Many of use have read about the 1804 Lewis and Clark Expedition but did you know that his inherited slave named York was also part of that expedition?
You can read Brian Hall’s novel which attempts to capture the raw adventure of that expedition.
But back to our coin. York had been owned by the Clark family from birth so it is not surprising that he was probably taken on the expedition. But what is surprising is that the image on the coin shows him there the third person rowing!
This, was not the original design. The original design by Paul Jackson only showed Lewis and Clark. But since York was a “manservant” we know who did a lot of the work and never received any compensation.
Just wanted you to be aware of the image the next time you run across a 2003 quarter from Missouri. They currently have very little collectible value but very few people know about them. If you decide to get one and keep it be sure to look for one circulated.