Commems Collection Classic: 1920 Maine Statehood Centennial - Coin Delays

In my "Historical Tidbits" post for the 1920 Maine Statehood Centennial Half Dollar (see: 1920 Maine Statehood Centennial - Historical Tidbits), I mentioned that I would post more about the delays encountered by Maine in receiving its coin. Such post has been a long time coming, but here it is!


One element of the 100th Anniversary of Maine's Statehood was the Maine Centennial Exposition ("Exposition"), a celebration held in Portland, Maine from June 26, 1920 to July 5, 1920. In consideration of the opening date of the Exposition, the Maine Statehood Centennial Half Dollar was originally targeted for delivery to Maine by June 25, 1920 so that coins could be offered for sale at the time of the Exposition.

For more about the Exposition, see:

- 1920 Maine Statehood Centennial - Late For The Show!

Unfortunately for Maine, the June 25, 1920 target date was not achieved.

Maine Governor Carl Milliken responded to inquiries about the coin's delayed timeline with a defensive statement in July (after the Exposition had closed):

"The State of Maine did its part of the business on time and according to the requirements of the Government and we were promised in return that the coins would be delivered by June 25 at the latest."

Governor Milliken blamed the delay on the Commission of Fine Arts ("CFA"), and described the "hitch" in the process as a debate regarding whether sculpted models of the designs were needed or if the dies could be created directly from the available design drawings. The Mint's Engraving Department indicated that it could make the dies directly from the drawings, but the CFA insisted on its position and models were created; this delayed the minting of the coins.

You might wonder, "Was there an issue with the drawings created by Harry Cochrane, the artist contracted by the Maine Centennial Committee?" The answer was "Yes" - the CFA was not impressed with Cochrane's drawings - it called them amateurish - and did not want to proceed with them. As a result, the CFA had the Italian-American artist/sculptor Anthony de Francisci tighten up the designs and create sculpted plaster models.

Note: Anthony de Francisci is better remembered for his designs for the US Peace dollar vs. the Maine Statehood Centennial Half Dollar.

As the Act that authorized the Maine half dollar was not signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson until May 10, 1920, having coins in hand by June 25, 1920 would have been a very impressive feat. Especially, when all the steps that are required to be completed before the US Mint could begin striking the coins - design creation and finalization, design review and approval, die creation, etc.

The half dollars were struck in the August/September 1920 time frame and delivered to Maine shortly thereafter. They were sold for $1.00 each at local banks and through State offices.

Note: In December 1919, a plan to place the Maine Statehood Centennial half dollar directly into circulation (vs. selling it at a premium) to promote the State was considered - it did not prevail.

1920 Maine Statehood Centennial Half Dollar



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more stories about the Maine half dollar, see: Commems Collection.