Former Delaware governor and past Delaware congressman Michael N. Castle, whose tenure on the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services included spearheading legislation resulting in the circulating commemorative 50 State quarter dollars and Sacagawea dollar programs, died Aug. 14, in Greenville, Delaware, at the age of 86, after a lengthy illness.

Public service

A longtime attorney in a number of practices in the state, Mr. Castle served two terms as the governor of Delaware, from 1985 through 1992.

He was lieutenant governor of Delaware from 1981 to 1985 and a member of the Delaware General Assembly, serving in both the state House of Representatives and in the state Senate from 1966 to 1976. Mr. Castle also served as deputy attorney general.

Mr. Castle served as Delaware’s lone congressman from 1993 to 2011, making him the longest-serving U.S. representative in the state’s history.

On Oct. 6, 2009, Mr. Castle announced his candidacy in the 2010 special election for the seat in the United States Senate held by Democrat Ted Kaufman.

Kaufman, appointed by Gov. Ruth Ann Minner to fill the vacancy created by Joe Biden, who resigned to become vice president of the United States, was not a candidate in the election.

The election determined who would fill the balance of Biden’s term, which ended on Jan. 3, 2015. In what was considered one of the most surprising election results of 2010, Mr. Castle lost the Republican primary to Christine O’Donnell. Mr. Castle would have been heavily favored in the general election against Democrat Chris Coons, who defeated O’Donnell by 17 percentage points.

Numismatic legislation

During his tenure in Congress, Mr. Castle was recognized for his immense interest in numismatics.

In 1995, Mr. Castle drafted and introduced the legislation that created the American Eagle platinum bullion coin first introduced in 1997.

Mr. Castle subsequently sponsored the legislation that created the 50 State quarter dollars program (1999 to 2008), Sacagawea dollar (2000 to 2008), Presidential dollar coins (2007 to 2016, 2020), America the Beautiful quarter dollars programs (2010 to 2021), and several commemorative coins, including the 2006 silver dollars honoring Benjamin Franklin, one of Mr. Castle’s fifth great-grandfathers.

Mr. Castle drafted one sentence of the 1997 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury may mint and issue platinum coins in such quantity and of such variety as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.” His intent was to make it easier for the Treasury to mint platinum coins for the coin collector market, but the sentence allows the Treasury Department to mint platinum coinage in any denomination. In the event that Congress refused to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, the Treasury could thus mint a trillion-dollar coin to avoid default. This maneuver has been proposed by some commentators, but has never been done.

During a July 17, 1996, House Banking Subcommittee hearing about the future of the production of Lincoln cents, Mr. Castle, as subcommittee chairman, expressed a few pros and cons of the cent, an issue that nearly three decades later has resulted in the end of the coin’s production for circulation beginning in 2026.

“I am very cognizant that a significant number of jobs are involved here, from zinc miners, refiners and processors to blank makers and Mint personnel who produce the nearly 14 billion one-cent coins that were minted last year,” Mr. Castle said in his 1996 comments. “I am also cognizant of our larger responsibility to the taxpayer. Even at current low rates of inflation, the time will come when like the fractional cent coins of the past, it will no longer make practical or economic sense to continue producing a coin that does not circulate and whose costs outweigh its benefits. I do not anticipate that we have yet reached that point, but I believe we should be prepared for it when it arrives. To that extent, and that extent alone, the coin’s days are numbered. Today, we hope to get a better idea of what that number is and how long this coin will be our smallest minted denomination.”

Mr. Castle is survived by his wife, Jane, whom he married in 1992; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters Louisa Johnston Castle and Ann Castle Boswell and brother James Manderson Castle III.

Mr. Castle’s extended family included his staff and campaign volunteers who considered him a mentor and trusted friend. He truly valued and appreciated their dedication and loyalty throughout his years in public service.

A mass of Christian burial was planned for Aug. 22 at 10:30 a.m., at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church in Wilmington, Delaware, immediately followed by a Celebration of Life at the Wilmington Country Club. Burial was private.

The family suggests contributions to The Boys and Girls Clubs of Delaware, 669 S. Union Street, Wilmington, DE 19805, or Friends of Wilmington Parks, P.O. Box 435, Montchanin, DE 19710-0435.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on X (Twitter)

Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.