Commems Collection Classic: 1892-93 World's Columbian Exposition - Casting A Larger Net

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commems CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives United States 12252 Posts	Posted 03/18/2022 7:03 pm Lackluster initial sales of its World's Columbian Exposition souvenir half dollar drove the Directors of the Exposition Company to expand the sales outlets for their coin beyond direct mail order and banks to include stores across the country. The following newspaper ad was placed in February 1893: World's Columbian Exposition Souvenir Coin 1893 Newspaper Ad The Advocate and Topeka Tribune. (Topeka, Kan.), 15 Feb. 1893. The Exposition Company played "hardball" with those who had to place mail orders directly with them - a five coin minimum was imposed! (Buyers did, at least, get free shipping!) Ultimately, sales of the half dollar never reached hoped-for levels and ~1.1 million unsold coins were placed into circulation at face value. 1892 World's Columbian Exposition Half Dollar For other of my posts about the Columbian half dollar, or other commemorative coins and medals, have a look at: Read More: Commems Collection. Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved. Edited by commems 03/18/2022 7:12 pm Report this Post to the Staff

Coinfrog Bedrock of the Community United States 94367 Posts	Posted 03/18/2022 7:09 pm I actually found one in circulation when I was a kid (1960) and still have it. But remember, back then, all half dollars were silver! Report this Post to the Staff
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15388 Posts	Posted 03/19/2022 06:23 am That sales poster is a fun read of colorful salesmanship to stretch the truth on the availability of the coins. 'denied the pleasure of becoming possessors' and 'extraordinary and growing demand' Quote: and ~1.1 million unsold coins were placed into circulation at face value. I can attest that as a modern age collector of circulated classic silver commemoratives, this is a very common issue to obtain today in that state. That said, there must be interesting backstory as to why an 1893 example was authorized and produced given the large quantity of the 1892 issue not being sold at a premium. I'm quire confident commems that the answer to that topic is a subject of one of your commems collection posts - so I'm going to go looking for it. Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff
commems CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives United States 12252 Posts	Posted 03/19/2022 10:39 am Quote: there must be interesting backstory as to why an 1893 example was authorized and produced given the large quantity of the 1892 issue not being sold at a premium. Congress authorized a total of five million Columbian half dollars, in lieu of a straight-up cash appropriation of $5 million; it was understood the coins would be sold for $1 each to reach the Exposition Company's desired $5 million funding level. While the Act set the production total, it did not, however, specify a time/calendar year restriction for the coinage. The Act was approved on August 5, 1892. The US Mint struck 950,000 of the coins with a date of "1892" and 4,052,105 (including 2,105 for assay) dated "1893;" all of the 1893 coins were struck prior to June 30, 1893 (the end of the Mint's 1893 Fiscal Year) - the Exposition opened May 1, 1893. US Mint procedure dictated the dating of the coins in the year in which they were struck - a new authorizing act was not needed for the "1893" dated coins. Examples of the "1892" and "1893" coins were dumped into circulation in 1895, well after the Exposition had closed, sales efforts for the coin had officially ended and ~2.5 million 1893-dated coins had been returned to the Mint to be melted. At the time of the add shown above, the Exposition was still a "future" event and optimism around coin sales - though shaken a bit - remained positive. Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved. Report this Post to the Staff
jacrispies Pillar of the Community United States 3848 Posts	Posted 03/19/2022 11:02 am Very interesting information, thank you for sharing. That explains why most columbian halves are in the XF-AU range. I would be disappointed paying 2x face value for a handful of coins that could be later purchased for face value in circulation. Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955 Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187582 Posts	Posted 03/19/2022 7:18 pm Very interesting! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
hokiefan_82 Pillar of the Community United States 3634 Posts	Posted 03/20/2022 01:49 am Thanks for the information! It is quite interesting regarding the 5 coin minimum for mail order - $5 was quite a lot of money for the average wage-earner in the late 19th century... Member of SPMC, FCCB, ANA and ANS. My U.S. Classic Commemorative Complete Set: https://www.NGCcoin.com/registry/co...sets/278741/ My U.S. Fractional Note Set: https://notes.www.collectors-societ...eSetID=34188 Report this Post to the Staff
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