In January 1938, Representative Alfred Lee Bulwinkle (D-NC) introduced a bill in the House that called for a half dollar to be struck "in commemoration of the one hundred and sixty-second anniversary of the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence in the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, on the 20th day of May 1775." (162nd? No doubt an odd anniversary for commemoration. I wonder why such a milestone was selected?)
The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence outlined steps that were to be taken by the County in response to the increasing oppression they were being subject to by King George III, the British Parliament and local Crown authorities. In essence, the County declared itself independent of British rule/authority. But did it happen as outlined in the bill's title (above) or are there reasons to cast doubts?
I previously posted about a pair of Mecklenburg commemorative medals struck by the US Mint in 1875 -
1875 Mecklenburg Declaration Centennial Medal - check it out for more of the story and decide with which side of the debate you agree!
Returning to my question, posed above, regarding the proposed coin's unusual anniversary...
The coin bill was less about a milestone anniversary, and more about the need for a fundraising tool in Charlotte, NC. The local Hornet's Nest Post of the American Legion had proposed construction of a War Memorial Building in Charlotte in 1936, and was looking for the coin to provide the needed building funds.
The coin bill sought the minting of up to 25,000 half dollars of standard specifications, but did not limit the number of Mint facilities that could be used, specify a year/date to appear on the coins or specify an expiration date for coining authority. So, a multi-mint, multi-year program was possible per the bill, but the relatively small mintage request and the time frame for the needed funds makes me believe it would have been a one-year (1937) issue - a three-coin P/D/S Set was certainly a possibility, however.
Upon its introduction in the House, it was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weight, and Measures. Senator Josiah William Bailey (D-NC) was set to introduce the bill in the Senate once it passed the House, but the bill was never reported out by the Committee and thus was never considered by the Whole House - it died for lack of action. As a result, Senator Bailey's support was never called into action.
An article in the
Charlotte Observer in February 1937 stated that the proceeds from the coin's sales were to go toward paying for the Memorial Building's construction and to defray the costs of the 1937 "May Twentieth" celebration in Charlotte. As construction costs for the War Memorial Building alone were estimated at more than $50,000, a bill calling for "just" 25,000 coins would have forced a selling price for the coins to be at least $2.50 each to cover their acquisition cost from the Mint ($0.50 each) and provide a minimum of $50,000 net (assuming a sell-out of all 25,000 at $2.00 net each). (A price of $3.00 per coin would have made the math work better.) A selling price of $2.50 (or $3.00) per coin would have been higher than other commemorative coin selling prices of the time and would likely have had a negative impact on sales.
I'm OK with this one failing to gain approval- I can enjoy and appreciate my medals all the more!
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What IF? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 08/22/2022 07:22 am
