1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof : A Collector’s Guide
CoinWeek Notes
By
CoinWeek Notes
February 3, 2025
1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Proof. Image: NGC / CoinWeek.
1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof, Type 1. Image: NGC / CoinWeek.
By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
The 1976-S Bicentennial Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof represents two of seven 1776-1976 Bicentennial Dollar coins the United States Mint struck in 1975 and ’76 as part of the official celebration of the nation’s 200th birthday. Other Ike dollars featuring Dennis R. Williams “Liberty Bell and Moon” reverse and the 1776-1976 dual date are the 1976 (Philadelphia) Type 1 and 2 coins and the 1976-D (Denver) Type 1 and 2 coins struck for circulation, and the 1976-S silver-clad Type 1 Proof and Type 1 Uncirculated coins sold as part of special Bicentennial three-coin Proof and Uncirculated sets.
The United States had not issued commemorative coins since 1954, and despite agitation for various commemorative coin projects over the years, successive presidential administrations and Congresses were wary of allocating Mint resources for such endeavors. This all changed with the nation’s 200th birthday celebration.
The story of our Bicentennial commemorative coinage begins in 1970 when the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission’s Coins and Medals Advisory Panel advocated for the production of circulating commemorative coins to mark the occasion. The Treasury Department was cool on the idea at first but came around after the Mint assured them that the production of special coins and medals would not interfere with its primary responsibility to produce coins for circulation. Furthermore, the Mint believed that it could produce enough coins with the new designs allowing millions of Americans to save them as souvenirs without causing undue hardships to merchants and banks.
Normally, U.S. coins bear the date of their issue. Bicentennial coins, however, carry the dual date of 1776 and 1976, which the Treasury decided in November 1972 to allow. Authorization to issue coins with commemorative designs came on October 18, 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon signed Senate Bill 1141 into law (Public Law 93-127 – PDF link). The law required that the Mint change the designs and inscriptions of the Washington Quarter, the Kennedy Half Dollar, and the Eisenhower Dollar and strike coins with designs “emblematic of the Bicentennial of the American Revolution.”
To determine the designs of the nation’s Bicentennial coinage, the Treasury Department held a design competition starting on October 23, 1973. Five judges were appointed to select winners from a nationwide competition, and each winner received $5,000 for their respective entries. The public got a first look at the new coin designs on March 7, 1974, when Mint Director Mary Brooks appeared on NBC’s Today show to unveil them.
How the 1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof Was Sold
The 1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof was sold as part of the 1975 and 1976 United States Mint Proof Sets.
1975 United States Proof Set. Image: CoinWeek.
1975 United States Proof Set. Image: CoinWeek.
1975 and 1976 Proof Sets include one Proof example of each coin the United States Mint struck that year. The sets were packaged in a hard hinged plastic shell that fit into a black paper sleeve or envelope.
As part of the national Bicentennial celebration, the Mint issued dual-dated 1776-1976 Bicentennial Washington Quarters, Kennedy Half Dollars, and Eisenhower Dollars starting July 4, 1975.
The sets proved wildly popular, as the Mint reported sales of 2,845,450 Proof Sets in 1975 and 4,149,730 Proof Sets in 1976. Both the 1975 and 1976 Proof Sets included each of the three Bicentennial coins carrying the dual date 1776-1976. Sets were sold for $7.00 each ($38.42 in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars) and contained coins bearing a face value of $1.91.
While the Washington Quarters and Kennedy Half Dollars from both years’ sets are indistinguishable, the Eisenhower Dollars included in the 1975 sets and the 1976 sets are different in several ways.
1776-1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof reverse styles. Image: Stack's Bowers / CoinWeek.
1776-1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof reverse styles. Image: Stack’s Bowers / CoinWeek.
The most noticeable difference is the lettering on the reverse. The Eisenhower Dollar from the 1975 Proof Set features flat, bold letters sans serifs, while the lettering on the reverse of the Ike from the 1976 Proof Set is thinner, with slight serifs. This lettering style is more in line with the font used on the standard Eisenhower dollars and was changed to match the font used on the coin’s obverse.
