A few notes from my "Iowa File":
Tidbit #1Production of the Iowa State Centennial half dollar is reported to have begun at 10:12 am on Wednesday, November 20, 1946. (The coin had been approved on August 7, 1946.) Production of the 100,000 authorized Iowa half dollars was just one coin among the Mint's high-volume, post World War II production - for example, about 1.5 billion Lincoln Cents were struck in 1946.
Tidbit #2Ralph Evans, Chairman of the Iowa Centennial Committee's Coin and Stamp Subcommittee, traveled to Washington, DC for the start of coin production. He brought with him a check to pay for the coins and associated start-up production costs (e.g., die creation). Evans served as the representative of Iowa Governor Robert D. Blue.
Tidbit #3The selling price for the commemorative half dollar was still undecided at the time of its striking. Some favored a price of $5 per coin to discourage volume purchases/hoarding, others supported a more "collector friendly" $1 per coin. In the end, a compromise was reached with the coins offered to Iowa residents at $2.50 each, with out-of-state residents paying $3 per coin (included postage, handling and insurance costs). The price was set at $3 per coin for all orders in early 1947.
Tidbit #4To purchase a coin, Iowa residents submitted an application to their local bank - the application period was limited. Initially, some banks were oversubscribed, while others had a surplus of coins. (Iowa banks were allotted 90,000 of the half dollars - some sources state 95,000.) Regardless of its actual coin supply status, residents continued to be directed to apply for the coin at their local bank. Residents were given an assurance by the Iowa Centennial Committee that a fair distribution model would be implemented that handled orders on the county-level as well as a state-level. (It's unclear if/how many orders went unfilled - the coin supply did sell out by March 1947.)
1946 Iowa Statehood Centennial Half Dollar
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more commemorative "Tidbit" stories, see:
Commems Collection
Posted 01/19/2026 12:02 pm
