1922 Grant Centennial Gold Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The Grant Memorial Gold Dollar is a gold commemorative coin stuck by the United States Mint in 1922 as part of a two-coin series honoring the nation’s 18th president.

The Grant commemoratives were authorized by Congress at the request of the Ulysses S. Grant Centenary Memorial Association, which sought to use the proceeds from the sale of coins to defray the cost of erecting community buildings in Georgetown and Bethel, Ohio as memorials to the president, and to create a five-mile stretch of highway to connect New Richmond to Point Pleasant.

Distribution of the coins was handled by the association, which purchased the coins from the Mint at face value and sold them directly and through Ohio banks. In addition to coins, the Association commissioned a bronze medal, which it offered for 25¢.

The gold dollar was sold in two formats: a plain version and a version with an added incuse star feature.

The backers of Grant commemoratives noted the success of the Alabama and Missouri programs (both 1921) in selling the same coin twice by offering two slightly different varieties and decided to do likewise. The two varieties of gold dollar (unlike the companion half dollars) sold out, with many purchased by wholesalers – much to the chagrin of contemporary collectors.

Ulysses S. Grant – From War Hero to President

Ulysses Simpson Grant was not destined for greatness, or so it seemed in his early years.

Born in Point Pleasant, Ohio on April 27, 1822, young Grant graduated from West Point Military Academy and served with little distinction in the Mexican War of 1846-48. Resigning from the Army in 1854, Grant, now married, tried his hand at several business enterprises, all failures. After shots were fired at Fort Sumter in 1861, Grant returned to uniformed service with a commission as a colonel in an Illinois regiment. The Civil War would change the trajectory of Grant’s life, just as it changed the nation’s.

Grant was victorious in a series of battles along the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. This brought him to the attention of President Abraham Lincoln, who was forever frustrated by the incompetent and overly cautious commanders leading federal armies since the outbreak of war. In Grant, he saw the fierceness and perseverance that was needed to achieve victory. Assuming command early in 1864, Ulysses S. Grant pushed his officers and troops to their limits. The strategy worked, and the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee, surrendered to Grant in April 1865 leading to the collapse of the rebellion and the Confederacy.

Lincoln’s successor, Vice President Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, proved too sympathetic to the South to satisfy the Republican Party and was nearly removed from office. Sensing a sure winner, the party ran war hero U.S. Grant for the presidency in 1868, and he indeed won. A great military leader, Grant was politically naïve, and his administration was rocked by scandal and corruption. Although historians have begun to reevaluate Grant as President in recent years. After two terms in office, the weary soldier retired to family life, although he remained an enormously celebrated figure. He died at home in 1885, passing into American legend.

The Grant Memorial Gold Dollar

Unlike many commemorative coins, which were the subject of seemingly endless debate and revision, the Grant Memorial Gold Dollar made it to the coin press with little conflict. Of course, it helped that the sculptor member of the Fine Arts Commission, James Earle Fraser of Buffalo Nickel fame, assigned the task to his wife, Laura Gardin Fraser. Mrs. Fraser was the creator of many commemorative coin designs, more so than any other artist save for the United States Mint’s own Charles Barber. She worked from sketches submitted by the Centenary Memorial Association depicting a bust of Grant for the obverse and his Point Pleasant birthplace for the reverse.

The Association originally requested that the coinage consist of 200,000 gold dollars alone, with no mention of half dollars. It was the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency that countered with a proposal for 10,000 gold dollars and 250,000 half dollars, reluctant “to sequester so much gold.” In this form, the bill became law on February 2, 1922. Although the proceeds were intended to offset the cost of erecting monuments at Georgetown and Bethel, Ohio, and to pay for a highway between New Richmond and Point Pleasant, the monuments were never built. Where all the money went is unknown.

Sales began in April 1922.

With Star

The Grant Memorial Gold Dollar was issued in two configurations: with star and without. The two issues had roughly the same mintage, with 16 more of the With Star version struck for assay.

