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Dorothy Copus Brush Don't hoard those golden
What is gold in color but contains none of
the precious stuff? It's the new golden dollar coin with the
profile of Sacagawea. Although it is called gold and looks gold,
it is composed of mostly copper (88.5 percent), with small amounts
of zinc (6 percent), manganese (3.5 percent) and nickel (2 percent).
Introduced in January 2000, by May many people had never seen
one of the coins, even though 500 million had been released for
circulation. Trouble was they were being hoarded and not circulated. If you are one of those hoarders, take time
to check both sides of the coin. This month a man in Arkansas
bought a roll of uncirculated golden dollars and found one that
had the profile of Washington - as seen on the quarter - on one
side and Sacagawea on the other. Experts say this error could
be worth as much as $100,000! It is believed this is the first
such error ever made by the mint in its 208-year history. But for me the most interesting thing about
this coin is Sacagawea, a woman I have long admired. It was in
the history books in school that I first heard of her. After
a visit to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY, in 1981 I felt
a strong connection to this woman. At that time the museum had
a large sculpture of her on display with more history. Then,
when I returned home, I found a book titled simply Sacajawea
written by Anna Lee Waldo, copyrighted in 1978. Although the coin and book differ on the spelling
as to "g" or "j" there is also a dispute
about the pronunciation of this historic woman's name. "SAK-a-ja-we-ah"
is the most common, but one of the country's preeminent scholars
on the Lewis and Clark expedition insists the correct pronunciation
should be "sah-KAH-gah-wee-ah." Regardless, the 1,342-page book, which one
reviewer called a "monumental novel," was on the New
York Times bestseller list for six months. The author spent
10 years writing and traveling to 16 states, Canada and Germany
to check manuscripts and historical documents. Twice she and
her husband followed the Lewis and Clark trail. It covered Sacagawea's
life from birth to death. When the decision was made to use her likeness
on the new coin, artists were asked to submit sketches for the
coin. Nationally renowned sculptor Glenna Goodacre of New Mexico,
whose Vietnam Women's Memorial sculpture is located near the
memorial wall in Washington, DC, began extensive research on
Sacagawea. She also found her model. University of New Mexico
senior, 23-year-old Randy'L He-dow Teton, a member of the Shoshone
nation, the same tribe as Sacagawea, was chosen after Goodacre
saw a photograph of Randy at age 15. This was the same age as
Sacagawea when she led the Lewis and Clark expedition. Goodacre submitted 14 sketches to the mint,
and seven were posted on the Internet with 119 other finalists.
A national vote by computer chose Goodacre's sketch of Sacagawea
looking over her shoulder with baby as the winner. For model Teton another role has opened, and she is being invited to speak by many groups on Native American issues. She has since graduated with an art history major and says, "I think I'd like to pursue museum studies and be an asset to my tribe." It isn't unusual these days for strangers who recognize her to ask her to autograph their golden dollars. She does but then she urges them, "Spend those dollars." |