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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,259 |
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
 United States
12252 Posts |
Here's another BTW coin promotional effort in Congress, this time on the floor of the House of Representatives. On February 26, 1947, Francis Higbee Case (R-SD) rose to encourage his colleagues to purchase the new BTW Half Dollar. (Sydney J. Philips, the BookerT. Washington Birthplace Memorial President and sponsor of the commemorative coin, sure had his "friends" in Congress working for him!) "Mr. Speaker, the commemorative Booker T. Washington coins are now on sale at the office of the Sergeant at Arms. There are two different coins, one from the San Francisco mint and one from the Philadelphia mint. Those who are interested in collecting will probably want one of each. The coins are half dollars and sell at $1 each, the net proceeds going into the Booker T. Washington memorial fund. Personally, l think the coins are a beautiful piece and that the proceeds go to a very worthy project. I think each Member will doubtless want one or more of these Booker T. Washington commemorative coins." The above announcement does not include reference to the BTW half dollars struck in Denver - they were apparently not part of of the Sergeant at Arms' sales offerings. In December 1946, the Philadelphia Mint struck 1,000,000 BTW coins (+ assays), the San Francisco mint struck 500,000 coins (+ assays) and the Denver mint struck 200,000 coins (+ assays); the mintage figures reflected the original orders from the BTW Birthplace Memorial not US Mint discretion/limitations. The Memorial requested fewer coins be struck at Denver so that it could promote the piece as being the "scarcer" option and thus justify a higher price for them: Philadelphia and San Francisco coins were sold at $1.00 per coin, while the Denver coins had an issue prices of $1.50 each. Congress may have authorized the coin, but the "choicest" examples were saved for sales elsewhere! I've wondered about how BTW many coins were ultimately sold in/to Congress via the Sergeant at Arms, but such a figure remains unknown to me. If I had to guess, I would say fewer than 1,500. 1946 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar  For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, and to read more about the history and design of the Booker T. Washington half dollars, check out: Commems Collection. Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
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Moderator
United States
187637 Posts |
Thank you for sharing! It was an interesting sales tactic. I almost wished I had that opportunity.  |
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Moderator
United States
15388 Posts |
Nice read as always commems - thanks for sharing. Quote:
If I had to guess, I would say fewer than 1,500. I agree commems with your overall cap on the estimate, but lets have some fun trying to refine the guesstimate with some hopefully reasonable assumptions: Fact: The 80th Congress of the United States (1947 - 1949) had 96 Senators, 435 Representatives and 3 non-voting delegates. So that is the potential sales audience that could have been influenced by Rep. Case (R-SD) appeal. From there, onward for fun with assumptions - you of course can make other assumptions as you long as you post them in this thread! Lets say that about 1/3 (call it 150) of the members who listened to Rep. Case were highly motivated and purchased both of the coins available through the Sergeant of Arms. Equals 300 coins. We further assume that an additional 200 members understood the merit of Rep. Case appeal and purchased a single example. Bah humbug, who needs two when they differ by only a minor mint letter? Equals 200 coins. Then, human nature being what it is, the highly motivated members who purchased both coins dialogued with their Senate colleagues over lunch and convinced 50 Senators to purchase an example. Equals 50 coins. So there you have my guess ==> 550 BTW sold to members of Congress s a result of Rep. Case appeal. Any other takers (guessers)? |
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Moderator
United States
187637 Posts |
My wild guess is probably closer to commems if not higher because I assume many would acquire extras to give out as gifts.  |
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
 United States
12252 Posts |
I waited to see what other's guesses might look like before I presented how I came up with my estimate so as not to skew anything...
I'm always up for a bit of "Fun with numbers!" Here's how I came up with my cap:
1. Determined the total number in Congress at the time (as you did): 535
2. Divided the total into four even groups (25% each) : 133.5 each
3. Assigned a sales volume to each group:
- A: 0 coins purchased by each member (0)
- B: 1 coin purchased by each member (134)
- C: 2 coins purchased by each member (267)
- D: 6 coins purchased by each member (801)
4. Total: 0 + 134 + 267 + 801 = 1,202
5. Applied a 20% error factor: 1,202 * 0.2 = 240 - the ol' 80/20 rule (sort of) - (Note: "error rate" aka "fudge factor")
6. Added my calculated total and my error factor total together: 1,202 + 240 = 1,442
7. From there, I rounded up to the nearest hundred: 1,500
Why the average purchase of 6 coins by each member of Group D? I figured that some portion of Congress would view the coins as good gifts for select constituents and buy multiples.
Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3634 Posts |
Interesting discussion - thanks commems!
Member of SPMC, FCCB, ANA and ANS. My U.S. Classic Commemorative Complete Set: https://www.NGCcoin.com/registry/co...sets/278741/My U.S. Fractional Note Set: https://notes.www.collectors-societ...eSetID=34188 |
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Moderator
United States
15388 Posts |
@commems - I follow your logic and agree that your assumptions are reasonable. My estimate did not include any gift giving as you and jbuck both point out. I believe we can conclusively state 75 years later that the real but unknown sales number is below 10,000.  |
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Moderator
United States
187637 Posts |
Quote:I believe we can conclusively state 75 years later that the real but unknown sales number is below 10,000. Touche!  |
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,259 |
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Posted 11/09/2022 09:42 am
