I always enjoy reading ongoing newspaper coverge of the early US commemorative coins to get a sense of the excitement or disinterest for new issues. Here are a few tidbits for the Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar circa its approval and initial distribution period (1926-27).
From
The Washington Times of March 1, 1926:
"Ezra Meeker, one of the pioneers who blazed the Oregon Trail, will appear before the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures at 10 a.m., tomorrow [March 2, 1926] to advocate passage of a bill authorizing coinage of half dollars commemorating the heroism of the Oregon settlers.
Mr. Meeker, who is 96 years old, is president and member of the board of directors of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association."I've posted before about the Hearing and Meeker's statements during it - he was a persuasive gentleman! The Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar was approved and authorized on May 17, 1926.
Reacting to the approval, the
Seward Daily Gateway (Seward, Alaska) in its June 28, 1926 edition, commented:
"While the Stone Mountain memorial campaigners are selling their 50 cent pieces, Congress has authorized the minting of an Oregon Trail half dollar. if the practice of using the currency to promote good causes keeps up, a man will not know whether his silver change is money or souvenirs."Anticipation builds!
From the Washington. DC
Evening Star of July 3, 1926 (from the paper's "Answers to Questions" column):
"Q. When will the Oregon Trail coins be struck?
A. A design for this coin has not been accepted yet."The coin's design is approved!
From the Washington. DC
Evening Star of August 6, 1926:
"Design for the new Oregon Trail half-dollar commemorative of the heroic pioneers who traversed that trail [the Oregon Trial] was approved yesterday [August 5, 1926] by Acting Secretary of the Treasury Winston and has been turned over to the United STates Mint for coinage.
"The design was modeled by Mrs. Laura Gardin Fraser, in collaboration with her husband James E. Fraser, sculptor of the Alexander Hamilton monument and designer of the buffalo [sic] nickel. The model was approved by the Fine Arts Commission before coming to the Treasury.
"The new coin will bear on its obverse a prarie schooner and on the reverse an Indian standing before a map of the United States, in protest against the coming of the white man."Once available, the Memorial Association began promoting its coins.
From the
Evening Star of April 1, 1927:
Commentary about the new coins published in the April 4, 1927 edition of the
Evening Star of Washington, DC:
"The Oregon Trail half dollars on sale at the Riggs National Bank are finding a ready demand. They are excellent souvenirs. At least one banker has used several of them for tips, to the great delight of the recipients."Those are just a few of the published references to the Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar during its early days, there were many others in the general media - with Ezra Meeker always available for a quote!
1926 Oregon Trail Memorial Association Half Dollar
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more on the history and design of each of the half dollars presented here, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 10/25/2022 11:45 am
