There's little argument to be made against Sidney J. Phillips being a tireless promoter of Booker Taliaferro Washington (BTW), his Birthplace Memorial, the 1946-51 BTW Memorial Half Dollar and the 1951-54 George Washington Carver - BTW (GWC-BTW) Half Dollar. The commemorative coins were just a small part of Phillips' efforts.
Though it had been two years since the last GWC-BTW Commemorative Half Dollar was struck (in 1954), the redoubtable Sidney J. Phillips (borrowing from the Schulyer piece, below) was stll hard at work in 1956 promoting BTW and the coins that featured his likeness.
1956 was the centennial year of BTW's birth - I previously posted about Phillips' failed attempts to secure a BTW Birth Centennial coin
What If? 1956 Booker T Washington Coin #3 or medal
What If? 1956 Booker T Washington Medal - and Phillips was actively promoting BTW and the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial during the anniversary year.
One avenue that Phillips used for raising awareness about the BTW Centennial was a series of promotional pieces placed in multiple newspapers; some were penned by Phillips, while others appeared to be the work of guest authors. Each piece touted BTW's achievements and legacy, and encouraged readers to follow BTW's lead and make a difference in society.
Following are the pieces published between October and December 1956:
Goodwill Building Crusade Advertisement / News Piece
Appeal to Americans Advertisement / News Piece
Booker T. Washington Centennial - Schuyler Advertisement / News Piece
Building Goodwill Advertisement / News Piece
Sidney J. Phillips / Goodwill Building Program - Imes Advertisement / News Piece
The ads solicit orders for the GWC-BTW Half Dollar at a selling price of just $1.00 - the last official issue price for the 1954 GWC-BTW half dollars was $10 per P/D/S set. No mention is made of the coin's year of issue or its Mint facility, but I'd bet a nickel that a Philadelphia-struck coin from 1952 would often be the coin delivered. The 1952-(P) issue had the highest original mintage (> 2 million) and net mintage - after melting - (~1.1 million).
Some of the ads also mention that complimentary copies of BTW's "Gems of Wisdom" leaflet were available. In case your time machine isn't working and you can't go back to 1956 to request your copy, here's mine for your perusal:
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more about Booke T. Washington, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 09/19/2024 10:15 am
