George Washington on coins and currency / Heinz Tschachler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tschachler, Heinz, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Money--United States--History.

Money.

Numismatics.

History.

United States.

Numismatics--United States--History.

Washington, George, 1732-1799--Numismatics.

Washington, George.

Washington, George, 1732-1799.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

x, 236 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, [2020]

Summary:

"George Washington has been the most popular and widely used subject on coins, medals, tokens, paper money, and postage stamps in America. Attempts on the part of America's lawmakers to eliminate one-dollar bills from circulation, replacing them with coins, have been unsuccessful. The reasons for Americans' reluctance to part with their beloved "Georges" are beyond rational economic considerations, though, tapping into deep-felt emotions. To discard one-dollar bills and to replace them with another form of currency means discarding the metaphorical Father of His Country. Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, said that monetary tokens were "vehicles of useful impressions." This numismatic history of George Washington traces examines why his image remains so persistent on American currency. Since the images used were mostly copied from late eighteenth-century paintings and prints, Washington's numismatic legacy is complemented with a close look at the pictorial tradition in which these images were rooted." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part I Vehicles of Useful Impressions p. 13

1 The Father of His Country and America's Money p. 15

2 The Mark of the Prince p. 30

3 Constitutional Prohibitions and the Era of Private Banking p. 41

Part II The Antebellum Period and the Civil War p. 57

4 The Cult of Antiquity p. 59

5 George Washington, Gallant Revolutionary p. 68

6 Ornamenting the Façade of Hell p. 86

Part III From the End of the Civil War through the 1920s p. 93

7 The Only True American Contribution to the Arts p. 95

8 National Myths p. 110

9 Value and the Paternal Image p. 120

Part IV A More Permanent Familiarity p. 131

10 Patriotic Extravaganzas p. 132

11 Dollar Bill Y'all p. 140

12 Money and Faith p. 151.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781476681108

1476681104

OCLC:

1133654686

Publisher Number:

40030087603