Glenna Goodacre, Famous Sculptor and Coin Designer, Has Left Us
by Dennis Tucker
The unveiling of the Sacagawea Dollar design at the White House with (L-R) irst Lady Hillary Clinton, Sacagawea Model Randy’L He-dow Teton, and Designer Glenna Goodacre.
Goodacre was an artist of monumental sculptures including the Vietnam Women’s Memorial (part of the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial), situated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and dedicated in 1993. Her Irish Memorial (2003), installed at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia, is a massive monument of 35 life-size sculptures dedicated to America’s millions of Irish immigrants. Her delightful and energetic sculpture The Puddle Jumpers is in Montgomery, Alabama. The Smithsonian Art Inventory describes it: “Six running children, three boys and three girls, are preparing to jump into a puddle. The children are holding hands and are in various states of motion. Three of the figures are anchored to the ground, though all have the appearance of being suspended in air. The figures wear play clothes and are all smiling and laughing.”
Goodacre’s portraiture included a bronze statue of Ronald Reagan, After the Ride, displayed at his Presidential Library in California. She created a full-length figure of ragtime composer Scott Joplin, a striding depiction of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and many other impressive sculptural portraits.
To numismatists, however, Glenna Goodacre will forever be remembered in the popular Sacagawea dollar, the first “golden dollar” of the United States Mint. Her design for the coin’s obverse features Shoshone Indian interpreter and guide Sacagawea, who helped explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their famed journey westward from the Great Northern Plains to the Pacific Ocean. She depicted Sacagawea carrying her infant son Jean Baptiste, known as “Pomp.” The figures were from Goodacre’s creative imagination, as no contemporary portraits of the subjects are known to exist.
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- 2000 Native American One Dollar Uncirculated Obverse
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- 1999-2006 Native American One Dollar Uncirculated Reverse
Goodacre’s design was central to the Sacagawea dollar coin issued from 2000 to 2008 (with an eagle-in-flight reverse design by Thomas D. Rogers Sr.). Since 2009 it has been the obverse of the Native American series of dollar coins, issued annually with a new theme on the reverse each year.
The artist received $5,000 for her work on the new dollar, in the form of 5,000 specially burnished and surface-treated coins—a format unexpected by her and unannounced in advance. Q. David Bowers, the “Dean of American Numismatics,” describes the unusual payment, which proved to be a bonanza: “At the time the Mint was having some problems with discoloration, and [this burnishing] was the way to prevent that from happening with coins that no doubt would be given away or otherwise distributed by Goodacre, rather than being spent. . . . These were delivered to her Santa Fe, New Mexico, studio by Mint Director Philip Diehl accompanied by two Mint police officers. A special ceremony was held there on April 5, 2000.” The coins were slabbed and graded with special labels, with Goodacre keeping 2,000 for herself and the rest being sold.
Bowers, a longtime fan of Goodacre’s, who wrote extensively on her work in the Guide Book of Modern United States Dollar Coins, remembers the artist with this tribute:
Jeff Garrett, a professional numismatist and senior editor of the Guide Book of United States Coins, recalls meeting Goodacre. Garrett enjoyed the honor of helping her sell her coins:
Robin Salmon, Brookgreen Gardens’s vice president of Art and Historical Collections and curator of Sculpture, and currently a member of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, which reviews American coin designs, describes Goodacre as “a remarkable woman and a good friend who never met a stranger. Her artwork continues on as powerful testimony to her love of family and the beauty of the human spirit.”
Greg Weinman, senior legal counsel at the United States Mint, who worked closely with Goodacre during the design and launch of the Sacagawea dollar, also remembers the artist as “a good friend and one of my favorite people in the world.”
The numismatic community joins Glenna Goodacre’s family, friends, and many fans in mourning her loss and celebrating her art.
PCGS Resuming Operations in California
Dear Valued Collectors and Customers,
Today we’re happy to announce that PCGS is re-opening the operations of our Orange County, California office.
For decades, as the only publicly traded (NASDAQ: CLCT) third party grading service, and the undisputed market leader in coin grading, PCGS’ slogan has been, “PCGS: The Standard for the Rare Coin Industry.” Being “The Standard” in third party grading means not only holding ourselves to the highest level in ethics, quality, and numismatics, but also extending that standard beyond our services to the safety and well-being of our employees, community, and customers.
Due to the liquidity we provide to numismatic trading markets worldwide, PCGS is essential and able to operate as needed during the current global pandemic. However, out of an abundance of caution for both our employees and customers, we took a measured and responsible approach and briefly closed our offices. During our temporary closure, we developed and implemented an ongoing safety plan that ensures the well-being of both employees and customers alike. It was only then, along with the commitment of our team, that we chose to reopen our doors.
Thank you for being a loyal customer during our temporary closure and beyond and thank you to the entire Collectors Universe and PCGS staff of nearly five hundred employees worldwide.
For additional details about our re-open including expected turnaround times, Quarter Quest, and First Strike deadlines please visit www.PCGS.com/Updates.
Best wishes to you and your loved ones,
Brett Charville
Gold Rush Nuggets From Fabled SS Central America Treasure
An example of a sunken treasure California Gold Rush gold nugget recovered from the fabled SS Central America. (Photo courtesy of Asset Marketing Services.)
Each nugget contains between .031 to 0.40 grams of California Gold Rush gold. To ensure their historic sunken treasure pedigree, the nuggets have been certified for authenticity and encapsulated by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC).
They are now being offered exclusively by Asset Marketing Services (www.govmint.com/goldnuggets) of Burnsville, Minnesota.
