In February 1937, Representative Albert Greig Rutherford (R-PA) introduced a bill in the House that called for 50-cent pieces "in commemoration of the one hundred and fifty-third anniversary of the original land grant upon which the Borough of Berwick, Pennsylvania, is located, the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Berwick by its first settlers, and the one hundred and eighteenth anniversary of the establishment of Berwick as a borough." As Berwick formally celebrated its 150th Anniversary (Sesquicentennial) in 1936, it can be extrapolated that the three milestones listed in the bill equate to 1783, 1786 and 1818. A mix of anniversaries if I ever saw one! I wonder why it was felt that the bill's scope needed to go beyond the Sesquicentennial anniversary?
Berwick is a borough (vs. city or town) located in central Pennsylvania on the northern bank of the Susquehanna River in Columbia County. The Borough traces its roots to Welshman Evan Owen and his purchase of land in the area - some reports state he purchased ~3,000 acres, others suggest a lesser purchase - in 1783. Owens was a trained surveyor and soon began to divide his property into lots and develop a layout for what would become Berwick. He sold lots to settlers looking to establish themselves in the area, and by 1786 it is believed there were ~eight families living in the area - the start of Berwick. More and more families came to the area following the construction of new roads that connected the area to other population centers, and propelled Berwick to the next level; its growth brought about its incorporation in 1818.
The bill called for up to 20,000 1936-dated coins on behalf of Berwick Sesquicentennial, the sponsoring organization. As the bill was introduced after the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency had established its standard template for new commemorative coin bills, Representative Rutherford included language in his bill that also specified the coins were to be struck at just a single US Mint facility, needed to be issued within one year of the bill's enactment and that coin orders had to be for a minimum of 5,000 coins. He likely understood that, without these provisions, the bill had little chance of gaining approval in the Senate.
Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. Unfortunately for Berwick Sesquicentennial, that is where things ended for the coin proposal as it was never reported out of Committee or considered further. It was not surprising, as 1937 was the beginning of a period when new commemorative coin bills were consistently failing to gain traction. (Though dated 1937 and 1938, the 1937 Roanoke Colony Memorial and 1938 New Rochelle, NY commemorative coins were each approved in 1936; only the 1937 Battle of Antietam 75th Anniversary and the 1936 Norfolk, VA Bicentennial half dollars were approved in 1937.)
Had the coin proposal been approved, it would have created a back dating situation for the US Mint, as the coins were specified to be dated "1936" but would be struck in 1937 (the bill was not introduced until 1937). This would not have been too big of a deal, however, as the US Mint struck multiple coins with a date prior to the actual year of coinage: 1936 Delaware Tercentenary (approved in 1936, struck in 1937), 1936 Battle of Gettysburg 75th Anniversary (1936/1937), 1936 New Rochelle 250th Anniversary (1936/1937) and 1936 Norfolk, VA Bicentennial (approved and struck in 1937).
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 03/24/2022 09:31 am
