250 Years of American History in Precious Metals
The First Faces of Democracy on U.S. Currency
After the Revolution, the United States emerged as a nation forged by soldiers and immigrants. They sought self-rule, religious freedom, and the right to elect their leaders. George Washington, the war’s most respected general, became the first President of the United States. Washington rejected proposals to put his portrait on U.S. coins, saying it resembled monarchies that placed reigning rulers on money. His stance became tradition and, later, law: living persons cannot lawfully appear on U.S. currency. Some coins and tokens bearing his image were produced, but no official U.S. coins carried his likeness during his lifetime.
Honoring past leaders on coins became an enduring tradition. Today, many appear on U.S. coins and paper money only after their deaths, acknowledging their contributions to the nation’s history and economy.
The Founders of Our Economy
After the United States won independence, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton pressed for a stronger financial system. He supported a national bank to manage debt and unify the young economy. Meanwhile, Thomas Jefferson championed a decimal currency, making American money easier to understand and use. Together, these Founding Fathers crafted and started the policies that shape the currency we hold today.
Shop our Historic Founding Figures CollectionStrike Out West: The Comstock Lode, The Carson City Mint, and the Morgan Dollar
One of the first major silver bonanzas in the United States was discovered in 1859 in what was then Utah Territory (present-day Nevada). This massive strike, the Comstock Lode, tied minting and coinage to western expansion and became a key factor in Nevada’s push for statehood. Eventually producing $300 million worth of silver (~ $12 billion in 2026 dollars), the Comstock Lode led to a new U.S. Mint branch in Carson City where miners could more easily turn their silver ore into coins.
The Lode and the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 all but demanded new silver coinage. U.S. Mint Assistant Engraver George Morgan created the iconic imagery for what would become the silver Morgan Dollar. The Philadelphia Mint coined the first acceptable strike of the Morgan Dollar on March 11, 1878, at 3:17 p.m., and that first coin went to President Rutherford B. Hayes. The silver that defined the westward expansion of the United States had finally arrived in the nation’s capital.
The Ladies Who Looked Like Liberty
Before the United States featured presidents on its coinage, we honored the ideal of Freedom personified as Lady Liberty. Lady Liberty has evolved over the years— from the 19th century’s youthful Seated Liberty to the dynamic Walking Liberty at the turn of the 20th century, and through to today’s Silver Eagle. Although Liberty’s face has changed over time, a few portraits were modeled after real Americans. In their own ways, these women represented what Lady Liberty symbolizes.
Ann Bingham is widely believed to be the model for the "Draped Bust" Liberty design. Bingham, a Philadelphia socialite, is rumored to have argued with Thomas Jefferson that women in the United States should play an active role in politics. Her portrait replaced the “Flowing Hair” design. Teresa de Francisci modeled for the Peace Dollar’s Liberty. An immigrant from Italy at a young age, Teresa lived an experience familiar to many new Americans.
In the end, these designs remind us that coinage is more than metal. It is a human story in which artists draw on real lives and relationships, sometimes honoring those closest to them, as de Francisci did.
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