A few tidbits about the 1936 Bridgeport, Connecticut Centennial Half Dollar - circa 1936 quotes...Tidbit #1Regarding the Bridgeport half dollar's design, Director of the United States ("US") Mint - Nellie Tayloe Ross - stated, "Connecticut sponsors of the Bridgeport coin emphasized that they desire to pay honor to Barnum not because of his connection with the circus but because of his philanthropic and civic contributions as a citizen of Bridgeport."
Tidbit #2The Managing Director of the Bridgeport Centennial Committee reinforced Ross' message with, "We believe it is most fitting and desirable to pay tribute to Mr. Barnum by having issued a commemorative half-dollar bearing a likeness of his profile, because he worked diligently for the betterment of the city he called 'home.'"
Tidbit #3An August 17, 1936 editorial in the
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia) took a different view of the selection of PT Barnum for the Bridgeport coin: "Whether or not someone has made a sucker of the Federal Government may be a debatable question, but there is no doubt that the Government has at last recognized the genius of the late and great P. T. Barnum, the Yankee who discovered, among other things, that there was money in the superlatives of the English language and that a "sucker" was born every minute in the land of the free and the home of the brave."
Of course, today, the Barnum "sucker" myth is seriously questioned. See
Commems Collection Classic: Government Officials - Part III for a brief Note on the topic.
Tidbit #4The
Waterbury Democrat (Waterbury, Connecticut) was more supportive with its comments: "Barnum would love it...What wouldn't this grand old showman who was much more than that to Bridgeport, having served as its mayor and also donated to it many valuable property holdings, say to this honor. Never in his palmy days did he think he would grace a 50-cent piece."
Note: "Palmy Days" refers to the time that follows a period of great success. The peak of Barnum's fame was during the 1840s to 1880s period; he launched his circus in 1871. Barnum died in 1891. 1936 Bridgeport, CT Centennial Half Dollar
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more Bridgeport half dollar stories,see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 04/16/2026 09:49 am
