Minting Public Memory: Substitution Logics and Gendered Commemoration in the First Spouse Coin

ABSTRACT

In 2005, the Presidential $1 Coin Act charged the United States Mint with the production of two new coin series: one featuring the nation’s past presidents, another showcasing their spouses. The first spouse coin caught the attention of the press and public alike as the first consecutive series to feature women exclusively. With the recent push to include women on U.S. currency, the first spouse coin presented a unique opportunity to challenge our historical and commemorative norms and celebrate individual women in U.S. history. However, I argue that the First Spouse Gold Coins series illustrates an institutional ambivalence toward women’s public roles. In particular, three substitution logics used in this series work to occlude the public aspects of the first lady role. While laudable in some sense, the coins squander the opportunity to recognize first ladies as public servants and amplify a persistent construction of the role as gendered and unnecessary.

KEYWORDS:

• Commemoration
• first ladies
• public memory
• substitution
• United States Mint

Acknowledgment

An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the 2015 National Communication Association annual conference in Las Vegas, NV.

Notes

The United States Mint’s sculptor-engravers are responsible for submitting designs for consideration for coin production. They sculpt the models that are required to produce the images on the coins. In 2003, the Mint established the Artistic Infusion Program, which contracts professional American artists representative of diverse backgrounds and creative interests. These artists work in conjunction with the sculptor-engravers to create new designs for coins and medals. More information can be found on the United States Mint’s Web site: https://www.usmint.gov/learn/artists.

Some coin descriptions do not explicitly detail what is pictured on the reverse. Instead, general descriptions of particular activities or sentiments are given, which may be reflected on the back of the coin.