Other changes are subtler. The obverse dies that struck the Type 2 coins are in lower relief, with Eisenhower’s facial features softened. The United States Mint announced this design change in a November 28, 1975 press release. A benefit of the announcement, no doubt, was additional excitement surrounding the release of the 1976 Proof and Uncirculated Coin Sets.
The Type 1 Clad Proof was issued only in the 1975 Proof Set. The Type 2 Clad Proof was issued only in the 1976 Proof Set.
As for the July 2024 market value and availability of these Clad Proof Sets, both sets remain common and trade daily on sites like eBay for about $10 to $15 each. They can also be sourced from brick-and-mortar coin dealers.
Some coins have been cracked out over the years and placed into circulation, where they lose their intended pristine finish. Impaired Proofs are worth no more than face value. Pristine coins are sometimes cracked out of government packaging and submitted to leading grading services for encapsulation, where most grade no better than Proof 69 Deep Cameo/Ultra Cameo (PCGS and NGC use different terminology to describe the level of frost covering a Proof coin’s devices).
Coins graded Proof 69 and below will generally sell on eBay for $20 or less. This is lower than the current cost for encapsulation, which means that any new inventory added to the census will likely come from bulk submitters who get special pricing for large-volume orders.
A tiny fraction of the total number of coins submitted has earned the “perfect” grade of Proof 70. Much has happened in the market for both types.
* * *
Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens
1776-1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof, Type 1
As of February 3, 2025, PCGS has certified 41 1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof, Type 1 coins in PR70DCAM. From that total, two have been added since July 2024. NGC, however, has yet to approve a single coin as a “perfect” Proof. NGC’s apparent unwillingness to assign the 70 grade has had a similar effect on its submission numbers as PCGS’ past unwillingness to assign the perfect grade to certain bullion-strike American Silver Eagles – which is to say that NGC has ceded major market share to PCGS.
The first PCGS PR70DCAM crossed the auction block in July 2011, setting a record price of $25,300 – an astonishing sum given the fact that two of the then-leading Set Registry participants privately communicated to me their skepticism about the coin and whether PCGS had diluted the market for Ike Dollar Proofs by grading most of the coins PR69DCAM – a practice that was not applied generally to other period Proofs. At the time, Proof 70s for various dates were being added to the census slowly but steadily.
Four years later, the PCGS population had risen to four coins in PR70DCAM, and two came up for auction. The first appeared at GreatCollections in February 2015. GreatCollections does not permit the republication of its auction data except in particular circumstances, but it is impossible to communicate the contours of this aspect of the Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof market without describing three transactions.
The first involved PCGS PR70DCAM #31681227. This coin sold for a GreatCollections record $9,625 on February 22, 2015. At the time of the sale, this was a pop-four coin.
A month later, the second of four then-graded PR70DCAMs (#31798469) sold at Heritage for $5,170. Coin #31681227 has appeared twice since. Heritage sold in January 2016 for $7,637.50, and GreatCollections again handled it in April 2023, bringing in $5,461.88. The increase in the 70 population led to a 61% decrease in value from pop one to pop four based on the GreatCollections’ coin’s first offering, an 80% decrease in value based on the Heritage pop four offering a month later, rebounding to a 78.4% decrease in 2023, when the PCGS pops were well over 30.
The third coin sold at GreatCollections that ties into our market analysis is PCGS #45832696. This example sold for $8,718 on September 4, 2022, part of a trend of rising Type 1 Clad Proof prices. Two years later, it appeared at Heritage as part of the Stephenville Collection, bringing $6,600. This is three days after Heritage sold another PCGS PR70DCAM for $2,520. We are deeply skeptical that a $4,000 price variance exists for Proof 70 coins sold three days apart. That said, it is clear that most of the action for this date has shifted to GreatCollections.
Proof 70 Type 1 coins remain considerably scarcer in 70 than the 1776-1976-S Clad Proof, Type 2. Note also that the frost quality on Deep Cameo/Ultra Cameo coins varies greatly.
Top Population: PCGS PR70DCAM (41, 2/2025), NGC PF69CAM (597, 2/2025), and CAC PR69DCAM (0:1 stickered:graded, 2/2025).
PCCGS PR70DCAM #83456289: Heritage Auctions, December 13, 2024, Lot 3368 – $7,200.
PCGS PR70DCAM #45832696: GreatCollections, September 4, 2022, Lot 1217569 – $8,718.75; “The Stephenville Collection,” Heritage Auctions, May 13, 2024, Lot 93596 – $6,600.
PCGS PR70DCAM #31910325: “The Palm Beach Gardens Collection,” Heritage Auctions, May 10, 2024, Lot 4918 – $2,520.
PCGS PR70DCAM #31681227: GreatCollections, February 22, 2015, Lot 257122- $9,625. Pop four when offered; Heritage Auctions, January 8, 2016, Lot 6235 – $7,637.50; “The PCS Collection of Ike Dollars,” GreatCollections, April 9, 2023, Lot 1243408 – $5,461.88. Eisenhower novelty insert.
PCGS PR70DCAM #31798469: Heritage Auctions, April 23, 2015, Lot 5192 – $5,170. Pop four when offered.
PCGS PR70DCAM #03824641: Heritage Auctions, July 8, 2011, Lot 4293 – $25,300. Top pop, pop one when offered.
1776-1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof, Type 2
PCGS has certified four times as many Type 2 Proof 70s as Type 1s. This impacts not only the frequency in which we see examples appear at auction but also the prices such pieces command. Four years after Heritage garnered a record price for the top pop, pop one Type 1 Proof, a GreatCollections PCGS PR70DCAM Type 2 (#30779397) saw 10 bidders push the coin to a record price of $22,550. We are uncertain of the 70 population at the time of this sale, but we do know that a string of three PR70DCAM coins came out of a bulk submission of 120 coins (#31804366 – #31804486) comprised of 1976-S Bicentennial Quarters and Ike Dollars. When the first of these were offered at a July 2015 Heritage sale, the catalog put the PCGS population at five coins. That coin sold for $4,935 – a 78% decrease. Two months later, the second of the three coins sold for the same amount, even though the certified population had increased more than threefold in that short time.
Prices continued to decline as the population rose. Since July 2024, PCGS has added as many coins to its PR70DCAM census as NGC has graded Proof 69s (five). In February 2025, we’d expect examples to sell for about $1,250 to $1,500, with the occasional example bagging $2,000 or more on eBay.
Top Population: PCGS PR70DCAM (120, 7/2024), NGC PF69CAM (1,012, 2/2025), and CAC PR68DCAM (0:2; stickered:graded, 2/2025).
PCGS PR70DCAM #80617044: Heritage Auctions, November 6, 2024, Lot 21712 – $1,200.
PCGS PR70DCAM #47017590: eBay, May 16, 2024 – $2,399.95.
PCGS PR70DCAM #45619458: Heritage Auctions, May 13, 2024, Lot 93597 – $1,440.
PCGS PR70DCAM #46944865: eBay, May 5, 2024 – $2,599.95.
PCGS PR70DCAM #44880194: Heritage Auctions, January 24, 2024, Lot 27644 – $1,320; Heritage Auctions, May 15, 2024, Lot 25701 – $1,050.
PCGS PR70DCAM #46944863: Heritage Auctions, November 19, 2023, Lot 7212 – $1,560.
PCGS PR70DCAM #46135007: Heritage Auctions, September 17, 2023, Lot 7184 – $1,380.
PCGS PR70DCAM #32675339: Heritage Auctions, January 25, 2023, Lot 27864 – $2,280; Heritage Auctions, May 7, 2023, Lot 7425 – $1,860. David Hall signature insert.
PCGS PR70DCAM #40392292: Heritage Auctions, August 26, 2022, Lot 4752 – $3,120.
PCGS PR70DCAM #41034148: “The Schwenk Family Collection,” Heritage Auctions, May 6, 2022, Lot 4496 – $3,360.
PCGS PR70DCAM #39123528: Heritage Auctions, January 13, 2022, Lot 3636 – $3,360.
PCGS PR70DCAM #41099200: Heritage Auctions, April 25, 2021, Lot 7311 – $4,320.
PCGS PR70DCAM #84336722: Heritage Auctions, December 8, 2017, Lot 3992 – $2,400.
PCGS PR70DCAM #32278994: Heritage Auctions, April 5, 2017, Lot 16520 – $2,585.
PCGS PR70DCAM #84247544: Heritage Auctions, September 8, 2017, Lot 4778 – $2,880.
PCGS PR70DCAM #32507427: Heritage Auctions, January 8, 2016, Lot 6236 – $3,055.
PCGS PR70DCAM #31804484: Heritage Auctions, September 17, 2015, Lot 4130 – $4,935.
PCGS PR70DCAM #31804485: Heritage Auctions, July 9, 2015, Lot 3247 – $4,935.
PCGS PR70DCAM #30779397: GreatCollections, November 2, 2014, Lot 224973 – $22,550.
* * *
Design
Obverse:
Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro’s portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower (as president); Eisenhower facing to the left. Gasparro’s initials FG appear raised in the bust truncation. Beneath Eisenhower’s chin to the left, is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The word LIBERTY wraps around the top of the coin in the space between the rim and the top of Eisenhower’s head. The dual date 1776-1976 wraps around the bottom of the design. The S mintmark for San Francisco is located below Eisenhower’s bust and above the year 1976.
Reverse:
The winning Bicentennial Eisenhower Dollar design was by Dennis R. Williams, an art student at the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio. At 22 years old, Williams was the youngest artist to have a design featured on circulating U.S. coinage. His design consists of a fairly realistic and static Liberty Bell in front of a half-cratered Moon – the Moon reminding the viewer of the monumentally historic Moon landings of then-recent vintage. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM is below the Moon on the right of the coin. The designer’s initials DRM are nestled under the Liberty Bell’s rim. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA runs clockwise along the top rim of the coin, and the denomination ONE DOLLAR runs counterclockwise along the bottom. Two five-pointed stars, one on each side, divide the legend and the denomination.
Edge:
The edge of the 1976-S Eisenhower Dollar Clad Proof is reeded.
Coin Specifications
Country: United States of America
Years of Issue: 1975-76
Denomination: One Dollar (USD)
Mintmark: S (San Francisco)
Mintage: 6,995,180
Alloy: .750 copper, .250 nickel clad over pure copper center
Weight: 22.68 g
Diameter: 38.10 mm
Edge: Reeded
OBV Designer: Frank Gasparro
REV Designer: Dennis R. Williams
Quality: Proof
One Hundred Years of Silver Dollar Coinage (1878-1978)
By Jill Westeyn
April 15, 2021
The Morgan, Peace, and Eisenhower dollars span 100 years of silver dollar coinage, from the first Morgan dollar in 1878 to the last Eisenhower dollar 100 years later.
Pictured: Morgan dollar, Peace dollar, and Eisenhower dollar.
Morgan, Peace, and Eisenhower dollar coin obverses
This year marks the 100th anniversary of completion of coinage of the Morgan Dollar and the 100th anniversary of commencement of coinage of the Peace Dollar. Essentially, it’s the centennial of the transition between minting two of the most famous coins issued by the United States Mint. This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the silver coin that would follow: the Eisenhower Dollar. These three coins, spanning 100 years—from the first Morgan Dollar in 1878 to the final Eisenhower Dollar in 1978—share a connection through history and legacy.
Silver Supply and the Morgan Dollar
Silver mining in the United States, mainly the Comstock Lode (1859), is the catalyst that gave silver dollar coinage its heyday. Before the nation could truly benefit from this discovery, previous legislation demonetizing silver first had to be overcome. The Bland-Allison Act re-authorized the standard silver dollar to the weight and fineness as stated in the Act of January 18, 1837 (26.73 grams; .900 silver, .100 copper).
This new coin would be commonly referred to as the Morgan Dollar, since it was designed by George T. Morgan (who, from 1917-1925, would serve as chief engraver). Adhering to the requirements written in the Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 (1 Stat. 246, 248), the obverse features a profile of Lady Liberty, and the reverse features a heraldic eagle.
