RCC/Let Freedom Ring

Let Freedom Ring

In honor of the 224th anniversary of our nation's declaration of independence from Great Britain, I thought I'd take a look at one of our most enduring and endearing symbols of freedom - the Liberty Bell - and its use on U.S. coinage.

The history of the Liberty Bell begins in 1751 when the Pennsylvania Assembly decided to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1701 "Charter of Privileges" by William Penn with the casting of a bell. Penn's charter spoke of the rights and freedoms desired by all people; the document served as the first constitution of Pennsylvania. A passage from Leviticus, "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof' was chosen to be included on the bell.

An order for the bell was placed with the London firm of Whitechapel Foundry. The bell arrived in 1752, but was not hung for testing until March of 1753. Upon its initial testing, the bell cracked! It was subsequently broken up, melted, and recast by the local firm of Pass and Stow. Pass and Stow recast the bell with more copper than the original in an attempt to make it less brittle. While they were successful on the "less brittle" goal, the tone of the new bell was deemed unsuccessful. This bell thus shared the fate of its predecessor and was broken up and melted. In June of 1753, a second bell from Pass and Stow was hung in the steeple of the Pennsylvania Statehouse building (now Independence Hall).

Its tone was better than the previous bell, but still not as good as was anticipated. Thus, a second bell was ordered from Whitechapel in London. When it arrived, it was decided that its tone was no better than the Pass and Stow bell, so the new bell was hung in the cupola of the Statehouse and attached to the clock to sound each passing hour. The Pass and Stow "Liberty Bell" remained in place in the steeple.

The bell was rung on July 8, 1776 to call the people of Philadelphia together for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. When the British occupied Philadelphia in 1777, the bell was removed from Independence Hall and taken to Allentown, PA for safekeeping. It was returned to it proper place in 1778 and was thereafter rung on important state occasions and on each July 4th.

The origin of the now famous crack is still debated. Some historians believe that it was created in 1835 while the bell tolled for the death of Chief Justice John Marshall, others point to different events. It is agreed, however, that the bell became unringable after being used to mark George Washington's birthday in 1846.

The Liberty Bell has been used as a design element on just three U.S. coins thus far: the 1926 U.S. Sesquicentennial commemorative half dollar, the Franklin half dollar, and the bicentennial type of the Eisenhower one dollar coin (in both silver and copper-nickel varieties).

For many years, credit for the design of the Sesquicentennial half dollar was given to then chief engraver of the Mint, John Sinnock. In fact, however, the National Sesquicentennial Exhibition Association rejected Sinnock's designs for the half dollar. Sinnock actually executed the designs of John Frederick Lewis, a Philadelphia area lawyer and local patron of the arts.

The coins stirred things up a bit when they were introduced, as the obverse of the commemorative featured the conjoined bust of George Washington and Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge was President at the time, and the coin marked the first time a living U.S. President appeared on an official U.S. coin. The predominant design of the reverse of the coin is the Liberty Bell flanked by the commemorative dates 1776 and 1926. The coins were struck in very low relief and finding well-struck examples is a notable challenge.

The Franklin half dollar was introduced in 1948, and features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the obverse and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. Both designs are credited to John Sinnock. The Liberty Bell design is very similar to that of the commemorative half dollar, so shared "design" credit may once again be due John Lewis. The Franklin half dollar was struck only until 1963 - a run of just sixteen years - when it was replaced by the Kennedy design.

The most recent coin to feature the Liberty Bell is the bicentennial type of the Eisenhower dollar. The "Ike Dollar" was introduced in 1971 and was the work of U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro. The obverse features a left-facing portrait of Eisenhower while the symbolic reverse offers a bald eagle clutching an olive branch landing on the moon.

For the bicentennial, the Treasury Department announced an open competition for commemorative designs for the quarter dollar, half dollar, and dollar coins. Dennis R. Williams' design of the Liberty Bell superimposed over the moon was selected from over 1,000 entries and was chosen for the dollar coin.

The bicentennial Ike was produced in silver clad and copper-nickel clad, with San Francisco the sole producer of the silver pieces, and all three mints striking the copper-nickel coins. In addition to the two compositions, the coin was also produced in two design varieties. The Type I pieces feature bold lettering on the reverse, while the Type II coins feature a thinner lettering that more closely matches the letter style of the obverse. Silver pieces were struck only with the Type I reverse, while the copper-nickel coins were produced in both styles.

And there you have it, a three-piece topical set of U.S. coins featuring the Liberty Bell. ("Advanced" collectors can go after the Ike varieties and assemble a five piece-set!) I'll bring an example of each to our next meeting.

Happy Collecting!

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