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View Full Version : Marines are landing -- on silver dollars



mikekier
05-26-05, 11:09 AM
http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/26/pf/marines_coin/index.htm?cnn=yes

A new commemorative coin may be popular from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli.
May 26, 2005: 11:48 AM EDT
By Gordon T. Anderson, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - On the eve of Memorial Day, the U.S. Mint is remembering America's fighting men and women.

Wednesday in Philadelphia, Mint director Henrietta Holsman Fore led the ceremonial first strike of a new series of commemorative coin: a silver dollar honoring the U.S. Marine Corps. The piece will be minted at the Philadelphia facility, and is scheduled for release this summer.

The front of the coin features an engraving modeled on Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's picture of victorious Marines raising the U.S. flag after the battle of Iwo Jima. That famous image is also the subject of a sculpture by Felix de Weldon, which honors fallen Marines at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

The back side of the coin bears the Marine Corps insignia and the words "Semper Fidelis" (Always Faithful), the Corps motto. (Click here to see the design.)

"The coin design is simple and heroic," said Fore in a statement. "The Iwo Jima image is the storied symbol of the Marine Corps' heroism, courage, strength and versatility. It exemplifies Semper Fidelis to an appreciative nation every day around the world."

Congress authorizes the minting of two commemorative coins annually, produced by the U.S. Mint.

The Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Silver Dollar is the second such coin to be produced in 2005. The first was a silver dollar honoring early Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.

The pieces are intended as collectible keepsakes, as compared to actual money in circulation. As such, they cost more than their face value. The Marshall dollar, for example, retails for about $35.

The price of the new Marines coin was not announced, but profits from the sale of each dollar will help pay for the creation of a National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, Virginia.

yellowwing
05-26-05, 03:07 PM
Nice catch, mikekier! Here are these Outstanding coins:

Joseph P Carey
05-26-05, 09:12 PM
Originally posted by yellowwing
Nice catch, mikekier! Here are these Outstanding coins:

Yellowwing,

I had heard this before, but I am glad to see it in print. Incidentally, there is a collection of Marine Corps Postage Stamps either coming out, or already on the shelf of the USPO. I would have to look up the add I received, and get back to you on this.

Phantom Blooper
05-26-05, 09:39 PM
Release of Distinguished Marines Stamps
shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsb...p?OID=8610

Due release date 21 May 2005

Dang, they look good! and they have the correct with the Division and Regtimental patches.
General Lejeune USMC stamp has the 2nd Army Division patch.
Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller stamp has the 1st Marine Division patch.
Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone USMC stamp has the 5th Marine Division patch
Sgt. Major Daniel J. Daly USMC stamp has the 6th Marines Regimental patch from World War I

The 3/6 Indian Head Patch

During World War 1 the Fifth and Sixth Marines fighting in France as the Fourth Marine Brigade of the Army's Second Division were forced to wear the Army's uniform. The Marines had only the eagle, globe, and anchor on their soft covers to distinguish themselves from their Army brothers in arms. As this did not sit well with the Marines, a patch was designed to distinguish them from their counterparts. A black shield with one five-pointed star and an Indian head with full war bonnet was selected. It is said that the black was for mourning and respect for their casualties, the shield for defense, and the star for the Second Division Commander, Brigadier General John A. Lejeune, and the Indian for General Lejeune's nickname "Old Indian." Another source says the patch was derived from a U.S. Coin in circulation at the time.

General Lejeune himself gave a somewhat different history as to the origin of the patch in his 1930 autobiography "The Reminiscences of a Marine." He states; "There was no inferiority complex about the Second Division. We knew that we were second to none, but also that we were better than any! So we adopted the star and Indian head as Division Insignia, the Indian head representing it's fighting ability, and the star it's spirit or espirit de corps. It was, I think, the First Division of the A.E.F. (American Expeditionary Force) to wear insignia."

"We carried the idea out, too, to its logical conclusion by providing a different background for each regiment, each Battalion, and each separate detachment."

The Sixth Marine Regiment used the same design in a diamond shape instead of a shield. The color of the background on which the star was placed shows the Battalion: black, Headquarters; green, Supply; purple, Machine-gun Company; red, First battalion; yellow, Second battalion; and blue, Third battalion.


Semper-Fi! Chuck Hall