100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins Series: 2003-W First Flight Centennial $10 Commemorative

Ever since the revamp of the commemorative coin program from the United States Mint took place in 1982, every year sees a new series. Modern commemoratives are a mixed bag in the coin world, especially since they are not always so well-received compared to their vintage counterparts. The bottom line is that either you are a fan of commemoratives or they are not really your thing. Either way, the Mint has come a long way since the 1980s when it comes to these niche coins. A prime example is the anticipation that led up to the series in 2003.

With legislation approved six years before its release, we will take you through a commemorative coin series that was uncharacteristic of the program from the Mint. One of the releases from that program makes the top 100 Greatest United States Modern list from the authors of the fourth edition of the Whitman Publication. Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett, in addition to some of the most influential coin dealers across the country, give us a look into the gold release from the 2003 series.

#82 - 2003-W First Flight Centennial $10 Commemorative

In 2003, the 100th Anniversary of the First Flight taken by the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, took place. The successful airplane flight was to be honored in 2003 with a three-coin commemorative program and historic legislation was passed for the series six years prior to the release in December of 1997. The anticipation that followed suit was indicative of the importance of the anniversary and what it meant to the country.

The obverse of the series was designed by Donna Weaver and featured portraits of both brothers Orville and Wilbur. “LIBERTY” was inscribed at the top while other inscriptions surrounding the design read “IN GOD WE TRUST”, “1903-2003”, “ORVILLE & WILBUR WRIGHT”, and “FIRST FLIGHT CENTENNIAL”. The reverse, designed by Norman E. Nemeth, featured the Wright 1903 Flyer as it appeared in flight with an eagle flying overhead. The inscriptions “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, and “TEN DOLLARS” surrounded the design.

The three-coin series featured a clad half dollar, a silver dollar, and a $10 gold coin. The gold coin came as a surprise as previous commemorative gold coins were normally $5 issues. This particular cluster of releases was also uncharacteristic of the United States Mint as it was the first time that three coins such as these were released in conjunction with one another. It was also the first time that the legislation for this commemorative coins series required that proceeds from the surcharges collected from the sale of the coins be donated to the First Flight Foundation. This requirement in addition to the proceeds only be collected if the foundation received similar donations from private sources was very different than any other coinage legislation prior.

While legislation was passed at the tail end of 1997, certain events unfolded before the release of the 2003 First Flight Commemorative Coin program that slightly altered the original legislation. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, the visitors center at the site of the first flight was modified and the foundation had trouble raising the $9 million from surcharges from the sale of the coins that it predicted it would need. Senator John Edwards from North Carolina put into motion that the foundation would receive at least $2.5 million of the proceeds raised from the surcharges in anticipation of the chance of the foundation not receiving anything. In the end, the foundation would end up collecting over $3.5 million.

While anticipation was the name of the game for this series, sales ended up being lackluster, especially for the $10 gold coin. Because most previous gold commemoratives were $5 issues and contained 7.5 grams of gold, the $10 gold piece with twice the amount of precious metal gold in it ended up being expensive for collectors. The Uncirculated version ended up retailing at $340 while the Proof version was priced at $350. The Uncirculated version ended up being the most elusive of the series as only 10,009 were minted.

The first edition of the Whitman Publication set this coin at #80. It has fallen two spots (#82) to its current ranking.