Days Of Classic US Commemorative Coins

@ muddler - I recall your search for that lovely example ... and your joy at having finally acquired a splendid Antietam half.

Pleased to view it again and humbled by any small part I might have played in supporting your wise choice.

@ Marek101 - Your enthusiasm for the series is noted and appreciated by those of us who have developed a deep connection to the coins and events they commemorate.

The Battle of Antietam Anniversary half dollar is without doubt an outstanding artistic contribution to the series -

Hopeful that someday we can view and comment upon yours.

David

Day Fifty-Four: 1938 New Rochelle, New York

Why issued?

1) To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding and settlement of the city of New Rochelle, New York.
2) To help the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Committee (working on behalf of the New Rochelle Mayor's office) raise funds to support the city's planned anniversary celebrations.


Design // Designer

Obverse:. John Pell, Lord of Pelham Manor, receiving "one fatt calfe" (presumably the first) as part of the payment for the land purchased from him by the French Huguenot settlers who founded New Rochelle. // Gertrud K. Lathrop

Reverse: A French fleur-de-lis. The symbol is found on the Seal of New Rochelle as well as the Seal of Port of La Rochelle (the French port city from which New Rochelle got its name). // Gertrud K. Lathrop


Net Mintage:

15,251

Original Selling Price:

$2.00 (plus postage)


Quick Facts:

Lathrop was not the original artist chosen to design the coin. She was selected only after multiple of the New Rochelle Commemorative Coin Committee's previous designs were rejected by the Fine Arts Commission.

The model for the calf featured on the coin was "a young bull calf of thoroughbred Guernsey stock loaned the sculptor by the Kenwood Farm of Albany, NY." (from One Fatte Calfe by Amy Skipton).


Here's a link to one of my prior posts about the "New Rochelle" half dollar:
https://goccf.com/t/130904


My example has very nice surfaces and simply incredible cartwheel luster.

I have a New Rochelle but an image is yet to be captured of it.

Day Fifty-Four: 1946 Iowa Statehood

Why issued?

1) To commemorate 100th anniversary of the admission of Iowa into the Union as a State.
2) To help the Iowa Centennial Committee (working on behalf of the Governor of the State of Iowa) raise funds to support the state's planned anniversary celebrations.


Design // Designer

Obverse:. The Old Stone Capitol in Iowa City; the building served as the center of government for the last days of the Iowa Territory and first days of the State of Iowa. // Adam Pietz

Reverse: An eagle with its head bent forward, holding in its beak a ribbon with the inscription "Our Liberties We Prize And Our Rights We Will Maintain." Above the eagle are 29 stars. (Iowa was the 29th state to join the Union.) // Adam Pietz


Net Mintage:

100,000

Original Selling Price:

$2.50 (in state); $3.00 (out of state)


Quick Fact:

The coins were sold to Iowa residents via a lottery system. The coin's mintage was allocated among the state's counties based on their population (the higher the population, the more coins received). County residents who wanted to purchase a coin received a lottery ticket. If their number was drawn, they would have the opportunity to purchase a coin from a designated county bank. If the bank ran out of coins before a "winner" could purchase his/her coin, they had to hope the bank would receive more coins from a county that did not sell out its allocation. Approximately 85% of the coin's total mintage was distributed to Iowa residents via this system.


Here's a link to one of my prior posts about the "Iowa" half dollar: https://goccf.com/t/115624


My example is blast white with perfect cartwheel luster, it's a great looking coin in hand.

This has been a fun thread. We should get a few more posters with the last two coins coming up.

A side note about the Iowa commemorative is that 1,000 coins were set aside for distribution in the future.

500 for 1996 (the 150th anniversary) and 500 for 2046 (200th anniversary). http://www.pcgs.com/books/commemora...r08-166.aspx

I'm curious how many of the 500 were distributed in 1996. From my Google research, these were priced at $500 in a special holder. I can't imagine that there were many sold at that price.

Day Fifty-Five: 1946-51 Booker T. Washington Memorial

Why issued?

1) To commemorate the life and perpetuate the ideals and teachings of Booker T. Washington.
2) To help the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial of Virginia raise funds to purchase, construct and maintain suitable memorials to the memory of Booker T. Washington.


Design // Designer

Obverse:. Right-facing, three-quarter profile portrait of Booker T. Washington. // Isaac Scott Hathaway

Reverse: At the top is seen the colonnade of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans which is located on what was then the campus at New York University (it is now part of the campus of Bronx Community College). At the bottom is a slave cabin representative of BTW's first home. The commemorative inscriptions between the two architectural structures recall his rise from humble beginnings to that of a recognized leader within the Africa-American community. // Isaac Scott Hathaway


Net Mintages:

1946: 500,000
1946-D: 100,000
1946-S: 320,000
1947: 10,000
1947-D: 10,000
1947-S: 10,000
1948: 8,000
1948-D: 8,000
1948-S: 8,000
1949: 6,000
1949-D: 6,000
1949-S: 6,000
1950: 6,000
1950-D: 6,000
1950-S: 277,000
1951: 279,369
1951-D: 7,000
1951-S: 7,000


Original Selling Prices:

1946: $1.00
1946-D/S: $1.50
1947: $6.00 per PDS set
1948: $7.50 per PDS set
1949: $8.50 per PDS set
1950: $8.50 per PDS set; $1.00 for S-mint coin
1949: $8.50 per PDS set; $3.00 per individual coin


Quick Facts:

Booker T. Washington was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in 1945, making the depiction of the Hall's colonnade very timely.

The legislation authorizing the BTW half dollar allowed for a total mintage of 5,000,000 and for the coins to be struck over a five-year period. Sales of the coins, though strong overall, did not meet the sponsor's hoped for sell out. A total (all dates, all mint marks) of roughly 1.57 million coins were sold (31.5% of the authorized maximum) which puts the BTW program in second place among the classic commemorative programs in terms of net mintage (the 1892-93 World's Columbian Exposition program ranks #1 with over 2.5 million total coins distributed).


Here's a link to one of my previous posts on the "Booker T" half dollar:https://goccf.com/t/133170


My coin is a brilliant, lustrous example struck by the Philadelphia Mint in 1946. (For my Type Set, I prefer first-year-of-issue coins.)