US Gold Coins Lucretia Garfield 2011 10 Dollars First Spouse Gold Coin
First Lady of the United States
The final release of the year for the series honoring the First Ladies of the United States was the Lucretia Garfield First Spouse Gold Coin. This represented the twenty-first coin within the series overall.
Lucretia Garfield was the wife of the 20th President James A. Garfield.
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield was born on April 19, 1832, in Garrettsville, Ohio. She first met future President "Jim" Garfield when both attended a nearby school, and they renewed their friendship in 1851 as students at the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute. The couple married in 1858.
During the 1880 presidential campaign, James Garfield campaigned from the front porch of Lawnfield, the couple's summer home in Ohio. Voters came from throughout the country to hear him speak, and Mrs. Garfield was the consummate hostess. In one corner of the property, there was a campaign office equipped with telegraph facilities to receive election returns. She was among the first presidential candidate's wives to appear on a campaign poster.
The Garfield family arrived at the White House in March 1881. Just two months later, the new first lady became seriously ill with malaria and went to a New Jersey coastal resort to recover. She was there when President Garfield was shot and mortally wounded on July 2.
Mrs. Garfield's dignity and strength over the next three months gained her wide admiration and sympathy. After the President's death in September 1881, the family returned to its Ohio farm. She lived for another 36 years and helped preserve her husband's records.
The Lucretia Garfield First Spouse Coin follows the design format of the series with a portrait of the First Lady on the obverse. The required inscriptions “Lucretia Garfield”, “In God We Trust”, and “Liberty” appear, along with the order of the Presidency, the year of the term, and the date and mint mark of the coin.
On the reverse is a scene of Lucretia Garfield painting. She holds a brush in one hand, a palette in the other, and sits before a canvas. This design was intended to represent her interest in art. This design had been recommended by both the Commission of Fine Arts and Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, and eventually selected by the Treasury of the Secretary. The inscriptions surrounding include “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, the legal tender face value, and weight and fineness of the gold content.
In 1869, Lucretia and James built a large home in Washington while he was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. "Crete" set aside one room in the house for herself, where she was able to paint and draw in private.
The obverse was designed by US Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Barbara Fox, while the reverse was designed by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Michael Gaudioso.
The Lucretia Garfield Coins officially went on sale at the United States Mint on December 1, 2011. The maximum mintage remained the same as other issues for the year at 15,000 pieces across the proof and uncirculated versions. The initial pricing was $1,029 for the proof version and $1,016 for the uncirculated version, which was adjusted weekly based on the market price of gold.
Following the unexpected sell out of the uncirculated version of the Lucy Hayes coin, speculative interest seemed to arise for the uncirculated Lucretia Garfield coin. A sell out for the uncirculated version occurred on August 9, 2012, yielding a final mintage of 2,168 pieces and narrowly establishing a new mintage low for the series. The proof version of the coin would remain available for sale until December 31, 2012 and carry a final mintage of 3,653 pieces.
Coin Specifications and Mintages
Date: 2011
Mint: West Point (W)
Mintage: 2,168 (uncirculated), 3,653 (proof)
Designers: Barbara Fox (obverse), Michael Gaudioso (reverse)
Composition: 0.9999 Gold
Weight: 0.5000 troy oz. (15.554 g)
Diameter: 1.041 inches (26.49 mm)
Thickness: 0.074 inches (1.88 mm)
US Gold Coins
First Spouse Gold Coins Program
2007 First Spouse Gold Coins
2008 First Spouse Gold Coins
2009 First Spouse Gold Coins
2010 First Spouse Gold Coins
2011 First Spouse Gold Coins
Eliza Johnson Julia Grant Lucy Hayes Lucretia Garfield
2012 First Spouse Gold Coins
2013 First Spouse Gold Coins
2014 First Spouse Gold Coins
2015 First Spouse Gold Coins