Madison Money

In the past 9 months, we’ve met three previous presidents and their dollars: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. The fourth, the last of 2007, is being released today: James Madison. Like its predecessors, the Madison dollar fits the standard dollar size established by the Susan B Anthony dollar in the seventies, and using the gold-like color started with the Sacajawea dollar, making it more distinguishable from the quarter.

What I haven’t mentioned so far in the presidential coinage is that these grand gentlemen aren’t the only ones being commemorated in coin — the Presidential Spouse (no doubt, anticipating a male ‘first lady’ in the future) coins series commemorates the first ladies in a 1/2oz of gold. Brideless Jefferson loses out, his $10 compatriot being a generic ‘liberty’, but Mrs’ Washington, Adams, and Madison get ten times the face value of their better-known spouses. Dolley Madison, James’ wife, will be released next week on the 19th.

What you may not know, however, is that Dolley beat her husband to the face of a dollar. In 1999, Dolley Madison graced the obverse of a commemorative silver dollar coin, minted for the benefit of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, by act of law. The mint added a $35 ’service fee’ to the dollar, the entirety of which went towards the preservation of Mount Vernon and Washington-related education. Like the gold $10 coins, you’re unlikely to ever encounter one in the wild, but you’ll find the Dolley Dollars are relatively common, demanding around twice their original purchase price. The $10 coins of Martha Washington and Abigail Adams sold, whether a proof or uncirculated, for over $400 each directly from the mint, but have appreciated slightly since their releases.

Dolley might have more coins with her face on them, but Mr. Madison isn’t jealous — while her combined face value might be $11 (and actual prices much higher), James Madison wins out in the end. In the early 20th century, the treasury issued Madison’s mug on the $5,000 bill. No longer in circulation, it was one of the highest-valued bill ever issued (exceeded only by the $10,000 and $100,000 notes). This, of course, is a much rarer bill than anything else with a Madison on the front. If you’ve got shallow pockets, your bank should be able to hand you a James this morning, and you might even be able to get a Dolley for a bit more…and, heck, go get yourself a pack of Zingers — good enough for the White House, good enough for the coins in your pocket.

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