Commems Collection Classic: US Commemorative Coins Depicting An Explorer

I enjoy your index summary threads - they represent a great resource to jump start reading on a common theme.

Thank you for compiling them for us, and of course kudos for the underlying scholarship behind each individual referenced thread.




Of course you have. You want us to have some fun as well with the topic.

I suggest that the 1921 Missouri Centennial Half Dollar that depicts Daniel Boone on both the obverse and reverse is one such coin. It certainly is as appropriate as the 1934 - 1938 Daniel Boone Birth coins you mention.

I can make an argument that Dr. John McLoughlin who graces the obverse of the 1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar can be included. In 1825 he established Fort Vancouver as a fortified outpost. That meets my standard to be considered an explorer!

There are at least two others that I can mention - but in the spirit of sharing the commemorative fun I'll defer to others to identify and nominate them.

P.S. - Neptune riding backwards on a whale on the obverse of the Hudson half dollar is certainly an explorer - but that is not one of the others I have in mind.

You know me too well!



That's the one I purposely left off my list. It's now posted over in the "Post Your..." area.

Here's the link:

- 3b. 1921 Missouri Statehood Centennial



I considered McLoughlin and the 1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar, but decided he was more of a settler/administrator vs. explorer as the fort's geographic location was already somewhat established (adminstratively as Oregon Country under joint British and American control) and had a history of being involved with trade. Just my opinion, of course.



I can't find any verifiable documentation for sigtings of Neptune riding a whale, either forwards or backwards, on the present-day Hudson River. But I guess I can keep looking...



What were you thinking?

I can be persuaded to concur with that reasoning. No objections from me in not including Dr. McLoughlin.




I've rethought my original position, and have changed my mind of offering additional nominations, with one potential exception at the end of this reply.

For the record - I considered nominating Roger Williams landing ashore in 1636 to establish the Providence Plantations, as depicted on the 1936 Rhode Island (Providence) Tercentenary half dollar.

Some additional reading however convinced me to classify Mr. Willams as an original settler rather than an explorer, given that he originally arrived in Massachusetts in 1631 and was essentially expelled and forced to leave.

There is no record I can find of Mr. Williams exploring any new territory, he simply relocated from one early colony to another.

I'd appreciate your thoughts @commems on this interpretation.

The other potential, but miss, was Sir Walter Raleigh as depicted on the obverse of the 1937 Roanoke Island Anniversary half dollar.

I was going from faulty memory on this one. It did not take much research to remember that the erstwhile Mr. Raleigh never visited the New World.

But - hold on there - Ellinor Dare did! The mother of the first European child born in the New World.

Was she, and the remainder of the Lost Colony, explorers - or simply ill-fated settlers?

Your call on that one @commems.

I somehow missed that - my bad.

But you credit Sir Raleigh as the explorer.

Suggest another interpretation.

It was the original members of the Lost Colony who were indeed the explorers while Sir Raleigh managed the affairs from England.

So - it is indeed Ellinor Dare who is the named explorer of this original frontier on this coin.

She represents all the members of the Lost Colony - and as such I nominate all of them.

The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island (NC) were indeed explorers.

That is how I see it.