Newest Bridge Coins Feature Ferries

Eight new Mackinac Bridge coins to honor the old state ferries at the Straits of Mackinac will be introduced in a ceremony at Bridge View Park in St. Ignace Friday, June 16, at 1 p.m. The ferries transported cars and passengers between Mackinaw City in the Lower Peninsula to St. Ignace in the Upper Peninsula. An estimated 30 million passengers made the crossing by ferry, along with approximately 12 million vehicles.

"For over 30 years, car ferries were the only effective way to cross the Straits of Mackinac," said William Gnodtke, chairman of the Mackinac Bridge Authority, which mints the coins for use as commuter tokens and to sell to collectors. "In 1923, the Ariel was the first state-operated vessel to serve a key transportation role before the Mackinac Bridge was built."

The bridge was opened for automobile traffic November 1, 1957.

Ferry boats depicted on the coins include the Ariel, which operated from 1923 to 1924; the City of Cheboygan from 1937 to 1957; the Sainte Ignace from 1924 to 1940; the Mackinaw City from 1924 to 1940, which left to assist during World War II; the Straits of Mackinac from 1928 to 1957; the City of Munising 1938 to 1957; the City of Petoskey from 1940 to 1957, and the Vacationland, which was also an icebreaker and made the crossing from 1952 to 1957.

"Mickey Sweeney, former captain of the Vacationland (and my father), worked on all 10 of the ferries," said Bob Sweeney, executive secretary of the Authority. "At the time it was in service, the Vacationland was a state-of-the-art vessel and often referred to as the Queen of the Fleet."

The new car ferry coins are the sixth in a series of bridge toll coins. Following the ceremony, collectors and members of the public can purchase coins in individual sets at the June 16 event. All eight sets will be available.