The first Morgan Dollar coins were struck in 1878 at the Philadelphia Mint. Following some design revisions, they were also struck at San Francisco and Carson City that same year, because of the facilities’ proximity to the silver mines in the western United States. The next year, New Orleans joined in, and, like San Francisco and Philadelphia, would manufacture Morgan Dollars through 1904.
Silver Dollar Production Paused
Once again, legislation played a role in the silver supply chain because of the passage of the 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act. When demand and silver bullion supplies dropped as a result of this legislation, production of the Morgan Dollar was suspended in 1904 at all U.S. Mint facilities.
No silver dollar coins were minted in the U.S. from 1905-1920. Since the New Orleans Mint relied on silver coin production for business, this ultimately led to its shutdown as a Mint facility.
After World War I, the Pittman Act of 1918 authorized the melting of millions of previously minted silver dollars (primarily Morgan Dollars). However, the Act also required silver to be purchased in order to manufacture new silver coins to replace the melted ones.
In order to satisfy the Pittman Act, production of the Morgan Dollar resumed in 1921 at Philadelphia, San Francisco, and – for the first time – Denver. Later that year, the Philadelphia Mint switched production to the Peace Dollar. No special congressional authority was required for the modification in design, since the law permits changing the design of any U.S. coins after 25 years.
The Peace Dollar
In December 1921, Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon approved the Peace Dollar to replace the Morgan Dollar. The Peace Dollar commemorated the declaration of peace between the United States and Germany. The Mint made more than one million Peace Dollars in less than one month. Six months later nearly 25 million Peace Dollars had been minted.
The design of the Peace Dollar was selected by the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) from models submitted by a number of prominent sculptors. The CFA chose the work of notable Italian American artist Anthony de Francisci. The obverse design depicts a female head emblematic of Liberty, wearing a tiara of light rays. The reverse design depicts an eagle perched on a mountain top, holding an olive branch in its talons, witnessing the dawn of a new day.
The Peace Dollar was struck from 1921-1928, at which point demand for the dollar was low, and the silver supply resulting from the Pittman Act ran out. It was minted one last time prior to World War II, with the passage of what was referred to as the Silver Purchase Act of 1934. The coinage was short-lived, lasting only through 1935. These last Peace Dollars were struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints.
Dollar Coin Production, 1878-1978: Carson City Mint made Morgan Dollars; Denver Mint made Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower Dollars; New Orleans Mint made Morgan Dollars; Philadelphia Mint made Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower Dollars; San Francisco Mint made Morgan, Peace, Eisenhower Dollars. This graphic shows the years each Mint facility produced dollar coins in the period from 1878 to 1978.
The Eisenhower Dollar
No silver dollar coins were struck by the Mint and issued into circulation after 1935. The silver dollar drought almost ended in 1964, when new legislation allowed the Denver Mint to strike Peace Dollars. However, none were released to the public.
At the same time, legislation was also being worked to remove silver from coins because of the ongoing shortage. On July 23, 1965, President Johnson approved the Coinage Act of 1965, which removed silver from circulating coins and authorized that clad coins be used for the half dollar, quarter, and dime.
On December 31, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970. Title Two of this Act and its various amendments authorized the Eisenhower Dollar Coin.
Ironically enough, the same act that gave birth to the nation’s newest dollar coin also authorized the sale of one of its predecessors—2.8 million Morgan Dollars (minted at the Carson City Mint) stored in U.S. Treasury Department vaults.
In 1971, the Mint produced Eisenhower copper-clad and silver-clad dollars. This coin marked the first time a portrait of a U.S. president was authorized to appear on a circulating dollar coin. It was also the first circulating silver dollar coin minted since 1935.
The coin was designed by U.S. Mint Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro. The obverse design depicts the likeness of President Dwight Eisenhower. Per an amendment to the legislation, the reverse design was to be symbolic of the Apollo 11 flight honoring the exploits of our country’s astronauts and the first landing on the moon. Gasparro’s rendition of the Apollo 11 insignia, featured on the reverse of the coin, shows the bald eagle landing on the crater-pocked surface of the moon, an olive branch clutched in both claws.
From 1971-1974, the new dollar was minted with two different compositions: one for collectors, “as an alloy of 800 parts of silver and 200 parts of copper,” at the San Francisco Mint; the other for circulation (75% copper and 25% nickel), at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints.
Bicentennial Coinage and After
During the mid-1970s, the quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins underwent a design transformation for the nation’s upcoming bicentennial celebration. This marked the first time in our nation’s history that designs on circulating coins would honor an anniversary of America’s independence.
Minted in 1975 and 1976, the Bicentennial Dollar’s obverse was akin to the Eisenhower Dollar, with the exception of the dual-date addition of 1776-1976. However, the coin’s reverse underwent a more extensive change. It was designed by Dennis R. Williams (a student at Columbus College of Art and Design) and featured a Liberty Bell and moon combination. Like its predecessor, the Bicentennial Dollar was minted with two different compositions and was struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints.
Following the celebration, the original design of the Eisenhower Dollar (single date and eagle reverse design) returned to circulation. It was struck again in 1977 and1978, but this time only with the copper-nickel clad version.
Subsequent designs of the dollar coin continued to be issued into circulation from 1979-2011. Since 2012, dollar coins have only been minted and issued as numismatic items. None have ever been as popular as the iconic Morgan or Peace Dollars.
1878 Morgan Dollar Obverse San Francisco Morgan dollar obverse
Morgan Dollar obverse
Morgan Dollar reverse
Peace Dollar obverse
Peace Dollar reverse
Eisenhower Dollar obverse
Eisenhower Dollar reverse
2021 100th Anniversary Coins
This year, the Mint brings those two famous designs back to collectors as a result of the 1921 Silver Dollar Coin Anniversary Act (Public Law 116-286). It requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins in recognition of the 100th anniversary of completion of coinage of the Morgan Dollar and the 100th anniversary of commencement of coinage of the Peace Dollar. More information about these products will be available in the upcoming weeks on our website and social media channels.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apple pie, baseball, and the United States flag, three well-known icons associated with Americana
Liberty Enlightening the World, a print version of the portrait of the Statue of Liberty by Currier and Ives
Americana artifacts are related to the history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage of the United States of America. Americana is any collection of materials and things concerning or characteristic of the United States or of the American people, and is representative or even stereotypical of American culture as a whole.[1][2]
What is and is not considered Americana is heavily influenced by national identity, historical context, patriotism and nostalgia. The ethos or guiding beliefs or ideals which have come to characterize America, such as the American Dream, are central to the idea. Americana encompasses not only material objects but also people, places, concepts and historical eras which are popularly identified with American culture.
The name Americana also refers to Americana music, a genre of contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American music styles, including country, roots rock, folk, bluegrass, and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound.[3][4]
As nostalgia
From the mid to late 20th century, Americana was largely conceptualized as a nostalgia for an idealized life in small towns and cities in the United States around the turn of the century, roughly in the period between 1880 and the First World War.[5] It was believed that much of the structure of 20th-century American life and culture had been cemented in that time and place. American author Henry Seidel Canby wrote:
It is the small town, the small city, that is our heritage. We have made twentieth-century America from it, and some account of these communities as they were ... we owe our children and grandchildren.[6]
Many kinds of cultural artifacts fall within the definition of Americana: the things involved need not be old, but are usually associated with some quintessential element of the American experience. Each period of United States history is reflected by the advertising and marketing of the time, and the various types of antiques, collectibles, memorabilia and vintage items from these time periods are typical of what is popularly considered Americana. The Atlantic described the term as "slang for the comforting, middle-class ephemera at your average antique store—things like needle-pointed pillows, Civil War daguerreotypes, and engraved silverware sets".[7]
The nostalgia for this period was based on a remembrance of confidence in American life that had emerged during the period due to such factors as a sense that the frontier had finally been "conquered", with the U.S. Census Bureau's declaration that it was "closed" in 1890, as well as the recent victory in the Spanish–American War.[5] By 1912, the contiguous United States was at last fully politically incorporated, and the idea of the nation as a single, solid unity could begin to take hold.
