The design for the new gold $1 Elizabeth Peratrovich coin was on display during the Elizabeth Peratrovich Day celebration at the Tlingit and Haida Community Council on Feb. 16, 2020. The U.S. Mint is making the coin available to Alaska financial institutions. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire File)

The design for the new gold $1 Elizabeth Peratrovich coin was on display during the Elizabeth Peratrovich Day celebration at the Tlingit and Haida Community Council on Feb. 16, 2020. The U.S. Mint is making the coin available to Alaska financial institutions. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire File)

Program minted to spread Peratrovich dollars

A program could bring $1 coins to Alaska financial intuitions,

  • By Ben Hohenstatt Juneau Empire
  • Wednesday, February 15, 2023 12:01pm
  • News

This article has been moved in front of the Empire’s paywall for Elizabeth Peratrovich Day. It first ran in July 2020.

Happy birthday, Elizabeth Peratrovich.

A U.S. Mint program could soon bring $1 gold coins bearing a likeness of the civil rights leader born July 4, 1911, to Alaska financial intuitions, the Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Alaska Native Sisterhood announced Friday.

Peratrovich, who was chosen to adorn the 2020 Native American $1 Coin, was a Tlingit woman and former ANS grand president, whose advocacy for Alaska Natives and famous speech to the Alaska Territorial Legislature are widely credited with helping to pass the territory’s Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. The law predated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 by 19 years.

[Local project ships Peratrovich book to libraries, schools for free]

The U.S. Mint has designed a special program to sell the Peratrovich coins to Alaska financial institutions. The program makes the coins available to financial institutions in rolls of 25, bags of 100 and boxes of 250. The minimum order is four boxes of 250, and there is a daily maximum order limit of four boxes per day.

Paulette Moreno, ANS grand president, said in a phone interview she and her organization hope people who want their financial institutions to carry the coins will let their local banks know.

“It’s nice to have a symbol of something that’s so powerful and accessible to everybody,” Moreno said.

The new program is in part the result of the passage of House Joint Resolution 9 by the Alaska State Legislature. The resolution, sponsored by state Rep. DeLena Johnson, R-Palmer, requested the U.S. Secretary of Treasury not mint fewer than five million of the coins.

The resolution received widespread and bipartisan support.

Moreno worked with Alaska 4H groups to present this idea, according to an ANB and ANS news release. They received support from both ANB and ANS members, the Peratrovich family, Sealaska and others.

Moreno said she was especially proud of the initiative the 4H kids showed. She is glad the coin could become more common in Alaska.

“Elizabeth and many other Alaska Native Leaders have contributed to anti-discrimination, and the $1 gold coin is (an) opportunity to the world to show our support for equality, in all aspects of our society,” Moreno said in a news release.

Individual people are still able to purchase the coins by calling the mint’s customer care center at 1-844-467-1328.

“We encourage all Alaskans to join us in lifting up this important part of our Alaska Native history, through supporting education and awareness of the historical and contemporary issues faced by Alaska Natives,” said ANB Grand President Heather Gurko in a release.

Contact Ben Hohenstatt at (907)308-4895 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt

More in News

(Juneau Empire File)
Aurora forecast for the week of Nov. 27

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Rain at the National Weather Service Juneau station on Nov. 11 doesn’t exist as snow until hits the upper portion of nearby Thunder Mountain. So far this November has been both warmer and wetter than normal. (Photo by National Weather Service Juneau)
El Niño playing outsize role in Juneau’s warmer temperatures, according to National Weather Service

Early peek at numbers shows Juneau is 4.9 degrees warmer than average this November.

An emergency rescue vehicle parks in front of the Riverview Senior Living center at midday Monday after resident Nathan Bishop, 58, was discovered in the attic about 40 hours after he was reported missing. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Nathan Bishop found alive in attic of Riverview Senior Living complex after 40-hour search

Family members say they remain supportive of facility’s locally available assisted living services.

View from the West Ridge at Eaglecrest on Nov. 13. (Photo by Deborah Rudis)
Wild Shots

To showcase our readers’ work to the widest possible audience, Wild Shots… Continue reading

Lisa Daugherty, owner of Juneau Composts!, stands in front of a recently acquired trommel screener, which separates different materials like soil, gravel, mulch and sand. She has invested $250,000 in the company since she started it in 2017. (Meredith Jordan/ Juneau Empire)
Federal dollars for public composting project concerns private-sector operator

Juneau Composts! owner says city project could ultimately shut down business

Charlene Apok leads Data for Indigenous Justice and works with the state’s Maternal Child Death Review to understand maternal mortality in Alaska. Apok analyzed data in their office on Sept. 25. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Data links Alaska’s sky-high maternal mortality rate to domestic violence

Studies show violence and overdoses cause more deaths than medical problems.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Friday, Nov. 24, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Thursday, Nov. 23, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Most Read