I've written before about the attempt by Sydney J. Phillips to secure a third Booker T. Washington-related commemorative half dollar in 1956 to recognize BTW on the centennial of his birth. (You can read more here:
What If? 1956 Booker T Washington Coin #3.)
I'm revisiting the topic here to present the text of a memo sent by Phillips to Representative Hugh Doggett Scott, Jr. (R-PA) in support of the new coin:
WHY A BOOKER T. WASHINGTON CENTENNIAL HALF DOLLAR SHOULD BE REMINTED BY MELTING DOWN 100,000 BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HALF DOLLARS, THROUGH CONTINUED LEGISLATION UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE ACT OF AUGUST 7, 1946 (60 STAT. 863, PUBLIC LAW 610, 69TH CONGRESS), AND ENACTED INTO LAW BY JULY 4, 1956, THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF COMMENCEMENT OF HIS WORK, AND WHICH WOULD PROVIDE FUNDS FOR CARRYING OUT A NATIONWIDE GOODWILL BUILDING PROGRAM AS A PART OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
1. The Federal Government has issued 52 commemorative coins. The last o! these under authority of Public Law 610, was issued in tribute to the character of Booker T. Washington and in recognition of his services not only to the people of his race but to the Nation as a whole.
2. In this, the centennial year of his birth, the Government has issued a Booker T. Washington centennial 3-cent postage stamp, and has also authorized the creation of a national monument out of the plantation on which he was born in Virginia, for the inspiration of all American youth and as a symbol of freedom and opportunity for all, of which America is the outstanding example in all the world.
3. Through legislation continuing the provisions of Public Law 610, a redesign of the Booker T. Washington commemorative half dollar was authorized in 1951 to bear the likeness or George Washington Carver, famed Negro scientist and associate of Booker T. Washington, in connection with the creation of a. national monument out of the plantation in Missouri on which George Washington Carver was born.
4. These coins by public sale laid the foundation for the program to preserve that site and perpetuate the ideals and teachings of Booker T. Washington, as demonstrated in a life-time of service devoted to the progress of his own people and the building of cooperation and goodwill between the races in all parts of the country.
5. The public distribution of the Booker T. Washington commemorative half dollars made possible the most successful operation of its kind in history of commemorative coins. The 2,885,271 Booker T. Washington coins outsold by nearly 400,000 the sales of the Great Columbian Exposition issue with all of its vast publicity, unparalleled Federal backing, and the added influence of a world fair (2,498,300 Columbian Exposition coins sold). The Booker T. Washington issue surpassed in sales by nearly 50,000 pieces the next 11 highest issues (combined sales, 2,837,006); and doubled by more than 400,000 the combined sales of the other 39 commemorative coin issues. (Total of the 39 issues, 1,293,000.)
6. The net profit to the Treasury Department from issues of the Booker T.-Washington commemorative coins has been nearly one million dollars. But more than any financial yield to the Government ls the significant service to the American people of all races and to the cause of democracy the world over in thus paying tribute to a humble slave-born American who set in operation a great program of social and economic advancement for underprivileged peoples throughout the world. This result alone justifies whatever departure ls involved in administrative or operating policies of the Government.
To be continued...
Posted 02/26/2023 07:34 am
