I think
context is especially important for this brief story about the Booker T Washington ("BTW") Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar, so...
1. The BTW Birthplace Memorial used various promotions and price points to help spur sales of its commemorative coin. Overall, sales did not meet goals, however. (See various posts in:
Commems Collection for more information,)
2. To further assist the sales and fundraising efforts of the BTW Birthplace Memorial, Congress passed an amendment to the original BTW Birthplace Memorial coin bill in August 1951, it provided for the striking of the BTW - George Washington Carver Half Dollar. The amendment bill was signed into law by President Harry S. Truman on September 21, 1951.
3. At the time of the new coin's approval, the BTW Birthplace Memorial still had a large inventory of its original BTW coin.
To help clear out some of its inventory before its new coin became available, the Birthplace Memorial arranged with the Union Trust Company of Springfield, Massachusetts to run a special sales promotion from mid-August 1951 through September 14, 1951. The promotion made the BTW Half Dollar available for $0.60 per coin - just 10 cents above face value! - with the proceeds going to the BTW Birthplace Memorial in Franklin County, Virginia to help support its planned industrial training program for African Americans initiative.
The coin was to be made available at the main Springfield branch of Union Trust, along with its North Main and East branch offices.
The 60 cents per coin selling price was a significant retreat from the BTW Half Dollar's previous issue prices - typically $1.00 or more - but illustrates - IMO - that the Birthplace Memorial realized that it needed to get what it could for its coins by 1951 - any profit, even a small one, would be better than releasing them into general circulation at face value!
Though I haven't yet found such announcements, it seems likely that the Birthplace Memorial made similar arrangements with other banks/sales agents in addition to the Union Trust Company. (I'll update as information becomes known to me.)
1946 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more Booker T Washington stories, see:
Commems Collection
Posted 04/13/2026 2:47 pm
