will bear the imprint of the
bureau, but nothing else in the nature of a
credit
for the paper currency all Of the paper
money Of the United States had been de-
signed in the engraving establishment
where 1t was made The coins OF the United
OF the government, without exception. In
most cases the designer has been the chief
sngraver Of the Philadelphia mint.
The First Silver Dollar
The first silver dollar was made after a
design by Robert Scot, the first engrayer of
the mint. appointed in 1893. On the 18th of
July. 1921. the Bank of Maryland deposited
at the mint French coins of the value of
$50. 1913 IL. TO be coined into silver dollars
under act Of 1TS5. The first lot of these
coins was delivered on the 18th Of October
following-1,I5S in also October u of this
year viii be the centennial of the silver dol
lar. The design Of the coin, though II has
had many variations. has always had for
its central figure on diverse and reverse
respectively, the figure OF Liberty and the
American eagle. The lettering has changed
from time to time. On the first dollar the
denomination was stamped on the edge Of
the coin.
Most Of the successors of Scot were the
designers as well as engravers They de-
signed all Of the coins and most of the
medals made at the mint. These men were
William KEeass. who designed most of the
coins Of 1884 and 1898 in gold and Of 1896
1887 1S3Sand 1910 in silver. But the silver dol
lar Of 1SiG was designed by his assistant
afterwari his successor Christian Gobrecht
Gobrecht was In office from $40 to 1874.