Vol. 37, Number 6—June 2005

Coin Commemorates
Chief Justice Marshall

Chief Justice John Marshall, who authored the opinion in Marbury v. Madison establishing the doctrine of judicial review—the authority of federal courts to declare legislative acts unconstitutional—was honored last month with the release of a silver dollar commemorative coin bearing his likeness. According to the U.S. Mint, this is the first time any U.S. coin has honored a Supreme Court justice or the Supreme Court.

	The new coin’s obverse design is the image of Chief Justice John Marshall, based on a profile portrait by the artist Charles de Saint-Memim, and the reverse design features an interior view of the old Supreme Court chamber where John Marshall served as Chief Justice. (Photo reproduced from the collection of the Supreme Court of the United States )

The design for the coin's front was selected by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who testified in March 2004 before Congress in support of legislation to mint and issue the coin. In his testimony, Rehnquist said the commemorative coin would be a fitting way to mark the 250th anniversary of Marshall's birth. He also quoted Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who once said, "if American law were to be represented by a single figure, skeptic and worshipper alike would agree without dispute that the figure would be one alone, and that one John Marshall." Marshall served as Chief Justice of the U.S. for 34 years, from 1801 until 1835.

The coin was unveiled at a Supreme Court ceremony in May 2005. The John Marshall Commemorative Coin Act, P.L. 108-290, authorizes a maximum mintage of 400,000 silver dollar coins. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the commemorative coins will benefit the Supreme Court Historical Society.