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Theodore Roosevelt thanks C. R. Angell for the coins and is glad the bison and Indian head appear on the five-cent pieces.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1913-06-14
President Roosevelt encloses the registry receipt for the letter in which he enclosed a coin that he sent to William Sturgis Bigelow. Roosevelt is very concerned that the coin apparently has not reached Bigelow and asks if he is sure it was not in the letter when he received it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
President Roosevelt thanks Thomas L. Elder for the coins and informs him that the coins by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, including the eagle and double eagle, are about to come out.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-10
President Roosevelt thanks William D. Sohier for his kind words regarding his Provincetown speech. Roosevelt has written a strong letter to the United States Mint saying that there must be no more delays in producing the coinage. He will forward Sohier’s letter to reinforce his point.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-24
President Roosevelt encloses a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou suggesting the people at the United States Mint see it. He hopes the new coins will be ready in the next two weeks; otherwise, he will have George Frederick Kunz, Victor D. Brenner, and Daniel Chester French supervise the project.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-24
Tired of waiting, President Roosevelt informs Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou to instruct the Director of the United States Mint Frank Aleamon Leach to produce the Augustus Saint-Gaudens-designed coins as they are. He expects them to be in circulation by September 1. Any issues regarding quality can be addressed later.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-07
John D. Rockefeller stands on a ladder, dumping coins into a “Patent Disinfector,” as a member of the clergy opens a slot and coins pour into a bucket labeled “Purified Cash for Missions.” An open trunk labeled “Contributions,” full of money bags, is at the base of the ladder. Caption: The cash purification plant.
S. D. Ehrhart’s modest cover cartoon appears to comment on the growing trend of American moguls donating portions of their fortunes to charities. The most prominent of the day might have been Andrew Carnegie’s stated intention to give away his fortune to causes like Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Free Libraries, and what became Carnegie-Mellon University. For every Carnegie there have been multitudes of Morgans, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers.
Theodore Roosevelt tells David W. Arndt that Augustus Saint-Gaudens recommended a model for gold coins that did not contain the phrase “In God We Trust.” Roosevelt notes that the phrase was later restored to the coins by Congress.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1917-12-03
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Mrs. Thomas Wallace for the coin and will carry it for luck. Roosevelt admires men like Timoleon, John Hampden, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-06-04
President Roosevelt will take the matter T. Louis Comparette writes about up with Frank Aleamon Leach, Director of the U.S. Mint. The difficulty he writes about stems from the government employing people who do not appreciate or want to pay for good design; it is not currently possible for the United States to get good coins.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-06
President Roosevelt will have Mint Director Frank Aleamon Leach secure a twenty-dollar gold piece for August Saint-Gaudens.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-15
President Roosevelt thanks T. Louis Comparette for his letter, and wishes he were going to be in power the next time models for coins come due. Roosevelt believes that the best artists alive should design the coins.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-14
President Roosevelt thanks William T. R. Marvin for the letters, and agrees that Augustus Saint-Gaudens must have had some of the eagles that Marvin mentioned in mind when he was designing the new ten dollar coins.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-20
President Roosevelt tells William Sturgis Bigelow that he is glad to hear about the coins, and thinks that the pictures that Bigelow mentioned would be something that people would “make a great yell about.” He suggests that Bigelow make a request that the United States permit the introduction, which would let Secretary of State Elihu Root see if it is possible to do anything. Roosevelt promises to do what he can to arrange for an interchange of professors between the United States and Japan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-20
George Frederick Kunz understands what President Roosevelt wants from the new coin designs. However, Roosevelt is not sure “that Congress is ripe for the metric business yet.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-27
President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens how the business of coinage is progressing. He does not want to bother Saint-Gaudens, but feels that it would be best to settle the matter during the present summer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-30
President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens to tell him when he wants Roosevelt to take up the subject of coins with the United States Mint.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-22
President Roosevelt will take Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s matter to General John M. Wilson, chairman of the Inaugural Committee. Regarding the title, he feels the shortened form “President of the United States” will suffice.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-28
Howard Simpson describes a rare Ulysses S. Grant “coin” (actually a presidential campaign medal) he has had for thirty-five years. Due to health challenges, he is selling it for funds and asks Theodore Roosevelt if he is interested in purchasing it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-24
John D. Nussbaum sends Theodore Roosevelt his poem called “The Lincoln Penny.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-12