Q. David Bowers
In the Words of the Chief Engraver
In correspondence with the author, Ms. Jones told how she created the design. (Letter dated February 28, 1991.)
"As soon as I heard in the fall of 1981 (my first day at the office was August 31st, 1981) that I would be designing the George Washington coin, my immediate, instinctual reaction was 'I'm going to have him on a horse.' This was because of the innumerable bas-relief medals (or high relief) and our own 25¢ piece [which showed just a bust of Washington], and also because I knew there existed so many equestrian outdoor monuments of Washington, and that he was so famous for being an exceptional cavalryman and general often on horseback. I also wanted to portray him as a younger man in the prime of his military fame, instead of in his late years as portrayed by Gilbert Stuart, et al., or late in life when he was actually disillusioned.
"Shortly after the notification for me to design the coin, I started my own research (I never thought of asking anyone else in or out of government to do research for me, as I was so used to always doing my own for all my previous medallic career). One of the first museums here in Philadelphia I visited was the Second Bank of the United States, which is a beautiful neoclassic building near the Mint, in the historic district, which had been turned into a museum, the main part of its collection being devoted to portraits of the Revolutionary and Independence periods. It was there that I was stunned when I saw for the first time a large oval painting by Rembrandt Peale of Washington on horseback, and I was struck by it because I thought 'that is what I was imagining, and there it was!'
"I therefore started sketches based on thato painting, but not for the portrait. For that I was privileged to peruse a famous private collection of a library devoted to Washington and others of his period, and there was one particular volume of portraits of Washington done only from life, from sittings with him. I determined then to do a portrait using only those sources. Of course, I used other books, paintings, museums, etc., for other aspects of the coin.
"When I did the initial drawings for the reverse, I went according to the precise wording of the legislative bill, which said the reverse should be 'emblematic of George Washington's birthplace.' Therefore, I researched where he was born and discovered the faithfully reconstructed house (the original burned long ago ) where he was actually born. I submitted the drawing to Donna Pope, and I believe after consultation with the Treasury Department, probably Secretary of the Treasury Regan, who showed great interest in the coin, I was told to use Mount Vernon because of its being so thoroughly connected in the public's mind with Washington, and perhaps because it was far more beautiful. I recall saying, 'Why not educate the public and show where he was actually born?' but the decision was made for the above reasons.
"Her inspiration didn't come entirely from 18th- and 19th-century art. She also patterned part of her design on what might be called a form of modern art: a magazine advertisement for Suntory vodka featuring a photograph of dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't Mr. Nureyev's legs that caught her eye; it was his knuckles. 'They were very well defined,' she explains, 'so I used them as a model in doing Washington's hand.'"
In Matthew Peloso's Words
In response to the author's inquiry about his work with the reverse of the 1982 Washington half dollar, Matthew Peloso commented: (Interview, February 15, 1991.) "I tried to help her [Elizabeth Jones] as much as I could. It was her design, but I have a different style of working than she does. I reviewed the whole thing. She was working on it and ran out of time, working on the obverse. Then she asked me if I would help her with the reverse, and I said 'Sure.' I made my own finished drawing to work from, based on her sketch of course. And then I finished it. That's it. Her sketch was based on a picture of Mount Vernon. And she had her kind of an eagle in the foreground; I guess you've seen it. I did the whole reverse, including the eagle.
"She wanted to put her initials on it. I said it was her design. So she did. Then I asked if I could put my initials in the bushes on the left and she said 'Sure.' And nobody saw those. Then I understand there was some kind of a meeting with the press and Mrs. Pope, and somebody got up and asked her, 'Why are there two sets of initials on the coin?' And she said, 'What two initials?' She didn't know about my initials in the bushes. I understand she didn't like that, but I had the okay of Ms. Jones, who was my superior, you know. So, that's it. Everybody seemed to like the Washington half dollar; both sides of the coin. I think it won the Coin of the Year Award, didn't it? It turned out very well.
"I left the Mint in 1986 because there was too much interference from Washington, and I just decided it was time to get out. I did very well, I think, when I was there. I think learned my money. You will have to ask Ms. Jones about that."
"I left the Mint in 1986 because there was too much interference from Washington, and I just decided it was time to get out. I did very well, I think, when I was there. I think learned my money. You will have to ask Ms. Jones about that."
Director Pope Remembers the Coin
In an interview with the author; (February 11, 1991.) Mint Director Donna Pope recalled her involvement with the coin: "I remember the day when the design first came down [to the Bureau of the Mint from the Engraving Department in Washington]. It was the day of our Christmas party, and we were celebrating at the Mint. There was no Mount Vernon submitted; among the designs was an oak tree, the first coining press, and the house where George Washington was born. So I called the engraving shop and asked for a sketch of Mount Vernon. Elizabeth Jones and I had a strenuous conversation in which she was telling me that George Washington was really born in the place shown in the sketch, and that should be used. I insisted on a sketch of Mount Vernon so that we could submit that as one of the designs to Secretary Regan, who took a big interest in designs and insisted that we give him a choice of three designs for the obverse and three designs for the reverse. I thought we should have a Mount Vernon to submit to him.
"After I talked with Elizabeth] ones, Curt Prins [of Rep. Frank Annunzio's office] called and asked specifically if there was a Mount Vernon design. I was able to report to him that we were, in fact, working on one. When we sent the three obverses and three reverses to Secretary Regan, I sent the Mount Vernon as one of the reverses. It turned out that Secretary Regan lived close to (or perhaps next to) the Mount Vernon home, and his wife was very active in the Mount Vernon Historical Society. He, in fact, chose this reverse. The portrayal of George Washington in equestrian form was argued from the start. Some felt that a portrait on the front was needed. I loved the equestrian pose.
"I knew that Elizabeth Jones's initials would be on the coin, but I didn't know there would be two sets of initials. At the striking ceremony in Denver when the first coins were produced, someone in the audience asked me about the MP initials which he had seen on one of the pieces, and I was at a loss for words. I looked at Barry Frere [of the Mint staff] and asked, 'Where are they?' because I didn't even know they were on the coin. This was one of the most embarrassing times of my life. Barry Frere didn't know about them either, and someone from the audience had to tell us.
"The production of the Uncirculated coins took place in Denver, and the striking of Proofs took place in San Francisco. San Francisco had the expertise to do the Proofs, but I do not know why Denver was chosen for the Uncirculated, except that production probably warranted that, and the workload at Denver was such that they could handle it. It was decided to have a first-strike event-it was a modest ceremony around the coin press, with the mayor of Denver and just a few other people attending-quite different from the first-strike ceremonies we would have for later commemorative coins. I and my staff were at Denver in the morning, and then we flew to San Francisco and had a first-strike ceremony there later in the day."