Face Value: Show me the money!

If money is power, then the images inscribed on our currency convey messages that can be just as powerful. While Lady Liberty has graced American coins and dollars for most of our history, it wasn’t until the 1970s that a real woman appeared on a circulating American coin.

But that’s about to change. Congress recently authorized the creation of 20 new quarters featuring American women from history. But how do we choose whose likeness gets engraved as part of our national story? Who makes these decisions? In this episode of Sidedoor, we follow the money to find out.

While Lady Liberty has graced the nation’s currency for most of our history, it wasn’t until the 1970s that a real woman appeared on a circulating American coin. But the near absence of prominent women on our legal tender is about to change.

This time on Sidedoor, we’ll go behind the scenes of the American Women Quarters Program and the United States Mint to understand how we collectively decide whose likeness gets engraved into our national story.

Representations of Lady Liberty have been prominent on American coins for over two centuries while depictions of real women have been harder to come by. Clockwise from top left: 10 dollar gold coin, 1803; 25 cent silver coin, 1918; 2 1/2 dollar gold coin, 1856; 1 trade dollar silver coin pattern, 1884; 10 dollar gold coin pattern, 1807; 50 cent silver coin pattern, 1916; 1 dollar silver coin pattern, 1882; 20 dollar gold coin high relief pattern, 1907. Coins and patterns produced by the U.S. Mint, in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Guests

• Jennifer Schneider, former program manager at Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, current assistant registrar of outgoing and government loans at the Smithsonian American Art Museum
• Tey Marianna Nunn, former director of the American Women’s History Initiative at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, current associate director for content and interpretation at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino
• Ellen Feingold, curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History
• Joseph Menna, chief engraver at the United States Mint

Left: Chief engraver Joseph Menna in his office at the U.S. Mint’s Philadelphia production facility. Right: Design and sculptures by medallic artist Phebe Hemphill depicting the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII for a Congressional Gold Medal and bronze medallions issued by the U.S. Mint. Photographs by James Morrison.

• Tim Grant, public affairs manager at the United States Mint
• Dave Clark, supervisor of blanking annealing and upsetting at the United States Mint

Left: Sidedoor host Lizzie Peabody and producer James Morrison learn more about the coin production process from Dave Clark, supervisor of blanking annealing and upsetting at the U.S. Mint’s Philadelphia facility. Right: Lizzie and James investigate examples of freshly produced quarters featuring Maria Tallchief. Images courtesy of Eliza Rasmussen with the U.S. Mint.

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Left: Photograph of Maria Tallchief by Philippe Halsman, 1956. Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, © Philippe Halsman Archive. Right: Rendering of quarter depicting Maria Tallchief, America’s first prima ballerina. Image courtesy of the U.S. Mint

United States $1 silver certificate featuring Martha and George Washington, 1896. Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Transcript

Sidedoor (S10E14) – Face Value Transcript

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“Forward Into Light” Photo Gallery The right to vote is guaranteed only by our resolve to fight for it The Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar Award See Me at Home! (Part 2)