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America's great bridges, coined

By Panch N. Sundaram

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Coin: 1936-S Bay Bridge Half Dollar
Bridge: San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Significance: The only U.S. coin minted solely to commemorate an engineering triumph, this four-bit piece marked the opening of the historic bridge in November 1936. But why did the Golden Gate Bridge — which opened less than a year later — not receive such immortalizing treatment? No one knows for sure. The original plan included a provision for the Golden Gate, but the plan was later revised and the reason wasn’t recorded.
 
Coin: 2001 Rhode Island State Quarter
Bridge: The Claiborne Pell (Newport)
Significance: Minted as part of the 50 State Quarters Program, this more ubiquitous coin honors Narragansett Bay, which is crucial to the architecture of Rhode Island. The architecture is tough, too: In 1981 the Pell Bridge withstood a direct hit to one of its main piers by a tanker carrying 50,000 barrels of oil.
 
Coin: 2005 West Virginia State Quarter
Bridge: The New River Gorge Bridge
Significance: The Department of Treasury says this coin exemplifies “the triumph of the human intellect” required by the engineers who built this bridge in 1977. One of the tallest bridges in the world, the New River Gorge Bridge converted a once daunting 40-minute trip through tricky Appalachian roads into a gorgeous one-minute drive.

Sources: Department of the Treasury; Numismatic Guaranty Corporation
Images courtesy Numismatic Guaranty Corporation

Information compiled by Panch N. Sundaram, P.E.

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