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The Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar was a commemorative coin issue in gold dated 1903. Struck in two varieties, the coins were designed by United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. The pieces were issued to commemorate the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in 1904 in St. Louis; one variety depicted former president Thomas Jefferson, and the other, the recently assassinated president William McKinley. Although not the first American commemorative coins, they were the first in gold. Promoters of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, originally scheduled to open in 1903, sought a commemorative coin for fundraising purposes. Congress authorized an issue in 1902, and exposition authorities, including numismatic promoter Farran Zerbe, sought to have the coin issued with two designs, to aid sales. The price for each variety was $3, the same cost whether sold as a coin, or mounted in jewelry or on a spoon. The coins did not sell well, and most were later melted. Zerbe, who had promised to support the issue price of the coins, did not do so as prices dropped once the fair (rescheduled for 1904) closed. This drop, however, did not greatly affect Zerbe's career, as he went on to promote other commemorative coins and become president of the American Numismatic Association. The coins also recovered, regaining their issue price by 1915; they are now worth between a few hundred and several thousand dollars, depending on condition. == Background == (詳細はMississippi River was explored by French explorers in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, claimed the entire area drained by the river for France, naming it Louisiana for Louis XIV. Although most French territory in the Western Hemisphere was lost in the French and Indian War (1756–1763), the Mississippi basin did not pass to the victors in that war (primarily the British) as it had been secretly transferred to Spain by the 1762 Treaty of Fontainebleau. Napoleon came to power in 1799. Dreaming of a renewed French empire, he secured the return of the Louisiana territory from Spain via the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso the following year, and through other agreements. These pacts were initially secret, and newly inaugurated American President Thomas Jefferson learned of them in 1801. Fearing that the port of New Orleans would be closed to American shipping, he sent former Virginia senator James Monroe to France to assist American Minister Robert Livingston in purchasing the lower Mississippi; Congress appropriated $2 million for the purpose. When the Americans met with Napoleon, they found that the emperor desired to sell the entire territory, much of which was unmapped and unexplored by white men; Napoleon was faced with defeat in revolting Haiti and feared that the British would capture New Orleans, meaning he would lose Louisiana with no compensation. After some haggling, they agreed on a price of 60 million francs, plus 20 million more to pay claims by American citizens against France—a total of some $15 million, which paid for some of land. The treaty was signed on April 30, 1803, and, although there was some question as to whether there was constitutional power for such a purchase, the American Senate ratified the treaty on October 20, 1803. The United States took formal possession two months later. The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States, and today forms much of the center of the country. Desirous of honoring the centennial of the purchase, Congress passed authorizing legislation for an exposition; the bill was signed by President William McKinley on March 3, 1901. McKinley was assassinated in September of that year. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Louisiana Purchase Exposition dollar」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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