Gold coins

President Roosevelt apologizes to the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens that he cannot strike the gold coins that Saint-Gaudens designed with only one blow and therefore the designs are not practical as “true coinage of the country.” He encloses a letter from the head of the Department of Coins and Medals of the British Museum. Roosevelt asks Saint-Gaudens if he could travel to the United States Mint and work with others to find a solution.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-08

President Roosevelt asks Augustus Saint-Gaudens if he could send a design for the twenty dollar gold piece before Congress meets, as he is receiving pressure from Secretary of the Treasury Leslie M. Shaw on the progress of the project. Roosevelt compliments Saint-Gaudens on his work and looks forward to the finished design.  

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-01

Augustus Saint-Gaudens writes to President Roosevelt concerning his commission to redesign the federal coinage. Saint-Gaudens discusses his poor health as well as his plans for the coin designs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-28

Michael F. Moran describes the process of choosing designs for a gold coin of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt to be issued by the United States Mint. Moran details his selection for the relevant committee, and he notes how he brought his expertise on coins and the Roosevelts to bear on his work. Moran describes the many steps and approvals needed over the course of two years to agree on a design and designers, and he notes that he used Sylvia Jukes Morris’s biography of Roosevelt as a reference to guide his and the committee’s work. In the end, the committee chose an obverse design that was based on Theodore Roosevelt’s favorite photograph of his wife, and the reverse image highlights the restoration of the White House undertaken in 1902. 

In addition to photographs of Moran and Edith Roosevelt, illustrations of the proposed and winning designs for both sides of the coin and bronze medal accompany the essay. A text box contains information on how to order the coin.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The front and back covers of this issue feature the designs chosen by the United States Mint for a gold coin depicting Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. The front cover shows the obverse side of the coin with a profile of Roosevelt while the back cover features the reverse image which highlights the restoration of the White House in 1902. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2013

Tweed Roosevelt describes the collaboration between President Theodore Roosevelt and the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to improve the design and appearance of American coins. In doing so, Tweed Roosevelt notes the publication of Michael F. Moran’s book, Striking Change, that chronicles the combined efforts of the president and the sculptor. Tweed Roosevelt highlights his family’s connection to the twenty dollar gold coin designed by Saint-Gaudens, noting that his aunt, Eleanor Butler Roosevelt, and his grandfather, Archibald Roosevelt, both had examples of these coins.

Photographs of Tweed Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens appear in the essay along with photographs of one of Saint-Gaudens’s sculptures and both sides of the twenty dollar gold coin.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal