The 19th Amendment: are you familiar with it? In this election year, it also happens to be the 100th Anniversary of said amendment. As Americans, we should all be well versed in the amendments as listed in the United States Constitution, but just in case you are having trouble with the 19th specifically, we will help out. The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote and was the result of millions of suffragists working for decades long before the ratification organizing rallies, petitions, protests, and written publications fighting for women and their God-given rights.
In conjunction with the anniversary, the United States Mint has decided to honor the movement with a Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin and Medal struck in .999 fine silver. While everything that has not already been released has a ‘To Be Determined’ status at the moment, we wanted to take the time to discuss the announced designs and their nod to women. According to Director of the United States Mint, David J. Ryder, both the coin and the medal pay homage to the 19th Amendment and its final adoption while also celebrating a historic milestone.
Women’s Suffrage Centennial Proof/Uncirculated Silver Dollar
The Commemorative Coin, both eventually available in Proof and Uncirculated finishes from Philadelphia, was designed by artist Christina Hess who is a part of the Artistic Infusion Program (AIP). Medallic artist Phebe Hemphill from the United States Mint sculpted the design. The obverse depicts three different women, each wearing a hat that represents the decades of the suffrage movement and the time it spanned. Inscriptions on the coin read “LIBERTY,” “$1,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM” all around the outside edge of the design. The reverse features the year “2020” being dropped into a ballot box. The words “VOTES FOR WOMEN” is seen inside a circle on the front of the box while “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “IN GOD WE TRUST” are seen inscribed on the ballot box as well. The whole style of the designed coin features art deco elements that go along with the style of the era.
Early 19th century women who involved themselves in the fight for their own rights defended themselves primarily through rallies, publications, petitions, and lobbying at both the state and federal levels of government. American women found themselves in a public that was increasingly offended by their outspoken thoughts, which increased their awareness of needed activism in the 1840s. A new century beginning in the 1900s brought about even more suffrage leaders and eventually, thousands of women from across the country were lobbying and petitioning to be heard and they gained a significant amount of traction until 1919 when Congress officially passed the 19th Amendment. It was ratified on August 18, 1920. The African American woman seen on the obverse represents a time that even when the 19th Amendment became law, true victory did not come for all women until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was passed and protected African American women and their right to vote.
Women’s Suffrage Proof Silver Dollar and Medal Set
While both Women’s Suffrage Silver Dollars will be available for purchase on their own, the silver medal will only be available in a two-coin set and limited to 10,000. The obverse design depicts a child’s hand reaching up among adult women’s hands and arms to hold up a heavy weight. In this case, a stone that symbolizes a “foundation.” This scene represents the difficult and tireless struggle that spanned generations and the amount of women it took to make the 19th Amendment a reality. The words “WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL” are seen at the top of the design in big bold letters. Beth Zaiken, an artist in the Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) designed the obverse.
The reverse, which was designed by AIP artist Patricia Lucas-Morris, features text from the 19th Amendment down the center from top to bottom, reading “The Right Of The Citizens Of The United States To Vote Shall Not Be Denied Or Abridged By The United States Or By Any State On Account Of Sex.” The year “1920” is seen inscribed at the very bottom of the design as it is the official year of the ratification of the amendment. The American Flag is the backdrop for the entire reverse design. Both the obverse and reverse designs of the medal were sculpted by U.S. Mint Medallic Artists Renata Gordon.
Source: United States Mint