United States of America – Mount Rushmore National Memorial 1991 Proof Silver Dollar 38.1mm (26.73 grams) 0.900 Silver KM# 229 | Engraver: Marika Somogyi LIBERTY 1991 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL IN GOD WE TRUST, A view of Mount Rushmore. The mountainside carving by Gutzon Borglum features busts of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. At the bottom of the coin are two laurel wreaths with a ribbon containing the motto “In God We Trust”. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SHRINE OF DEMOCRACY E.PLURIBUS.UNUM ONE DOLLAR, The Great Seal of the United States with a sunburst and an outline of the United States of America. There is a star placed at the location of Mount Rushmore with an inscription “Shrine of Democracy”.
Coin Notes:
The 1991 Mount Rushmore Silver Dollar was issued for the golden anniversary of the national monument. Under the same program, half dollars and $5 gold coins were also issued. Surcharges raised from the commemorative coin program went to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society and the US Treasury.
A maximum mintage of 2,500,000 was established for the Mount Rushmore Silver Dollar. The coins were available in proof version struck at the San Francisco Mint or uncirculated version struck at the Philadelphia Mint. The US Mint offered the coins for sale individually or as part of various sets incorporating the half dollar and $5 gold coins. Pre-issue discounts were available for a specified period.
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Mount Rushmore National Memorial is centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture’s design and oversaw the project’s execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln Borglum. The sculpture features the 60-foot (18 m) heads of Presidents George Washington (1732-1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), as recommended by Borglum. The four presidents were chosen to represent the nation’s birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively. The memorial park covers 1,278 acres (2.00 sq mi; 5.17 km2) and the actual mountain has an elevation of 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.
South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of noted figures into the mountains of the Black Hills of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. His initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles because of the poor quality of the granite and strong opposition from the Lakota (Sioux), who consider the Black Hills to be sacred ground; it was originally included in the Great Sioux Reservation. The United States broke up the territory after gold was discovered in the Black Hills. The mountain into which it was carved is known to the Lakota Sioux as Six Grandfathers.
The sculptor and tribal representatives settled on Mount Rushmore, which also has the advantage of facing southeast for maximum sun exposure. Robinson wanted it to feature American West heroes, such as Lewis and Clark, their expedition guide Sacagawea, Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Oglala Lakota chief Crazy Horse. Borglum believed that the sculpture should have broader appeal and chose the four presidents.
Peter Norbeck, the US Senator from South Dakota, sponsored the project and secured federal funding. Construction began in 1927, and the presidents’ faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. After Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist, but lack of funding forced construction to end on October 31, 1941.
Sometimes referred to as the “Shrine of Democracy“, Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.
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