Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold Coin First Lady, 1853–1857
- Year of Issue: 2010
- Authorizing Legislation: Public Law 109-145
Background
First Lady, 1853–1857
The daughter of a devout Congregationalist minister, Jane Appleton Pierce was born on March 12, 1806, in Hampton, N.H. Her father later moved the family to Brunswick, Maine, when he became president of Bowdoin College, her future alma mater. Bowdoin College was also where Jane met her future husband, Franklin Pierce. They married in 1834, eight years after they first met.
Two years into her husband’s presidency, Jane Pierce emerged from an extended period of mourning after the death of her son. She began to attend receptions and dinner parties, and even organized a few of her own. After President Pierce left office, the couple sailed the Caribbean on board the U.S.S. Powhatan, a government ship loaned to them by his successor, President James Buchanan.
Characteristics
The reverse depicts Mrs. Pierce listening to debates in the visitor's gallery of the Old Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building. By 1856, she was venturing out in Washington, regularly visiting the U.S. Capitol Building, where she sat in the Senate visitor's gallery listening to heated debates over the issue of slavery.
Obverse Inscriptions
• JANE PIERCE
• IN GOD WE TRUST
• LIBERTY
• 2010
• 14th
• 1853–1857
Reverse Inscriptions
• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• E PLURIBUS UNUM
• $10
• 1/2 OZ.
• .9999 FINE GOLD
Mint and Mint Mark
Artist Information
Obverse- Sculptor: Don Everhart, Sculptor-Engraver
- Designer: Donna Weaver, Artistic Infusion Program
- Sculptor: Charles L. Vickers