Mark Twain 2016 Silver Dollar
The 2016 Mark Twain Silver Dollar Proof Coin; who doesn’t have fond memories of reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.This commemorative coin program is in recognition of Mark Twain’s literary and educational contributions. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whose pen name was Mark Twain, has influenced American culture like few other authors; Twain published 28 books, as well as many short stories, letters and sketches. He is remembered for addressing complex social situations that were facing Americans during his time. His books have been translated into more than 75 languages, and many are still in print today.
The obverse features a portrait of Mark Twain holding a pipe with smoke forming a silhouette of Huck Finn and Jim on a raft in the background with the inscriptions “IN GOD WE TRUST,” “LIBERTY” and ”2016.” The reverse features an assortment of characters leaping to life from Mark Twain’s works: The knight and horse from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, the frog from “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” and Jim and Huck from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “$1” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
Denomination: Dollar.
Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper.
Weight: 26.73 grams nominal.
Diameter: 1.500 inches (±0.003) or 38.10 mm (±0.08).
Edge: Reeded.
Mint and Mint Mark: Philadelphia – P.
Mintage Limit: 350,000.
Surcharges of $10 for each silver coin sold are authorized to be paid to the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut; the University of California, Berkeley; Elmira College, New York; and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri.
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called "The Great American Novel".
Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. After an apprenticeship with a printer, Twain worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to the newspaper of his older brother, Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his singular lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1865, his humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was published, based on a story he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention, and was even translated into classic Greek. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.
Though Twain earned a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he invested in ventures that lost a great deal of money, notably the Paige Compositor, a mechanical typesetter, which failed because of its complexity and imprecision. In the wake of these financial setbacks, he filed for protection from his creditors via bankruptcy, and with the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain chose to pay all his pre-bankruptcy creditors in full, though he had no legal responsibility to do so.
Twain was born shortly after a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it", too. He died the day after the comet returned. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature".
