Bill Jones' Classic Commemorative Gold Set
G$1 PANAMA-PACIFIC 1915-S

Owner Comments:

The Panama – Pacific gold dollar was smallest of the four gold pieces that were issued in the five piece set. The coin, which was designed by artist Charles Keck, is visually interesting despite its size and marked by some interesting symbolism.

Contrary to impressions of some, the man depicted upon the obverse of this coin is not a baseball player, but a Panama Canal laborer. These unsung heroes risked their lives under the most difficult of conditions to build the Panama Canal which was the wonder of its age. Proposals for a canal that linked the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans though the narrow neck of land between North and South America had been proposed for hundreds of years. It took the vision of President Theodore Roosevelt and years of planning and hard labor to make the Panama Canal a reality.

The reverse of this gold dollar features two dauphins, which are symbolic of the linking of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The lettering is bold and attractive, and your author believes that this coin is one of the most attractive pieces in the “old” gold commemorative series.