George Washington on Coins and Currency

by Heinz Tschachler

Overview

George Washington is the most popular subject on coins, medals, tokens, paper money and postage stamps in America. Attempts to eliminate one-dollar bills from circulation, replacing them with coins, have been unsuccessful. Americans' reluctance to part with their "Georges" are beyond rational considerations but tap into deep-felt emotions. To discard one-dollar bills means discarding the metaphorical Father of His Country.

Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first Secretary of the Treasury, said that monetary tokens were "vehicles of useful impressions." This numismatic history of George Washington traces the persistence of his image on American currency. These images are mostly from the late 18th-century. This book also offers a close look at the pictorial tradition in which these images are rooted.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476640341
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	07/27/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	246
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Heinz Tschachler is a former professor of English and American studies at Alpen-Adria-University in Klagenfurt, Austria. He is the author of numerous books.
Heinz Tschachler is a former professor of English and American studies at Alpen-Adria-University in Klagenfurt, Austria. He is the author of numerous books.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Prologue: “Americans for George”
Part I. Vehicles of Useful Impressions
 1. The Father of His Country and America’s Money
 2. The Mark of the Prince
 3. Constitutional Prohibitions and the Era of Private Banking
Part II. The Antebellum Period and the Civil War
 4. The Cult of Antiquity
 5. George Washington, Gallant Revolutionary
 6. Ornamenting the Façade of Hell
Part III. From the End of the Civil War through the 1920s
 7. The Only True American Contribution to the Arts
 8. National Myths
 9. Value and the Paternal Image
Part IV. A More Permanent Familiarity
10. Patriotic Extravaganzas
11. Dollar Bill Y’all
12. Money and Faith
Epilogue: “Where’s George?”
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index