nickelsearcher
Pillar Of The Community
United States
3307 Posts
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Many collectors consider the Oregon Trail half dollar to be the most inspired design of any coin in the classic US silver commemorative series ... and I agree. 
Designed by the husband/wife team of James Earle Fraser and Laura Gardin Fraser ... each of whom found fame as the designer of other classic USA coinage.
James is well know ... of course ... for his design of the Buffalo nickel ... a true classic work of coinage art. He created the motif for the 1925 Norse medal and is credited with the design of the 1924 Huguenot-Walloon half dollar where he modified the motif by George T. Morgan.
Laura is the grand dame of classic silver commemorative coin design ... being credited with the designs for the 1921 Alabama half dollar, 1922 Grant half dollar, 1922 Grant gold dollar and the 1925 Fort Vancouver half dollar.
They came together in 1926 and designed the Oregon Trail half ... a true classic example of USA coinage art.
Minted sporadically from 1926 through 1939 ... this 14 coin mini-series was held out in the day as a prime example of the abuses of the series.
Today all examples are prized for their design and in general are readily available in the market in a wide range of circulated to gem MS condition.
To the photos ...
Here is the current Oregon Trail half in my MS type set ... 1937-D PCGS MS67+/CAC. Blast white, hammered strike with no flaws visible to the naked eye.
Circulated examples tend to be found from the 1926 issue ... in that initial year of issue (1926) the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints contributed 131,010 net examples whereby the entire 14 coin series net mintage total (after official melting) is 203,102 coins.
Coin aficionados with a sense of humor realize that the entire mintage of the Oregon Trail half dollar is well less the 1/2 of the mintage of the much more renowned 1909-S VDB LWC ... which checks in at 484,000 coins. 
Here is my current circulated example ... 1926-S which I grade as an honestly circulated, problem free VF20. Truly enjoy the circulated cameo look.
Enjoy
David The ONLY owner of a CCF T-Shirt ..... prove me wrong with a photo! Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.finewoodcrafter.comToo many hobbies .... too much work .... not enough time. Edited by nickelsearcher
07/07/2012 5:10 pm
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
693 Posts |
Thanks, once again, David, for an entertaining comparison. This is one coin where I absolutely love the wear patterns, especially the oxen and its driver on the Mint's obverse and the Native American on the reverse. Looks pretty good in 67 CAC though too. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1213 Posts |
As always, it's cool to compare a pristine example with one that is well-traveled. Enjoyed the tidbit re: the mintage of the 1909-S VDB LWC vs. Oregon Trail coins -- didn't realize it! Just goes to show, relatively speaking, how few collectors there are pursuing the US commemorative series! Thanks for post! Collecting history, one commemorative coin (or medal) at a time!
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Posted 07/07/2012 5:02 pm
