The 1925 California Statehood Diamond Jubilee Half Dollar was issued to commemorate the 75th anniversary of California's Statehood; it became the 31st State on September 9, 1850.
To celebrate the 75th anniversary, a Jubilee was held in San Francisco September 5 - 12, 1925. It featured parades, concerts, car races, swimming competitions and a variety of other entertainment events. On Admission Day (September 9) a special parade led by US Vice President Charles Dawes was staged. The parade presented floats highlighting California's history, and included floats from cities and towns throughout California; an estimated 650,000 people lined the parade's path down SF's Market Street. Dawes was also the guest of honor at a small, invitation-only banquet with ~75 attendees in the evening.
The Jubilee was not celebrated with a large-scale Exposition that ran for months. It refrained from lavish, over-the-top spending and was confined to a week-long (Saturday to Saturday) event that was tightly scheduled and well-attended.
A terrific pictorial overview of the Jubilee in San Francisco can be found here:
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Diamond Jubilee: A Closer Look (I recommend checking it out!)
The California Superintendent of Public Instruction encouraged celebration of the State's anniversary by releasing a guide describing how teachers/schools in California could incorporate a theme of "California is Calling" into lesson plans across all subject areas. The plan included specific thoughts on lesson topics, books (fiction and non-fiction) related to California and places in California to visit. I wonder how extensively the Superintendent's recommendations were followed?
The
San Francisco Daily News featured daily coverage of the Jubilee, publishing stories on the overall event as well as some of the individuals/groups involved in the celebration. On Saturday, September 12, it reported the the last day was "crammed with athletic events, music, fireworks, pageantry and carnival." It also reported that the closing ball of the celebration was to be without admission charge and that "Thousands will dance in the streets outside the Auditorium," (Off Topic: While looking through the
San Francisco Daily News , I came across an advertisement for men's wool pants at $2.98 per pair, English broadcloth shirts for $1.85 and silk knitted ties for $0.19 - an entire ensemble for $5.02! Add in a pair of leather shoes for $2.98 and a guy was "good to go" for $8.00!)
1925 California Diamond Jubilee Half Dollar
For more on the California half dollar, check out:
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1925 California Statehood Diamond Jubilee-
1925 California Statehood Diamond Jubilee - RevisitedFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out:
Commems Collection. 
Posted 02/21/2022 5:52 pm
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