page_title: United States Bicentennial coinage
section_title: Preparation
hierarchical_section_title: United States Bicentennial coinage / Preparation
caption_attribution_description: United States postage stamps, Scott 1479
context_page_description: The United States Bicentennial coinage is a set of circulating commemorative coins, consisting of a quarter, half dollar and dollar struck by the United States Mint in 1975 and 1976. Regardless of when struck, each coin bears the double date 1776–1976 on the normal obverses for the Washington quarter, Kennedy half dollar and Eisenhower dollar. No coins dated 1975 of any of the three denominations were minted.
  Given past abuses in the system, the Mint advocated against the issuance of commemorative coins starting in the 1950s. Beginning in 1971, members of Congress introduced bills to authorize coins to honor the United States Bicentennial, which would occur in 1976. The Mint, through its director, Mary Brooks, initially opposed such proposals, but later supported them, and Congress passed legislation requiring the temporary redesign of the reverse of the quarter, half dollar and dollar.
  A nationwide competition resulted in designs of a Colonial drummer for the quarter, Independence Hall for the half dollar and the Liberty Bell superimposed against the Moon for the dollar. All three coins remain common today due to the quantity struck.
context_section_description: The twelve remaining designs were released by the Treasury for public comment in early 1974.  Two of the proposed coins featured sailing ships, two featured Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and three depicted the moon or lunar spacecraft.  Another depicted the Liberty Bell superimposed on an atomic symbol.  According to numismatist Michael Marotta in his 2001 article on the Bicentennial coins, "the numismatic community's reaction to the entries was predictable:  everyone complained by writing letters to the editor".
  From the twelve, the judges selected six finalists for review by the National Bicentennial Coin Design Competition Committee, consisting of Brooks, Representative Wright Patman, Senator John Sparkman, Commission of Fine Arts Secretary Charles H. Atherton and Eric P. Newman, chairman of the ARBC's coins and medals advisory committee.  After receiving the committee's recommendations, Secretary Shultz selected the winners and on March 6, 1974, Brooks went on the Today show to announce them.  Jack L. Ahr's design featuring a colonial drummer, with a torch of victory surrounded by thirteen stars (representing the original states) was selected for the quarter.  Seth Huntington's image of Independence Hall was selected for the half dollar while Dennis R. Williams' superimposition of the Liberty Bell against the Moon was successful for the dollar.  Ahr owned a commercial art firm and Huntington was head artist for Brown and Bigelow, a Minneapolis publishing firm.  Williams, at age 21 the youngest person to design a US coin, was an art student who had originally created his design for a class assignment.  No change would be made to the obverses of the coins, except for the double dating.
  Ahr was accused of copying his drummer from a 1973 stamp by the stamp's designer, William A. Smith; he denied it.  According to numismatic historian Walter Breen, "both obviously derive from Archibald Willard's 1876 painting Spirit of '76," a painting which numismatic author David L. Ganz suggests that both undoubtedly saw sometime in their lives.  Ahr, however, stated that his son had been the model for the drummer.   Brooks, in a letter to Smith, stated that the design for the quarter was "sufficiently original" to impress the National Sculpture Society.  Weinman later deprecated the winning designs:
  I really don't think what we got was a great bargain.  Nothing we selected was a real winner that I'd fight to the death for.  In terms of what we had to work with, though, I think we did the best we could.
  On April 24, 1974, the three winning designers were brought to Washington, D.C.  After a tour of the White House and meetings with the congressional committees which considered the coin bills, they went to the Treasury Building and received their $5,000 checks from the new Treasury Secretary, William E. Simon, who jokingly asked them if they wanted to invest their awards in savings bonds.
  Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro made minor changes to all three reverse designs.  Gasparro simplified the quarter design, altered the drum for the sake of authenticity, changed the lettering and modified the expression on the drummer's face.  He made slight changes to Independence Hall on the half dollar and altered the lettering on the dollar to facilitate the metal flow during stamping and asked the designer to straighten the bottom edge of the Liberty Bell.  Ahr later stated that he would have liked more time to finalize his design, wishing to clarify the features of the drummer's face.  The initials of the designer were added to the design by the Mint.  All three agreed that Gasparro's changes improved their designs.
caption: This 1973 Bicentennial stamp, like the quarter, depicts a colonial drummer.
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