Jane Appleton was born on March 12, 1806. Her father was a minister in Hampton, New Hampshire. When Jane's father became president of Bowdoin College, the family moved to Brunswick, Maine.
Jane later attended the college, and that's where she met her future husband, Franklin Pierce. They married in 1834, eight years after they first met.
For the first 2 years of her husband's presidency, Jane mourned for her son, who had died. Then she became more active in Washington social life, attending receptions and dinner parties and even giving a few of her own.
After President Pierce left office, the couple sailed the Caribbean on board a government ship. The ship was loaned to them by the man who succeeded Pierce, President James Buchanan.
Design on Reverse
The image on the back of the coin depicts Mrs. Pierce sitting in the visitor's gallery of the Old Senate Chamber in the US Capitol Building. She visited the Senate often and listened to heated debates over the issue of slavery.