Strom's daughter to use Confederate States Mint

myrtlebchonline ^ | May. 13, 2004 | Associated Press

[stainlessbanner]

FLORENCE - The company that will put the likeness of Strom Thurmond's daughter, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, on a commemorative coin is the Confederate States Mint.

The irony of a mint with the Confederate name producing a coin honoring Washington-Williams, who revealed last December she was the out-of-wedlock child of a man who spent much of his political career fighting integration, is not lost on the company's owner, Florence businessman Gene Brown.

"I think that's actually going to make the coin more valuable," said Brown, who owns the mint with Thurmond relative Bruce Elrod.

The mint was the old Confederate Mint in Ridgeway.

Brown said Washington-Williams' choice "also goes to show the open-mindedness of Essie. She doesn't need anyone to tell her about the history of racism in the South. She's lived it."

Washington-Williams entered the agreement with Confederate States Mint this year.

The company produces commemorative coins to be sold as fund-raisers. "I liked the idea that Bruce was trying to breathe some life back into this old historic mint and that he was bringing some attention to history," Brown said.

Elrod is cousin to Strom Thurmond Jr. and thus related to the late senator's daughter.

"Essie came to me because I keep the Thurmond genealogy," Elrod said. "I've been putting together her genealogy for her, and we got to talking about being related." Elrod said the idea for the coin grew from there. Elrod's newly found cousin agreed to donate part of her proceeds from the coin sales to the Essie Mae Washington-Williams Foundation that provides scholarship money to deserving college students.

There will be one ounce gold, silver and bronze coins.

They will have Washington-Williams' likeness on one side and a palmetto tree on the other.

Brown said the coins - bronze is $20, silver is $39 and gold is $575 - are worth the cost to collectors because of the historical significance.

[cyborg]

very interesting...she's really really open minded

[cyborg]

And the Thurmond family is open minded as well... I had a next door neighbor who was a product of 'that sort of thing' and what a hostile person she was. This could have turned out a lot worse.

[Moose4]

She's a real class act. She gave several news conferences here in Columbia and despite the media's constant badgering and hounding trying to get her to play the victim and denounce Strom Thurmond as a racist, she wouldn't do it. And to their credit, the Thurmond family has been very welcoming to her as well. It looks like that her name will be included along with the rest of Strom's children on a monument, as it should be.

}:-)4

[Moose4]

She's a real class act. She gave several news conferences here in Columbia and despite the media's constant badgering and hounding trying to get her to play the victim and denounce Strom Thurmond as a racist, she wouldn't do it. And to their credit, the Thurmond family has been very welcoming to her as well. It looks like that her name will be included along with the rest of Strom's children on a monument, as it should be.

}:-)4

[cyborg]

Well people are really shocked at obvious displays of class. She has a lot of really good reasons to criticize,etc. but she isn't which is unusual with all these whiners today.

[freekitty]

Huh????????

[cyborg]

ping

[WKB]

Does this mean Trent Lott can have his job back?