As Canby put it,
Americans at this time "really believed all they heard on the Fourth of July or read in school readers. They set on one plane of time, and that the present, the Declaration of Independence, the manifest destiny of America, the new plumbing, the growth of the factory system, the morning paper, and the church sociable. It was all there at once, better than elsewhere, their own, and permanent. ... They had just the country they wanted...and they believed it would be the same, except for more bathtubs and faster trains, forever ... for the last time in living memory everyone knew exactly what it meant to be an American."[6]
On growing up Italian-American, novelist Don DeLillo stated:
It’s no accident that my first novel was called Americana. This was a private declaration of independence, a statement of my intention to use the whole picture, the whole culture. America was and is the immigrant's dream, and as the son of two immigrants I was attracted by the sense of possibility that had drawn my grandparents and parents.
— Conversations With Don DeLillo[8]
The zeitgeist of this idealized period is captured in Disneyland and Magic Kingdom's Main Street, U.S.A. section (which was inspired by both Walt Disney's hometown of Marceline, Missouri and Harper Goff's childhood home of Fort Collins, Colorado),[9] as well as the musical and movie The Music Man and Thornton Wilder's stage play Our Town.[5] Especially revered in nostalgic Americana are small-town institutions like the barber shop,[10] drug store, soda fountain and ice cream parlor;[11] some of these were eventually resurrected by mid-twentieth century nostalgia for the time period in businesses like the Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour chain, with its 1890s theme.[12]
Examples
Americana in architecture: the Oroville State Theatre in the historic downtown of Oroville, a former gold mining town in Northern California
Flag girls at a Rodeo
Cowboys are a quintessential figure of the Wild West and American frontier.
Cultural symbols
American football[13]
Baseball[14]
Basketball
Bruce Wayne and Batman
Bugs Bunny
Clark Kent and Superman
Cowboy
Flag of the United States[15]
Fourth of July[16]
Hollywood
Mickey Mouse
Mount Rushmore[17]
Route 66[18]
Small town[15]
Statue of Liberty[16]
Tent revival[19]
Thanksgiving[13]
Traveling carnival
White picket fence[20][15]
Wild West[15]
Food
Apple pie[14]
Barbecue[21]
Bubble gum[22]
Brownies
Buffalo wings[23]
Hamburgers[24]
Hot dogs[14]
Ice Cream
Fried chicken[25]
Milkshake[26]
Muffins
Pizza, American-style[23]
Music
Americana music
Blues[27]
Country
Folk music
Jazz[27]
Rock and roll[15]
"The Star-Spangled Banner"[16]
Religion
Camp meeting[19]
Tent revival[19]
Clothing and fashion
Blue jeans[28]
T-shirt
Cowboy hat
Motorcycle jacket[28]
Denim jacket[28]
Cowboy boots
Penny loafer
Workwear[28]
College prep
Western shirt
Brand names
Alden
Allen Edmonds
Budweiser
Campbell's
Chevrolet[14]
Coca-Cola[29][30][15]
DC Comics
Disney
Ford
Harley-Davidson
Heinz
Jack Daniel's
JanSport
Jim Beam
John Deere
Kellogg's
KFC
Levi's[30][28][15]
McDonald's
Marvel Comics
Marlboro
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Nike
Stetson
Texaco
Timberland
Warner Bros.
Similar concepts
Regional
Floridiana, artifacts relating to the state of Florida.
Hawaiiana, Native Hawaiian cultural artifacts from Hawaii.
Anglosphere
Australiana, for cultural artifacts from Australia
Canadiana, for cultural artifacts from Canada
Kiwiana, for cultural artifacts from New Zealand
Communist nostalgia, a similar concept in former or currently communist countries
Ostalgie, a similar concept in East Germany
PRL nostalgia, a similar concept in Poland
Soviet nostalgia, a similar concept in the former Soviet Union
Yugo-nostalgia, a similar concept in the former Yugoslav states
Rhodesiana, a similar concept in Zimbabwe relating to items made when it was known as Rhodesia
See also
American studies – Interdisciplinary academic field
Black Americana
Canadiana – Class of books of and about Canadian topics
Culture of the United States
Folklore of the United States
History of the United States
Romanticism#United States – Artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement
Transcendentalism – 19th century US philosophical movement
References
"Americana". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster.
