Honoring George Washington 200 Years After His Death
In 1999, Congress decided to honor George Washington with a coin to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death in 1799. The Father of our Country has the distinction of also having appeared on the first of the modern commemorative coins – the 1982 George Washington Commemorative Half Dollar, which celebrated the 250th anniversary of his birth.
This commemorative coin was struck 33 years after the death of the original designer of this coin – Laura Gardin Fraser. Fraser, who was the wife of James Earle Fraser, designed this coin in 1932 as a candidate for the George Washington Quarter Dollar that was to be struck that year. In fact, her design won approval from the Commission of Fine Arts but Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon chose John Flanagan’s design instead. Some believe that Mellon did not want a woman to design America’s quarter – but there is no actual record of Mellon stating that so it is conjecture at best.
For the obverse of that quarter, and now for this $5 Gold Coin, Fraser chose a bust of George Washington, facing right, based on the famous bust of Washington by the famed sculptor Houdon. Crowning Washington’s head is the word “LIBERTY”, to the left is “IN GOD WE TRUST” and to the right is the date “1999”.
The reverse of the coin has a majestic bald eagle with its wings up spread. The eagle holds in its talons an olive branch and a bunch of arrows, symbolizing that America is ready for war or peace. There are 13 5-pointed stars above the eagle and “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” graces the upper periphery and below the eagle is “E PLURIBUS UNUM” with the denomination “FIVE DOLLARS” on the lower periphery.
The George Washington Gold Commemorative was struck in both Uncirculated and Proof versions, both of which were struck at the West Point Mint. While a total of 100,000 of these gold coins were authorized by Congress, the Uncirculated version sold 22,511 coins and the Proof version sold 41,693. The coins were sold individually and in a two-coin set.
The surcharge placed on these coins went to benefit the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. The dream of Laura Gardin Fraser was finally realized, although it came decades after her death.
| Date | Mintmark | Denomination | Type | Mintage | Value |
| 1999 | W | Five Dollars | Uncirculated | 22,511 | $600 |
| 1999 | W | Five Dollars | Proof | 224,403 | $625 |
| 1999 | W | Five Dollars | Both Proof & BU | Unknown | $1,250 |
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