Gutzon Borglum and Georgia’s Stone Mountain Memorial
Around 1900, groups in the southern states sought to commemorate Confederate soldiers. Considering all of their options for honoring these soldiers, proposals were made to carve a sculpture honoring General Robert E. Lee on Stone Mountain, in Georgia, just north of Atlanta. Stone Mountain, a granite dome just north of Atlanta, offered a broad rock face for sculpture.
In 1915, the United Daughters of the Confederacy hired sculptor Gutzon Borglum, then publicly backed by the Ku Klux Klan, to design the monument. Work did not commence until 1923, when Borglum had created a design for a monument honoring not only Lee but also Stonewall Jackson and CSA President Jefferson Davis. An organization was formed to raise money for the project, but also to ensure that the project was completed on time, the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association was created. In 1924, Congress approved the proposal for the 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial Half Dollar. These coins would fund the cost of building the memorial.
Design Details
Borglum had been given $250,000 to complete the three figures on Stone Mountain within three years and was also hired to design the coin. His proposed design for the obverse of the coin had mounted figures of General Lee and Stonewall Jackson facing left, with “IN GOD WE TRUST” above and 13 five-pointed stars.
The reverse had an eagle perched on a large rock. He also displayed numerous Legends and a memorial to the recently deceased President Warren G. Harding.
The design required some modifications, but the central vignettes remained the same. Added to the obverse was the name of the coin, “STONE MOUNTAIN,” and the date “1925”. The reverse saw “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” remains at the top of the periphery, “E PLURIBUS UNUM” moved under “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, and the legend “LIBERTY” was added. The central wording was changed to “MEMORIAL TO THE VALOR OF THE SOLDIER OF THE SOUTH.”
Distribution
The Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association, along with the United Daughters of the Confederacy, all sought to sponsor extensive coin distribution efforts. The coin was opposed by the Grand Army of the Republic, a Union Civil War veterans’ organization.
Borglum had already designed the Children’s Founders Roll Medal, which was used to raise funds from southern children for the monument. Once the coin was completed, he turned back to working on the carving, but the Association was not pleased with his delays. Tensions built, and Borglum was finally dismissed from the project. In his retribution, he destroyed the models he had constructed of the proposed carving. He left Georgia, but was briefly detained for questioning in North Carolina. No charges were pressed, and he found his way to South Dakota and began work on the Mount Rushmore project. Augustus Lukeman was hired to complete the carving. It was not completed, due to a lack of funding, until 1970.
The first coin struck was embedded in a gold plate and presented to President Coolidge, and the next in a silver plaque presented to Treasury Secretary Mellon. The rest of the coins were placed in numbered envelopes for collectors. Between January and March of 1925, the Philadelphia Mint struck 2,310,000 coins.
The Association sold coins through other means as well. They asked Southern-based companies to purchase them for their employees. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was one such company. Additionally, the Southern Firemen’s Fund Insurance Company and the Coca-Cola Company bought and presented coins to their employees.
A total of 1,314,709 half dollars were officially distributed and sold for $1.00 each. Expand your collection today and shop for other U.S. classic silver commemorative coins.
