Days Of Classic US Commemorative Coins

I'll use Wild Card Wednesday to play "catch up";

Finally! A chance to share my latest (and final for the 7070) US Commemorative Purchase...

1923-S Monroe Doctrine Half Dollar



For those who did not know, our very own commems was the first (and so far only CCF) member (other than myself) to have held this coin in hand.



It was quite possible that you could have seen this one as my purchase. I went to that show with the intention of buying this one or the one pictured above.

I am going to say the Gettysburg commemorative was most worthy of a commemorative. The battle was one of the worst of the Civil War and there were veterans alive at the time of issue who participated.

Least worthy in my opinion is the Old Spanish Trail as it lacks historic merit.

Fun day so far of views on worthy versus non-worthy ... and some tremendous 'catch up' coins.

@ aleroe -lovely 'catch up' example of the Lynchburg half ... which is scheduled to be discussed tomorrow.

@ MeadowviewCollector - I considered those same exact coins (along with the Antietam half) for the same exact reasons.

@ jbuck - We'll make a commemorative collector out of you yet! The 1926 Sesqui half dollar is relatively inexpensive ... no set is complete without one.

@ oih82w8 - Tremendous selection of 4 examples for your 7070.

@ NumisRob - Pleased to see a member from across the pond enjoying these historical coins.

@ muddler - No argument from me for your vote on the Oregon Trail ... a truly worthy coin from many perspectives.

Hopeful that everyone continues their valued contributions to this tremendous thread of knowledge.

David

Day Forty-Four: 1936 Lynchburg, Virginia Sesquicentennial

Why issued?

1) To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the issuance of the charter to the City of Lynchburg, Virginia.
2) To help the Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association raise funds to support its planned anniversary celebrations.


Design // Designer

Obverse:. A left-facing portrait of Senator Carter Glass (a then current Senator of Virginia). // Charles Keck

Reverse: A standing Lady Liberty with welcoming, outstretched arms; in the background is seen the old Lynchburg Courthouse. // Charles Keck


Net Mintage:

20,000

Original Selling Price:

$1.00


Quick Fact:

Senator Glass did not want to be featured on the commemorative coin and even contacted the Treasury Department in an attempt to be removed from consideration as he didn't believe a living person should be depicted.


Here's a link to my prior post about the "Lynchburg" half dollar:
https://goccf.com/t/116692


My example has a brilliant obverse and reverse, with just the slightest hint of toning on the obverse and a bit of peripheral toning on the top half of the reverse. Both sides have nice cartwheel luster and a minimum of marks.

Fun trivia question -

Name the USA legal tender coin with the smallest statutory required legend LIBERTY?

It takes a good eye or perhaps a magnifier ... look closely at the reverse of this coin and look below the CH of CHARTERED ... there is minted the answer.

The Albany half dollar is another (one of 13) classic silver commemorative authorized to honor events of purely local significance.

Really ... another USA half dollar honoring a city? Such was the nature of the 'craze' in 1936 ... which alas quickly lead to the demise of the series.

The artistic appeal of this coin IMHO overcomes the insignificance of it's reason for being issued ... similar to the 1935 Hudson (NY) coin and few others to be discussed soon.

Gertrude Lathrop wonderful design is appealing to many collectors ... and widely recognized as a worthy artistic contribution to the classic silver set.

Where else are you going to find a beaver on a USA coin ... which was modeled from a live animal in Gertrude studio?

1936 Albany (NY) Charter 250th Anniversary - PCGS MS66/CAC



Whiter in hand than my poor digital photos show - gotta enjoy that beaver. :)

1936 Albany (NY) Charter 250th Anniversary - PCGS VG10



Tremendous circulated example ... originally certified as PCGS VF25 ... demonstrative of the PCGS wizards difficulty to judge these rarely seen lowball commemorative.

A modern collector aspiring to purse the circulated commemorative set will find the Albany half dollar to be a challenging addition in honest certifiable state.

PCGS has certified 5 Albany half below AU ... my VG10 example is Pop 1/1 with a stunning FR02 as the current lowball.

David

Very interesting piece of trivia.