Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 1 Dollar 2007, KM# 418, United States of America (USA), 50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of Little Rock Central High School
  • 1 Dollar 2007, KM# 418, United States of America (USA), 50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of Little Rock Central High School
Description

The 2007 Little Rock Silver Dollar was issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement.

The desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, gained national attention on September 3, 1957, when Governor Orval Faubus mobilized the Arkansas National Guard in an effort to prevent nine African American students from integrating the high school. After several failed attempts to negotiate with Faubus, President Dwight D. Eisenhower took action against the defiant governor by simultaneously federalizing the Arkansas National Guard, removing the Guard from Faubus' control, and ordering one thousand troops from the United States Army 101st Airborne Division in Ft. Campbell, Kentucky to oversee the integration. On September 25, 1957 the students, now known as the Little Rock Nine, entered Central High School, an academically renowned school with an enrollment of approximately two thousand white students. Despite suffering constant torment and discrimination from their classmates, eight of the nine students completed the school year at Central High School.

Obverse

Depicts the feet of the Little Rock Nine escorted by a soldier to enter the school. The inscription “Liberty” with nine stars appears above the image, and the inscriptions “Desegregation in Education”, “2007”, and “In God We Trust” appear below.

Design: Richard Masters
Modelling: Charles Vickers

LIBERTY
RM DESEGREGATION IN CLV
EDUCATION
2007
IN GOD WE TRUST

Reverse

Depicts Little Rock Central High School as it appeared in 1957. The building still operates as an educational institution and has been designated as a National Historic Site. The inscriptions read “One Dollar”, “E Pluribus Unum”, “Little Rock Central High School”, and “United States of America”.

Built in 1927 Little Rock Senior High School was designed in the Gothic Revival style; it was hailed as the most expensive, most beautiful, and largest high school in the nation. Statues of four figures over the front entrance represent ambition, personality, opportunity, and preparation. Its opening earned national publicity, with nearly 20,000 people attending the dedication ceremony. In 1953 it was renamed as Little Rock Central High School.

Design: Don Everhart

ONE DOLLAR
E PLURIBUS UNUM
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
DE
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL
HIGH SCHOOL
P
UNITED STATES of AMERICA

Edge

1 Dollar

50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of Little Rock Central High School

KM# 418
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.900
Weight 26.73 g
Diameter 38.1 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Philadelphia Mint (P)

Related coins

Gobrecht Dollar

Silver, 26.96 g, ⌀ 39.5 mm
Gobrecht Dollar

Silver, 26.73 g, ⌀ 39.5 mm
Seated Liberty Dollar, Without Motto

Silver, 26.73 g, ⌀ 38.1 mm