Owner Comments:
This SP68 Goodacre Presentation Dollar is my favorite coin based on unique story of the U.S. Mints payment to Glenna Goodacre the artist with a limited number of special (5,000) minted coins.
The Goodacre Presentation Dollar is ranked #66 in the book; “100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins, 4th Edition” by Jeff Garrett.
The U.S. Mint Director Phil Diehl personally delivered these 5,000 coins to Glenna Goodacre at her Santa Fe studio in New Mexico. These coins were extra special and were different than the rest of the Sacagawea Dollars minted in 2000. The coins themselves were struck on burnished planchets by polished dies using higher pressure - which resulted in a proof-like surface. They were also treated with an antioxidant to help preserve their special appearance.
Goodacre immediately sent all 5,000 coins to the Independent Coin Grading Company (ICG) in late 2000 to have them certified and sealed, not graded, in order to preserve them. Each coin was individually numbered and Goodacre had the numbers 2003 through 4999 sold to the public for $200 each while she kept the remainder for herself.
In 2010 Jeff Garrett of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries acquired the remaining coins from Goodacre. Most of these ICG-slabbed coins were sent to PCGS, graded and put into plastic holders with a special label bearing the signature of Philip N. Diehl - the Director of the U.S. Mint at the time Goodacre designed the coin. Some of these coins have been signed by Glenna Goodacre herself - with the signature featured on the outside of the plastic holder.
Over the years many of the other ICG slabbed coins have been submitted to various third party grading companies, such as NCG, PCGS and ANAC to be professionally graded. Based on my research of census reports, I estimate that about 3,000 to 3,200 of the original ICG holder coins have been crossed over and graded.
BACK GROUND – SACAGAWEA DOLLAR
The Sacagawea Golden Dollar was authorized as part of the “50 STATES COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM ACT” Public Law 105-124 on Dec. 1, 1997 and is also known as the “United States $1 Coin Act of 1997”. The One $1 Dollar Coin Act was driven by the desire of the U.S. Treasury and Congress to replace the One Dollar bill with a $1 coin. Due to the failure of the Susan B. Anthony $1 Dollar Coin, the legislation required that the new coin be “Golden” in color to help avoid confusion with the Washington Quarter due to the similar size and color. In addition to the Golden color, the legislation required that the coin would have an authentic Native American depiction so not to repeat other U.S. Native American coins of the 1800’s and early 1900’s.
In June 1998, the Dollar Coin Design Advisory Committee (DCDAC) led by none-voting chair U.S. Mint Director Philip N. Diehl convened in Philadelphia. There they listened to 17 design concept presentations from members of the public, as well as to numerous messages submitted by the public. Based on this input DCDAC recommended that the dollar coin bear the image of Sacagawea.
The U.S. Mint invited 23 artists to submit designs with an image of Sacagawea for the obverse and complimentary reverse eagle designs reflecting peace and freedom. Using public comments as a guide, the Mint narrowed the designs to seven and submitted them to the Commission of Fine Arts in December 1998. The Commission of Fine Arts provided its recommendation to the Mint. After much review of all the input received, the Mint presented the final designs to the Secretary of the Treasury. On May 4, 1999, the Mint unveiled the selected obverse design by sculptor Glenna Goodacre at the White House. The selected reverse design shows an Eagle in flight and was designed by U.S. Mint engraver Thomas D. Rogers Sr.
DESIGNERS
Glenna Goodacre was an American sculptor, (August 28, 1939 – April 13, 2020), best known for having designed the obverse of the Sacagawea dollar, the Vietnam Women's Memorial in Washington, D.C. and "After the Ride," a seven-foot high statue of President Ronald Reagan. Her career spanned nearly five decades, was well-known for her bronze sculptures, specializing in sensitive portraits of children in action and of Native American Indians, including the New Mexico Pueblo Indians exemplified by her depiction of a sacred ceremony, The Basket Dance.
Thomas D. Rogers Sr. is a former sculptor-engraver with the U.S. Mint and designer of several U.S. coins in addition to the reverse of the Sacagawea Dollar. Rogers design credits include four State Quarter reverses, American Platinum Eagle reverse and the 2016 Native American Dollar “Code Talkers” reverse to name a few.
THE DESIGN:
The obverse design of Sacagawea is portrayed in three-quarter profile. This is a departure from numismatic tradition, as Sacagawea looks straight at the holder. Goodacre included the large, dark eyes attributed to Sacagawea of Shoshone legends. As her model at the time, she used a present-day Shoshone college student, Randy'L He-dow Teton who is the only living model of a current US Coin. On her back, Sacagawea carries Jean Baptiste, her infant son. Six months pregnant when she joined the Lewis and Clark expedition, Sacagawea gave birth to Jean Baptiste early in the journey.
To complement the obverse, the reverse design depicts a soaring Eagle in flight encircled by 17 stars. The 17 stars represent each state in the Union at the time of the 1804 Lewis and Clark expedition.