Commems Collection: 1951-54 George Washington Carver-Booker T Washington - A Nehi Connection

Here's another example of the marketing prowess of Sidney J. Phillips...

In 1954, the Nehi Bottling Company showed its support for the George Washington Carver-Booker T. Washington Half Dollar by purchasing 2,000 of the coins from its sponsors and then making them available at face value to schools, churches, fraternal organizations and non-profit groups. The groups were to sell the coins at $0.60 each, with the extra $0.10 to be kept by the organization for its use. Groups could purchase up to 250 coins from Nehi at the special face value price. Phillips was the driving force - behind the scenes - of the promotion. (Note: At the time, individual coins were being sold/marketed by the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial and George Washington Carver National Monument Foundation for $1.50 to $2.00. Though not published, it seems likely that Nehi was able to purchase its bulk lot of coins at a substantial discount from such prices.)

1951-54 George Washington Carver - Booker T. Washington Half Dollar


Nehi's involvement stemmed from Phillips' prior connections with the company. A brief background on the relationship:

"In 1940 [Phillips] organized the Booker T. Washington Sales Agency, an advertising and promotional firm, at Tuskegee, Alabama. Around this time he was first employed by the Nehi Corporation of Columbus, Georgia, to conduct a sales promotion campaign for Royal Crown Cola and other Nehi beverages among Negroes. During the Second World War, Nehi donated his services to the war effort to collect salvage and to work with the War Finance Division in promoting bond sales among those of his race. In 1943 Phillips was appointed Director of Public Relations for the National Baptist Convention, the nation's largest Negro body. This connection was also profitable to Nehi, since Phillips promoted its products at the annual conventions." (Booker T. Washington National Monument: An Administrative History, National Park Service.)

Phillips maintained his good relationship with the company. In 1945, Nehi provided the funds (via a mortgage) Phillips used to purchase the BTW birthplace property from John D. Robertson.

Historical Note: In 1954, a bottle of Nehi soda generally cost $0.10 - though it could sometimes be found for less (e.g., $0.05 - $0.07).

The popularity of Nehi (R) waned in the 1950s in the face of competition from the likes of Coca-Cola (R) and Pepsi-Cola (R), but was brought back into the mainstream American consciousness thanks to Corporal "Radar" O'Reilly (M*A*S*H, 1972-83) and his fondness for grape Nehi soda while in Korea during the Korean War (1950-53).


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, or to learn more about the history of the GWC-BTW half dollar, check out: Commems Collection.