Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 1 Dollar 2013, KM# 553, United States of America (USA), US Army 5-Star Generals, George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower
  • 1 Dollar 2013, KM# 553, United States of America (USA), US Army 5-Star Generals, George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower
Description

The 2013 5 Star Generals Silver Dollar was issued as part of a commemorative coin program authorized to recognize the 5-Star Generals of the United States Army as well as celebrate the 132nd anniversary of the founding of the United States Army Command and General Staff College where each of the generals either taught or attended.

A five-star rank is the highest military rank in the United States, with a five-star general insignia. Five-star ranks are extremely senior and are usually the highest ranks. As an active rank, the position exists only in a minority of countries and is usually held by only a very few officers during wartime. In times of peace, it is usually held only as an honorary rank. Traditionally, five-star ranks are granted to distinguished military commanders for notable wartime victories and/or in recognition of a record of achievement during the officer's career, whether in peace or in war.

Five-star ranks were created in the U.S. military during World War II because of the awkward situation created when some American senior commanders were placed in positions commanding allied officers of higher rank. U.S. officers holding five-star rank draw full active duty pay for life, both before and after retiring from active duty. The five-star ranks were retired in 1981 on the death of General of the Army Omar Bradley. Nine Americans have been promoted to five-star rank, one of them, Henry H. Arnold, in two services (U.S. Army then later in the U.S. Air Force).

Obverse

Depicts portraits of Generals George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower against a striped background with a five-star insignia at the centre. Inscriptions on the obverse of the present coin include the names of the Generals, the motto “In God We Trust”, “Liberty”, and the date “2013”.

George Catlett Marshall Jr. (1880–1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, then served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense under Truman. Winston Churchill lauded Marshall as the "organizer of victory" for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II. After the war, he spent a frustrating year trying and failing to avoid the impending civil war in China. As Secretary of State, Marshall advocated a U.S. economic and political commitment to post-war European recovery, including the Marshall Plan that bore his name. In recognition of this work, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (1890– 1969) was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. He was responsible for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first Supreme Commander of NATO. Eisenhower had previously appeared on a silver dollar issued in 1990 for the centennial of his birth.

Design: Richard Masters
Modelled: Joseph Menna

• GEORGE C. MARSHALL • DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER •
RM JFM
IN GOD WE TRUST • 2013 • LIBERTY

Reverse

Depicts an image of the Leavenworth Lamp, in a design similar to the $5 gold coin issued under the same program. The inscriptions read “United States of America”, “One Dollar”, “E Pluribus Unum”, “U.S. Army Command and General Staff College”, and “Fort Leavenworth”.

The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as the School of Application for Infantry and Cavalry (later simply the Infantry and Cavalry School), a training school for infantry and cavalry officers. The curriculum expanded throughout World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War and continues to adapt to include lessons learned from current conflicts. Fort Leavenworth has been historically known as the "Intellectual Center of the Army."

Design: Barbara Fox
Modelled: Joseph Menna

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ONE
DOLLAR
E
PLURIBUS
UNUM
U.S. ARMY COMMAND
AND
GENERAL STAFF
COLLEGE
BF JFM W
FORT LEAVENWORTH

Edge

1 Dollar

US Army 5-Star Generals
George C. Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower

Subscribe series
KM# 553
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Non-circulating)
Material Silver
Fineness 0.900
Weight 26.73 g
Diameter 38.1 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mints
Philadelphia Mint (P)
West Point Mint (W)

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