As it wanted to achieve a sellout of the more profitable gold dollars, the Association asked that a small star be placed in the obverse field on half of the 10,000 pieces coined, thus creating a second version needed by collectors. The star variety was priced at $3.50, the plain at $3. Despite the exploitative nature of this marketing, both issues indeed sold out.

To the Association’s surprise, 5,000 of the half dollars likewise had a star in the field, a feature it had not requested but one that would enhance its sales. Even though no additional premium was charged for the half dollars with star, collectors were quite vocal in their opposition to being offered four varieties of essentially the same commemorative design. In addition to the 10,000 gold dollars coined at the Philadelphia Mint in March of 1922, 16 pieces were reserved for assay and later destroyed. A single Proof example of the gold dollar with star is rumored to exist, and several trial strikings in white metal and brass are known.

What Is the Grant Memorial Gold Dollar Worth?

Scarce due to their low mintage, Grant Memorial Gold Dollars have a high proportion of Choice survivors. This is about equally divided between both varieties. Their survival in pristine condition was no doubt helped by the fact that B. Max Mehl and other dealers bought a large portion of the original mintage from the distributor, probably at prices well below those advertised when the coins were first offered to the public. Gems grading MS64 and MS65 are available with some frequency, and even coins in MS66 and MS67 exist for the well-heeled buyer. Wear, although uncommon, will first appear on Grant’s cheekbone and the leaves below the letter “U” in TRUST. Frequently seen are coins that have been cleaned and show hairline scratches.

Although grade is not a problem for this issue, counterfeit coins are. Most of these are sand cast examples of mediocre quality, but the value of genuine coins will continue to make this issue the target of ever-improving technology. The equality of mintage between With Star and No Star varieties, however, has spared the gold dollar from suffering the fate of many halves, that is, the addition of fake stars to plain coins.

In Choice Uncirculated condition, the Grant Memorial Gold Dollar usually sells for about $1,000. The Star version, despite its similar mintage, is more desired and carries a 20% premium.

In the grade of MS65, the value of the Grant Memorial Gold Dollar increases to about $1,500 or $2,000 for an example with the star. Grant Gold Dollars are not conditionally rare until you surpass the grade of MS67. At present, the finest examples of either type would be expected to sell for between $25,000 and $30,000 at auction.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

The mintages of Star and No Star 1922 Grant Gold Dollars are roughly the same, but the combined population of certified grading events gives the edge to the With Star dollar. This could be caused by a higher rate of resubmissions of the With Star version (3,965 to 3,669 as of August 20, 2024), although we expect that both populations are somewhat inflated.

1922 Grant Centennial Gold Dollar, With Star

Top Population: PCGS MS68 (12, 8/2024), NGC MS68+ (3, 8/2024), and CAC MS68 (1, 8/2024).