"Americana". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
Shriver, Jerry (August 31, 2009). "Grammys will be putting Americana on the map". USA Today.
"2011 Grammy Category Descriptions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 3, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
Sears, Stephen (1975). Hometown U.S.A. New York: American Heritage. pp. 6–9. ISBN 0-671-22079-9.
Canby, Henry Seidel (1934). The Age of Confidence: Life in the Nineties. New York: Farrar & Rinehart. ASIN B000857UVO.
Giovanni Russonello (August 2013). "Why Is a Music Genre Called 'Americana' So Overwhelmingly White and Male?". The Atlantic.
DeLillo, Don (January 13, 2005). Conversations with Don DeLillo. University Press of Mississippi. p. 88. ISBN 1578067049.
"Local History Archive Larimer Legends – Old Town & Disneyland – City of Fort Collins, Colorado". Library.ci.fort-collins.co.us. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
Sears, Stephen (1975). Hometown U.S.A. New York: American Heritage. pp. 12–13, 29. ISBN 0-671-22079-9.
Sears, Stephen (1975). Hometown U.S.A. New York: American Heritage. pp. 12–13, 20. ISBN 0-671-22079-9.
"Farrell's looks to restart growth Owner outlines expansion plans for iconic ice cream chain". Nation's Restaurant News. August 31, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
"What is Americana? (with pictures)". United States Now. August 28, 2023.
Evans, Jon (September 21, 2021). "Why "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie And Chevrolet" Has Stood The Test Of Time". Advertising Weekly.
Perelman, Britton (August 27, 2020). "How to Capture "Americana" in Photography". Passion Passport.
Lineberry, Cate (March 1, 2007). "The Story Behind the Star Spangled Banner". Smithsonian Magazine.
"Mount Rushmore Sculptor Gutzon Borglum Carved American History". Artistic Fuel. February 17, 2020.
Sides, Hampton (2007). Americana: Dispatches from the New Frontier. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1400033553.
Stoutland, Frederick A. (2006). Landscapes of Christianity. FAS Publishing. p. 361. ISBN 9780977234103.
Xiong, Nzong (March 3, 2008). "White picket fences appease homeowners". TuscaloosaNews.com. McClatchy-Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on September 2, 2015. Americana aside, people like white picket fences for a couple of practical reasons.
Warnes, Andrew (2008). Savage barbecue : race, culture, and the invention of America's first food. Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 9780820328966.
O'Leary, Joanna. "The Jewish history of Bazooka bubble gum". The Times of Israel. ISSN 0040-7909.
Page, David (2021). Food Americana : the remarkable people and incredible stories behind America's favorite dishes. Coral Gables, FL. ISBN 9781642505863.
"Behold the burger: Americana on a bun – DGO Magazine".
McCarthy, Amy (June 29, 2022). "How Theme Parks Use Fried Chicken to Sell the American Dream". Eater.
"Milkshakes: pure Americana and a Hong Kong burger's best friend". South China Morning Post. May 20, 2015.
Graham, David A. (May 17, 2016). "Without Jazz and Blues, There's No 'Americana'". The Atlantic.
"The Americana Essentials That Will Literally Never Go Out of Style | Complex". Complex Networks.
Melvin, Don (October 7, 1990). "COCA-COLA A SIP OF AMERICANA THINGS HAVE BEEN GOING BETTER WITH COKE SINCE 1886". Sun-Sentinel.com.
Day, Sherri; Elliott, Stuart (January 10, 2003). "THE MEDIA BUSINESS: ADVERTISING; Coca-Cola goes back to its 'Real' past in an effort to find some new fizz for its Classic brand. - The New York Times". The New York Times.
Further reading
Shaw, Robert (2023). Americana Insights 2023. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 979-8-9885331-0-8.
External links
Look up Americana or americana in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Americana.
Merriam-Webster definition of "Americana"
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