In all the blogs so far following along with Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest Women on Coins Series, there has not been as much mystery shrouding any woman as much as there is this next entry. From her history making birth to her sudden “disappearance,” author Ron Guth will take us through a few speculative scenarios attributed to her whereabouts and the reason she lands in the top 35 of the list.
#32 – Virginia Dare
Born on August 18, 1587, Virginia Dare was the first white child born in America to English parents. Born in the Roanoke colony, her parents were Ananias and Eleanor Dare and her grandfather, John White, was the governor of the colony. A few months after her birth, her grandfather, John, would leave for England, but was held up from returning as the Anglo-Spanish War was occurring. When he finally returned to Roanoke in 1590, he would find that all the settlers were gone, including Virginia.
While there were no clues as to what happened, it was hard to determine the actual facts. Only speculation came from their whereabouts, mostly from author Paul Clayton who wrote the novel White Seed: The Untold Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. In his scenario, he described the colonists encountering two threats. One was from the contentious Chief Powhatan and the other from a power-hungry soldier who lived in Roanoke. At the end of the book, a character named Maggie escaped with friendly Native Americans and took with her both Eleanor and Virginia while the rest of the settlers were massacred. When White returned with a ship full of supplies, Maggie avoided him for fear of having to return to England. In the end, White would believe that he heard the cry of a child (Virginia) and that would haunt him.
The United States Mint would issue a half dollar commemorative coin in 1937 honoring the 350th anniversary of the colonization of Roanoke Island and the birth of Virginia Dare. While the obverse features the bust of Sir Walter Raleigh, who was the original receiver of the colony’s charter, the reverse depicts Eleanor Dare holding a newborn Virginia. Two ships are on either side of them.
According to Guth, the Roanoke half dollar is easy to come by. In Mint State condition, it can be anywhere between $200 and $300.