Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar
| United States | |
| Value | 1 US dollar |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.672 g |
| Diameter | 15 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Composition | |
| Gold | 0.04837 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1903 (some pieces struck in 1902 with 1903 date) |
| Mintage | 125,000 of each type minted; 35,000 total coins distributed, remainder melted. |
| Mint marks | None. All pieces struck at Philadelphia Mint without mint mark. |
| Obverse | |
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|
| Design | Thomas Jefferson |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber, after a medal by John Reich |
| Design date | 1903 |
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|
| Design | William McKinley |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber, after a medal by himself |
| Design date | 1903 |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | Reverse common to both varieties |
| Designer | Charles E. Barber |
| Design date | 1903 |
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar was a commemorative coin issue in gold dated 1903. Struck in two varieties, the coins were designed by United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. The pieces were issued to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in 1904 in St. Louis; one variety depicted former president Thomas Jefferson, and the other, the recently assassinated president William McKinley. Although not the first American commemorative coins, they were the first in gold.
Promoters of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, originally scheduled to open in 1903, sought a commemorative coin for fundraising purposes. Congress authorized an issue in 1902, and exposition authorities, including numismatic promoter Farran Zerbe, sought to have the coin issued with two designs, to aid sales. The price for each variety was $3, the same cost whether sold as a coin, or mounted in jewelry or on a spoon.
The coins did not sell well, and most were later melted. Zerbe, who had promised to support the issue price of the coins, did not do so as prices dropped once the fair (rescheduled for 1904) closed. This drop, however, did not greatly affect Zerbe's career, as he went on to promote other commemorative coins and become president of the American Numismatic Association. The coins also recovered, regaining their issue price by 1915; they are now worth between a few hundred and several thousand dollars, depending on condition.
Much of the area near the Mississippi River was explored by French explorers in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed the entire area drained by the river for France, naming it Louisiana for Louis XIV. Although most French territory in the Western Hemisphere was lost in the French and Indian War (1756–1763), the Mississippi basin did not pass to the victors in that war (primarily the British) as it had been secretly transferred to Spain by the 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau.
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