• NGC MS68+ #6332237-001: Stack’s Bowers, March 21, 2023, Lot 3303 – $12,000.
• NGC MS68+ #4743192-001: Heritage Auctions, April 24, 2020, Lot 4228 – $14,400. Attractive blue and orange toning.
• PCGS MS68 #44189824: Heritage Auctions, August 26, 2022, Lot 5253 – $8,700.
• PCGS MS68 #42653047: Heritage Auctions, July 14, 2022, Lot 3438 – $9,900.
• NGC MS68 #5742685-006: Heritage Auctions, December 16, 2021, Lot 3432 – $10,500.
• NGC MS68 #3586693-001: Heritage Auctions, August 20, 2021, Lot 4364 – $9,600.
• NGC MS68 #4204924-001: Heritage Auctions, August 3, 2020, Lot 4755 – $9,602.40; Heritage Auctions, April 24, 2021, Lot 4827 – $10,800.
• NGC MS68 #5742513-005: Heritage Auctions, January 22, 2021, Lot 4424 – $9,600.
• NGC MS68 #5748804-005: Heritage Auctions, September 18, 2020, Lot 3838 – $12,660.
• PCGS MS68 #25617055: Stack’s Bowers, August 11, 2016, Lot 3521 – $8,812.50.
• PCGS MS68 #8052832: Heritage Auctions, August 10, 2016, Lot 4407 – $15,862.50. Pale toning on Gran’t house.
• PCGS MS68 #06556952: Heritage Auctions, July 27, 2002, Lot 5034 – $13,225. Pop 2 in MS68 when offered; “The Dan McClure Collection,’ Heritage Auctions, July 31, 2008, Lot 2149 – $21,850. Top pop, pop one when offered; Heritage Auctions, November 2014, Lot 4214 – $18,800; “The Paul Denby Collection of U.S. Gold Commemoratives,” Heritage Auctions, April 28, 2016, Lot 4870 – $18,800. Paul Denby on insert.
• NGC MS68 #1976336-003: Heritage Auctions, April 24, 2015, Lot 6822 – $9,987.50.
• NGC MS68 #3421611-009: “The Empire Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 9, 2015, Lot 6618 – $8,812.50.
• NGC MS68: Stack’s Bowers, November 6, 2013, Lot 2151 – $8,812.50.
• NGC MS68* #3164303-008: Heritage Auctions, December 5, 2008, Lot 1703 – $13,800; “The Jim O’Neal Type Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2012, Lot 5137 – $18,400; “The Empire Collection,” Heritage Auctions, January 7, 2015, Lot 4459 – $12,925. Purple toning on face and red toning on Grant’s house. Toning spot on Grant’s temple.
• NGC MS68 #3311740-002: Heritage Auctions, January 6, 2011, Lot 5710 – $10,637.50; Heritage Auctions, April 25, 2013, Lot 4638 – $9,987.50.
• NGC MS68 #3171161-010: Heritage Auctions, December 4, 2009, Lot 1392 – $9,200.
• PCGS MS68 #6556952: “The Dan McClure Collection,’ Heritage Auctions, July 31, 2008, Lot 2149 – $21,850. Top pop, pop one when offered.
• NGC MS68 #1733197-010: Heritage Auctions, June 3, 2006, Lot 4727 – $16,100.

1922 Grant Centennial Gold Dollar, Without Star

Top Population: PCGS MS68 (2, 8/2024), NGC MS68 (14, 8/2024), and CAC MS67 (86, 8/2024).

• NGC MS68 #6329292-009: Heritage Auctions, March 28, 2024, Lot 3171 – $8,400. RARCOA green holder.
• PCGS MS68 #47545768: Heritage Auctions, December 14, 2023, Lot 3170 – $25,200.
• NGC MS68 #5742724-001: Heritage Auctions, December 16, 2021, Lot 3431 – $9,300.
• NGC MS68 #4631732-009: Heritage Auctions, August 16, 2019, Lot 4370 – $11,400.
• NGC MS68 #3814663-003: Heritage Auctions, February 16, 2017, Lot 4127 – $12,925.
• NGC MS68 #1733197-009: Heritage Auctions, June 3, 2006, Lot 4721 – $21,850. SWISS AMERICA / DR. MERRITT on insert.

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Design

Obverse:

The Grant Memorial Gold Dollar shows on its obverse a right-facing portrait of Ulysses S. Grant adapted from a photograph by Matthew Brady. His name appears in two parts on either side of the bust. The commemorative dates 1822 and 1922 are below. Around the obverse are the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the value ONE DOLLAR. Fraser’s monogrammed LGF is scarcely visible in low relief below the bust and between the dates.

Reverse:

The reverse depicts Grant’s Point Pleasant birthplace as it looked before a restoration undertaken for the centennial. It’s framed by a rail fence and partially covered by two stands of trees. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above around the periphery, while the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is crowded into four lines on the far left.

Edge:

The edge of the 1922 Grant Memorial Gold Dollar, with and without a star, is reeded.

Designer

Laura Gardin Fraser was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1889. After receiving an education at Columbia University and later at the Art Students League of New York, where she studied under her future husband James Earle Fraser. Laura Gardin Fraser died in 1966. In 2022, the portrait of George Washington that she submitted for the Washington Quarter has finally been used, replacing the long-running portrait submitted in the same competition by John Flanagan.

Coin Specifications

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