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Martha Washington Obverse
Designer: Joseph Menna
Sculptor: Joseph Menna
Martha Washington Reverse
Designer: Susan Gamble
Sculptor: Don Everhart
Born Martha Dandridge on June 2, 1731, the future first First Lady of the United States married Daniel Parke Custis when she was 18 years old. Martha had two children when her first husband died in 1757.
She married George Washington two years later. For most of the next 40 years, Martha Washington comfortably filled her role as wife of a soldier and statesman.
She and her husband retired from public life at the end of his second term as President. They lived out their lives at Mount Vernon, not far from the capital city that would soon bear their family name.
The back of the Martha Washington gold coin shows the future First Lady sewing a button onto her husband's uniform jacket. During the Revolutionary War, the colonial soldiers appreciated her concern for them, which she showed in many ways.
She set up sick wards for the soldiers. She had the ladies of Morristown roll bandages from their fine napkins and tablecloths. She had the ladies mend uniforms and knit shirts for the men. She even visited the camps of the Continental Army, an example to other officers' wives and an encouragement to the tired, cold, and hungry troops.