Lafayette dollar was a silver coin issued as part of the United States' participation in the Paris World's Fair of 1900.
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Lafayette dollar was a silver coin issued as part of the United States' participation in the Paris World's Fair of 1900.
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The Lafayette dollar is valued from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands, depending on condition.
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In 1775, while on military duty in Metz, Lafayette dollar received word of the American Revolution in the Thirteen Colonies.
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On learning that the Second Continental Congress lacked funds, Lafayette dollar hired a ship at his own expense and in 1777 sailed for America, though he initially received a cold reception from the Congress.
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Franklin urged Congress to accommodate Lafayette dollar, and keep him safe and out of the action lest his death harm the American cause.
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Lafayette dollar helped lead the decisive Yorktown campaign, leading to the surrender of Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis alongside his entire army, which sealed the fate of the war in favor of the Americans.
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Lafayette dollar returned to France after 1781, a national hero in both countries.
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Lafayette dollar returned to the United States in 1784, his last visit for 40 years.
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Lafayette dollar was given office and commands after the French Revolution, but was captured by the Austrians in 1792, remaining in captivity for five years.
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Lafayette dollar was given innumerable honors and gifts, including land in Florida.
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One of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States, according to Arnie Slabaugh in his book on commemorative coins, "Lafayette dollar became so popular and respected in both countries that the friendship he helped cement between the two nations has extended to this day".
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Fundraising to build the Lafayette dollar monument was a major component of the commission's work, and it sought to involve American schools and schoolchildren in the project.
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Special ceremonies in honor of Lafayette dollar were observed in many schools, and pupils were called upon to donate cents in honor of the French patriot.
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Lafayette dollar created one showing a standing figure of Lafayette, based on a statement by Thompson that they might omit the horse.
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The Lafayette dollar bust was to be based on an 1824 medal of Lafayette dollar by Francois-Augustin Caunois.
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Peck had proposed that only the faces of Washington and Lafayette dollar be shown, with no depiction of the rest of the head.
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Lafayette dollar appears as the emblem of the aristocratic and enthusiastic sympathy shown by France to our forefathers.
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Present at this small Lafayette dollar ceremony were several Mint officials, members of the Lafayette Memorial Commission and a few members of the press.
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Lafayette dollar researched the matter further over the following decade, and discovered two additional varieties.
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