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This golden-hued coin is a small page of living Native American history that feels good in the hand. The theme of this issue is "WWI and WWII Code Talkers".
Obverse
The obverse shows a portrait of Sacagawea — a young Shoshone woman, guide of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste on her back. Flanking it are LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It is the most recognizable image of the series, unchanged since 2000. The inscription and portrait set a solemn, recognizable tone for the whole series.
Reverse
The 2016 reverse is a miniature of its own: it depicts two Native American code talkers against a battlefield backdrop; their languages carried unbreakable ciphers through both World Wars. Around the rim are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination $1, while the year and the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM are lettered on the edge. The relief catches the light as the coin is turned.
Historical context
The series-wide obverse depicts Sacagawea — a young Lemhi Shoshone woman born around 1788 in what is now Idaho. Captured by a rival tribe as a girl, she later became the wife of the trader Toussaint Charbonneau and, already pregnant, joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition in February 1805. Carrying her infant son Jean-Baptiste on her back, she took on the roles of interpreter, guide and peacemaker, without whom the party could hardly have reached the Pacific. Sacagawea became one of the most honored women in U.S. history — with more monuments dedicated to her than to any other American woman.
The 2016 reverse honors the Code Talkers — members of fourteen Native nations who served in both World Wars. By relaying orders in their native languages, they created a cipher the enemy never managed to break. Best known are the Navajo, whose "code" in the Pacific the Japanese admitted was unbreakable. The coin does justice to those whose language — once suppressed — became a weapon of victory. A fine pick for a themed collection and a warm gift idea.