Q. David Bowers
The Design
In March 1989, Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady announced the winners of a design competition for the three Congress Bicentennial coins. A Treasury Department news release related: "The coins were de-Signed by John Mercanti, William Woodward, and Patricia Lewis Verani. They were chosen from a field of 18 invited competitors (two of whom declined to enter) and were selected through a design competition sponsored by the Department of Treasury and the U.S. Mint. Two additional engravers from the U.S. Mint, Chester Y. Martin and Edgar Z. Steever, executed or sculpted the motifs. (Invited Mint artists included the following: Elizabeth Jones (who did not compete), Edgar Z. Steever IV, James Licaretz, John Mercanti, Michael Iacocca, Chester Y. Martin, and Maria Kirby-Smith: private artists included Patricia Lewis Verani, Marcel Jovine, Alex Shagin, John Cook, Marika Somogyi, Karen Worth, William Woodward, Sergio DeGiusti, Jack Sommerford, and Robert White. Each was requested to submit six designs by January 13, 1989, less than two months after the coinage was authorized. Sworn into office as secretary of the Treasury on September 15, 1988, Nicholas F. Brady oversaw commemorative issues after that date.) The designs of these artists were selected based on the quality of their presentation of the true spirit of the coins-'Proclaiming the Triumph of Democracy.' The major elements or figures used by artists are the Capitol dome, the Statue of Freedom, and Old Senate House eagle-all lasting, recognizable symbols of freedom, democracy, and our Congress."
The Commission of Fine Arts concurred with the selections made by the Mint and made just a few minor suggestions. For the half dollar it was suggested that the Capitol should be altered "to reflect present day appearance."(Letter from Commission Chairman J. Carter Brown to Mint Director Donna Pope, March 6, 1989.)
The half dollar obverse, designed by Patricia Lewis Verani, featured a "dramatic bust of the Statue of Freedom" adapted from the head of the statue atop the Capitol. Created by American-born sculptor Thomas Crawford at his studio in Rome and cast in bronze by Clark Mills in his foundry near Bladensburg, Maryland, the work was originally known as Armed Liberty, later as Columbia or Liberty, and in more recent times as the Statue of Freedom or, simply, Freedom. Upon completion the statue measured 19' 6" high and weighed 14,985 pounds. Crawford's statue and elements thereof were depicted on several varieties of United States paper money notes issued during the 1860s.
Mrs. Verani modeled the obverse at her studio in Londonderry, New Hampshire, using a proper basin that had been furnished by the Mint. Elizabeth Jones recalled the procedure: (Letter to the author, March 15, 1991. Miss Jones went on to say: "All 'outside' artists' final plaster models were reviewed by and received approval from the associate director for operations at Headquarters, Dr. Andrew Cosgarea, Jr., including placement of [artists'] initials and size of initials.)"She modeled it there and sent back to the Mint a 'finished' plaster. Only it needed quite a bit of relief adjustments. So models were sent back and forth, and also to Headquarters [in Washington, D.C.] forviewing, then back to the Mint for more adjustments. The Mint staff did the final touches to her model."
"The reverse [of the Congress Bicentennial half dollar] shows a full view of the Capitol building accented by an elegant wreath of stars," according to the 1989 Annual Report of the Director of the U.S. Mint. William Woodward, a muralist in the private sector, designed the reverse, which was modeled by Edgar Z. Steever IV of the Mint Engraving Department.
In Edgar Steever's Words
Edgar Z. Steever IV told of his work (In a letter to the author, March 26, 1991.) "The Congress Bicentennial 50-cent piece was designed by William Woodward for the dollar-size coin originally. The design, a line drawing, was assigned to me to convert to the smaller half-dollar size. Using the architect's elevation drawing, this layout was checked out to make sure it could be Proof-polished (enough space between all elements) and put up on a plateau to keep track of the modeling as it progressed. Scaled-down accuracy was continually checked with vernier calipers and depth gauges. The stars were modeled (formed, rather than flat) to give variety of texture. Toward the end of this project I received assistance from Chester Martin on detailing.
"These comments bring to mind that I would like to have attention brought to the original drawings of the dome of the Capitol by Thomas U. Walter. Just as you mention Crawford's Statue of Freedom as deserving credit, so I think Thomas Ustick Walter, architect of the Capitol dome, should be included. To make a long story short, I visited the Athenaeum (Washington Square, Philadelphia) in 1979 at the opening of the architectural archival material of Notman, Walter, and others. The original rendering of the Capitol dome was on display. At that time a medal of Congress to Hubert H. Humphrey was being made at the Mint (John Mercanti, obverse; Matthew Peloso, reverse), with the reverse design dominated by the Capitol dome. These drawings, never before exhibited, were outstanding for their clarity of rendering.
"I took Matt Peloso to the Athenaeum to see the drawing, and when reproductions (undersize and in poster form) were available I got one for the Mint and had prints made on our copier. The prints were used by Chester Martin for the Mint Masters medal issued in Washington and for other representations of the Capitol dome, including on the Congress Bicentennial 50¢ piece."
Purchase Options
Direct marketing efforts were handled by the firm of Kobs & Draft Advertising, Inc. In keeping with other recent commemorative coin distributions, purchase options were offered for the various denominations (Options 2, 4, 7, and 9 are not relevant to half dollars and are included here as general information):
(1) Proof 1989-S half dollar. $7 pre-issue price (through July 17, 1989); $8 regular price. Each coin was packaged in a velvet-lined box. Sales amounted to 151,497 coins through this option.
(2) Proof 1989-S silver dollar. $25 pre-issue price (through July 17, 1989); $29 regular price. Each coin was mounted in a plastic capsule placed on a brown felt tray within a brown velvet presentation case with hinged lid on which was mounted a plaque of a heraldic eagle. The case was in a brown cardboard box imprinted with the Great Seal and "United States Congressional Coins." A brown slipcover, similarly imprinted, protected the box. Sales amounted to 145,798 coins through this option.
(3) Two-coin set containing the 1989-S Proof half dollar and 1989-S Proof silver dollar. Pre-issue price (through July 17, 1989) $31.50, regular issue price, $34. Coins in plastic capsules were housed in a brown velvet presentation case with hinged lid on which was a plaque of a heraldic eagle. The case was contained in a brown cardboard box imprinted with the Great Seal and "United States Congressional Coins." A brown slipcover, similarly imprinted, protected the case. Sales amounted to 269,550 sets through this option.
(4) Proof 1989-W $5 gold coin. Pre-issue price (through July 17, 1989) $195, regular price $215. Each coin was mounted in a plastic capsule placed on a brown felt tray within a brown velvet presentation case with hinged lid on which was mounted a plaque of a heraldic eagle. The case was in a brown cardboard box imprinted with the Great Seal and "United States Congressional Coins." A brown slipcover, similarly imprinted, protected the box. Sales amounted to 28,927 coins through this option.
(5) Three-coin Proof set containing the 1989-S half dollar, 1989-S silver dollar, and 1989-W $5 gold. Pre-issue price (through July 17, 1989) $220, regular price $245. Coins in plastic capsules were housed in a brown velvet presentation case with a hinged lid and a plaque of the Great Seal on the lid. The case was enclosed in a brown cardboard box imprinted on the lid with the Great Seal and "United States Congressional Coins." The box was placed within a brown slipcover similarly imprinted. Sales amounted to 110,796 sets through this option.