Lewis & Clark Expo $1.00 Gold Coins – 1904 – 1905

Lewis and Clarks 100th and the Only Two Headed American Coin

The Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon was intended to celebrate the Centennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Guided by Sacagawea, the Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, opened up these unknown lands for trading and later, for inhabitation.

The plans for the Centennial began back in 1895. Federal support from President Teddy Roosevelt was received in 1904 when Roosevelt signed an appropriations bill for the Exposition and he also authorized a gold dollar to commemorate the fair.

The Chief Engraver of the US Mint, Charles E. Barber, began work on the designs. Basing their likenesses on the oil paintings by Charles Wilson Peale, Barber created the only two-headed coin in American history. In other instances, most designers typically show conjoined busts of the two people on the obverse and it is accompanied by a reverse design. Barber instead placed a portrait of Lewis on one side and a portrait of Clark on the other.

The obverse of the 1904 coin has a portrait of Lewis, facing left. Surrounding him at the periphery is the legend “LEWIS CLARK EXPOSITION PORTLAND ORE.” with the date “1904” at the bottom. The reverse of the coin has a portrait of Clark, facing left, with the legend “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” surmounting the portrait and the denomination “ONE DOLLAR” at the bottom.

The 1905 coin is exactly the same style and the only discernable difference is the date “1905.” The 1904 coin saw 10,025 struck and distributed while the 1905 example had 10,041 struck and distributed.

Coin dealer and promoter, Farran Zerbe advocated for this coin and also for the right to be the Official Distributor, as he was on the 1903 Louisiana Purchase Expo gold dollar.

Between the 1904 and 1905 issues, the Philadelphia Mint struck a total of 60,069 coins, but the majority of these coins, 40,003, were melted due to slow sales. This was the first gold commemorative coin to be struck and dated in more than one year.  These coins were offered as coins but also in brooches, pins, watch fobs and even encased in spoons. The prices for any of these coins, in any format, were all the same – $3.00 each. The price was lowered to $2.00 as sales slowed.

As it was officially known – the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair – opened in Portland on June 1, 1905. Over two and a half million people visited the fair between June 1^st and the close of the fair on October 14.

Funds from the sale of the coin were designated for the completion of a statue of Sacagawea in a Portland park and a marble statue was erected in her honor.

Expand your collection today and shop for a 1904 Gold $1.00 Lewis & Clark BU.