Abigail Adams First Spouse Gold Coin

Abigail Smith was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1744. Like most women of that time, Abigail had no formal education. But she was bright and curious, and her family encouraged her to use the family’s library.

She married John Adams, a young Harvard-educated attorney, in 1764. While they lived in Braintree, Massachusetts, he built a successful law practice.

As the wife of the first United States Minister to Great Britain, she joined him in Europe in 1784. After John became President, they were the first couple to live in the White House, in 1800. Early the next year, Abigail returned to Braintree, where she lived until her death in 1818.

Reverse Design

Because John Adams worked hard toward the colonies’ independence, he and Abigail were often separated for long periods of time. She stayed in Massachusetts while he worked in Philadelphia. The coin’s image shows Abigail writing one of her many letters to her husband.

Adams said that Abigail had as much political wisdom as any of his fellow leaders. He valued her advice as well as her affection and friendship. In one of her now-famous letters, Abigail asked her husband to “remember the ladies” as he helped to set up the new Republic.