Ken Dryden Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) A new Duke Ellington commemorative quarter is being issued today, which CNN.com proudly proclaims marks "The First African-American to appear on a U.S. Coin." I don't know if the CNN reporter was totally inept at research or the U.S. Mint goofed in their press release, but Booker T. Washington appeared on a 1946 commemorative half dollar in 1946, while Washington and George Washington Carver appeared together on a separate coin. I ought to know, I've owned each of these coins for decades. Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/24/duke.elli...coin/index.html Edited February 24, 2009 by Ken Dryden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Dryden Posted February 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 It looks like CNN is at fault for the sloppy research. There is no mention of Duke Ellington being the "First African-American" on a U.S. coin at www.usmint.gov. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 Chewy started a thread on this already, though you wouldn't catch it from the thread title, here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 I have yet to see this quarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 They may have amended this since you saw it. Now they say, Duke is the first African-American to appear alone on a circulating, as opposed to a commemorative, coin. That claim may be accurate. The first African-American to appear on a circulating coin was York, a slave who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their "Corps of Discovery" adventures across America at the dawn of the 19th century. The 2003 Missouri quarter features the three men together in a canoe on the obverse. The U.S. Mint distinguishes between circulating coins, which are intended for daily use, and commemorative ones, which mark special occasions. African-Americans including Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier, have appeared on commemorative coins. Educator Booker T. Washington, botanist George Washington Carver and the first Revolutionary War casualty, Crispus Attucks, all of whom were black, have also appeared on commemorative coins, according to the U.S. Mint. In any case, I just ran across a Hawaii quarter, so I figure it will be a few weeks before I see this, but I will keep my eyes open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted February 24, 2009 Report Share Posted February 24, 2009 this is awesome news!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Next quarter: Lester Young! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hot Ptah Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I want to see an $87 bill with Sun Ra on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjazz Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Picked up a roll of Duke Ellington quarters today in Southern California. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenLowe Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 well, you know what a racist country this is - the Duke quarter is only worth 22 cents - George Washington wouldn't put up with this crap - of course, the Rabbi Schneerson quarter is worth 27 cents - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 In any case, I just ran across a Hawaii quarter, so I figure it will be a few weeks before I see this, but I will keep my eyes open. I got my first Ellington quarter today! (Anyone else?) It's going in the keepsake drawer. But it sure took a long time to get to Chicago if they indeed released them in Feb. I was getting Guam pretty regularly before this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted December 3, 2009 Report Share Posted December 3, 2009 I happened to see this a few weeks ago. It might be more accurate to call it a "District of Columbia" quarter which features Ellington, but still, it's nice. Still waiting for the Thelonious Monk dollar coin, and the Herbie Nichols nickel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainwrong Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 The Abdullah Ibrahim $1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrdlu Posted December 6, 2009 Report Share Posted December 6, 2009 I want to see an $87 bill with Sun Ra on it! Homophobe! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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