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On February 23, 1916 Congress passed legislation that provided for the striking of not more than 100,000 gold dollars that would commemorate the life of President William McKinley. The funds raised from the sale of the coins would be used to build a memorial to the martyred president that would be built near his birthplace in Niles, Ohio. The National McKinley Birthplace Memorial Association sold the coins to the public for $3.00 each.
The early proposals for the McKinley coins called for a silver dollar, but then it was pointed out that McKinley had won the presidency by supporting the gold standard. This prompted the sponsors to draft legislation for a gold dollar instead.
The obverse was designed by Charles Barber who made a concerted effort to depict McKinley far differently than he had on the 1903 Louisiana Purchase McKinley dollar. At that time Barber’s strongest critic, Augustus St. Gaudens, had described Barber’s image of the late president as “deadly.” The resulting coin bore little resemblance to the image of McKinley that voters had seen on his campaign buttons years earlier. An issue button ("The money we want with a gold dollar) and two McKinley buttons from the 1900 presidential campaign are shown above.
Overall the net mintage of 1916 McKinley gold dollars has been estimated to be 15,000 pieces. The coins are of interest mainly to collectors who are looking to complete the 11 piece gold dollar and quarter eagle commemorative coin type set.