As the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy's connection to commemoratives struck by the US Mint is one of medals not coins. During his unfortunately short time in office, JFK signed several bills into law for national commemorative medals, but was not presented with any bills that would have authorized a commemorative coin.
As a Representative from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, however, JFK introduced a bill (HR 8542) on May 18, 1950 proposing a coin "in commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of the Pine Tree Shilling and of the first mint in the United States." Here's a link to a brief but informative discussion of the colonial coin presented by the Smithsonian Institution:
http://amhistory.si.edu/coins/printable/coin.cfm. The concept for the commemorative coin took shape at the 1949 American Numismatic Association (
ANA) Convention that was held in San Francisco, CA. It was there that a Resolution to form a committee to pursue such a coin was adopted. The July 1950 issue of the
ANA's
The Numismatist discussed the group's Resolution, presented the text of HR 8542, listed the committee members and encouraged the
ANA's 11,000 members to write their US Representatives and Senators in support of the bill.
It's not known how many
ANA members - or other non-affiliated collectors - took the time to do so, but it's clear their efforts were not persuasive enough to gain the support of Congress. JFK's bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency upon its introduction, but was never reported out; the same can be said for the companion bill that was introduced in the Senate. Kennedy tried the bill again in 1951, but it once again "died in committee."
It was a difficult time for commemorative coinage legislation in general and even the
ANA's organized support was not enough to overcome the impact of recent presidential vetoes of similar commemorative legislation and the Treasury's ongoing general opposition to commemorative coins.
The proposed bill called for the issuance of a minimum of 50,000 silver quarters of standard specifications to be struck at one US Mint - a departure from the typical 50-cent coin request. The listed sponsor for the coin was the Pine Tree Shilling Tercentenary Commission, though the true sponsor was the
ANA Pine Tree Shilling Tercentenary Coin Committee. As with nearly all previously proposed US commemorative coins, the sponsor was to pay face value for the coins but be authorized to sell them at a premium over their face value. The sponsor was also to be responsible for costs related to the creation of models and dies.
The proposed designs for the coin were as follows:
OBVERSE: A slender pine tree at the center with "In God // 1652" to the left and "We Trust // 1952" to the right. The motto "E Pluribus Unum" is below the tree. The design is encircled by "Tercentenary" at the top (from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock; read clockwise) and "of the Pine Tree Shilling" at the bottom (from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock; read counterclockwise). The inscriptions are separated by small stars.
REVERSE: A left-facing portrait of a Native American is the central device. "United States of America" encircles at the top (clockwise) with "Quarter Dollar" at the bottom (counterclockwise). As on the obverse, the inscriptions are separated by small stars. "Liberty" is seen below the portrait.
[I wish I could show the illustration of the design as seen in
The Numismatist of August 1951, but copyright restrictions prevent me from doing so. Hopefully, my detailed description will allow you to visualize the coin if you don't have access to the magazine.]
The size/diameter of the original Pine Tree Shilling was roughly halfway between that of a US quarter (24.26 mm) and half-dollar (30.61 mm), making either similarly appropriate for a commemorative piece. The selection of the quarter for the commemorative, however, was likely intended to give the piece an added bit of distinction within the series (it would have been only the second commemorative for the denomination) and enhance its popularity among all collectors (not just commemorative specialists).
The bill proposing a 1952 Pine Tree Shilling commemorative is just one of over 100 unsuccessful coin bills that were introduced in Congress. As with the coins that were authorized and produced, some of the failed attempts were more worthy of being a US coin than others. I would put the
ANA's / JFK's proposal in the "worthy" column! How ‘bout you?
Posted 12/21/2013 10:10 pm
10-4 on that.