“The nuggets were discovered aboard the fabulous SS Central America treasure carefully retrieved in 2014. They were contained in miners’ gold field pokes (small satchels or pouches usually made of buckskin, canvas or leather) inside a leather saddlebag found inside the purser’s safe. These historic nuggets originally were mined by courageous pioneers who dug for gold during the heydays of the California Gold Rush. This gold was undisturbed and untouched for a century and a half,” explained Dwight Manley, managing partner of the California Gold Marketing Group.
A California Gold Rush miner’s poke recovered from the SS Central America was carefully unwrapped in 2018 after being unopened for more than 160 years. (Photo courtesy of California Gold Marketing Group.)
Manley’s group acquired all of the recovered sunken treasure from the last expedition to the legendary sidewheel steamship in 2014 as well as most of the treasure from earlier recovery missions.
The nuggets were being taken to New York City in September 1857 when the ship sank more than 7,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean during a hurricane off the North Carolina coast. This is the first time these recovered gold nuggets have been made available to collectors.
“The response from customers has been overwhelming,” Asset Marketing Services stated.
“Many of our collectors instantly recognized the unique opportunity these certified SS Central America nuggets provided; the opportunity to acquire genuine California Gold Rush gold nuggets with the most clear and compelling provenance of any Gold Rush nuggets to date.”
The initial offering to customers included the “Top 100” nuggets ranked by size, as well as a second group of slightly smaller nuggets with the same NGC certification.
“These initial offerings sold out very quickly, but we have reserved additional S.S. Central America gold nuggets for release in the near future. Any collectors interested in obtaining them can visit the special SSCA Nuggets website page for more information and contact details at www.govmint.com/goldnuggets.”
Each encapsulated nugget will come with a velvet pouch and an informatiave booklet about the California Gold Rush, the nuggets and the fabled Ship of Gold, the SS Central America.
ABOUT Asset Marketing Services, LLC
Since 1984, Asset Marketing Services, LLC (AMS) has provided collectors, history buffs and others with the finest products the numismatic world has to offer, from 2,000-year-old ancient coins to the latest three-dimensional works of modern coin art. Their brands (GovMint.com and ModernCoinMart) combine to make AMS one of the world’s largest direct-to-consumer marketers or rare and collectible coins
ANA Cancels 2020 Summer Seminar
The American Numismatic Association (ANA) announced that the 2020 Summer Seminar, scheduled for June 27-July 9 in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been cancelled due to coronavirus (COVID-19) safety concerns.
“While it seemed inevitable with each passing week, we were officially notified by Colorado College today that they are suspending all summer programs and camps in order to ’restrict participants who have traveled to or from affected areas associated with the coronavirus pandemic,” says ANA Executive Director Kim Kiick.
Held on the campus of Colorado College adjacent to the ANA, Summer Seminar is a once-a-year opportunity for numismatic learning and camaraderie that offers hundreds of students from around the world a varied selection of week-long courses designed for discovery or continued study.
This is the event’s first cancellation in its 50-plus year history.
“I know the students, instructors and staff are very disappointed in not being able to have a Summer Seminar this year,” says ANA President Steve Ellsworth. “However, we are in agreement with Colorado College’s decision and they have assured the ANA that they will work to reschedule Summer Seminar for 2021. We feel a huge loss of fellowship with our students and seminar instructors, as well as our team who has worked for months to make this beloved event a success. But our first priority is for the health and safety of our attendees and our community, so this is the right decision.”
Scholarships that were awarded for the 2020 Summer Seminar will be honored for the 2021 event. Anyone who has pre-registered for the 2020 event will receive a full refund.
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people to study and collect coins and related items. The ANA helps its 25,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call (719) 632-2646 or go to www.money.org.
Money Talks Speakers Wanted for Pittsburgh World’s Fair of Money
American Numismatic Association (ANA) members are encouraged to share their ideas and research with fellow hobbyists by delivering a Money Talks presentation at the 2020 World’s Fair of Money® in Pittsburgh, Aug. 4-8 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
Those interested in giving a Money Talks presentation should submit an online proposal at money.org/numismatic-events/money-talks. Proposals are due no later than May 1 (despite information contained in the April issue of The Numismatist, the deadline to submit materials is Friday, May 1).
The Association continues to closely monitor COVID-19 developments and is hopeful that conditions will have improved by early summer so the World’s Fair of Money can be held as scheduled. In the meantime, planning for the event continues.
The informative 30- to 45-minute Money Talks are presented by some of the hobby’s most noted authorities and allow collectors to share their expertise with the numismatic community. Presentations from previous shows include “Siege Notes: The Currency of War,” “Strategies to Dispose of Your Collection” and “Curious Currency of the World.”
Money Talks presentations should be accompanied with digital images. Speakers should arrive 15 minutes prior to their presentation to set-up. Contact Sam Gelberd, the ANA’s numismatic educator, at (719) 482-9846 for additional information.
Proposals can be submitted online or emailed to sgelberd@money.org.
The World’s Fair of Money is one of the largest, most educational coin shows in the country and features nearly a thousand numismatic dealers with extensive inventories. The show includes a wide range of technical seminars and educational presentations; an exhibits area; major auctions by Heritage Auctions and Stack’s Bowers Galleries; and the ANA Museum Showcase, exhibiting some of the world’s most rare and valuable coins and paper money. For more information, visit worldsfairofmoney.com.
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people to study and collect coins and related items. The ANA helps its 25,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call (719) 632-2646 or go to www.money.org.
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