Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1937 University Of Louisville Centennial

In January 1937, Emmet O'Neal (D-KY) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that called for 50-cent pieces "in commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the University of Louisville...the oldest municipal university in the United States." The Louisville, Kentucky university officially celebrated its centennial in 1937, though it was just one of several potential centennial dates.

The year being recognized by the University's 100th anniversary celebrations was 1837, the year in which the Louisville Medical Institute (LMI) opened (it was chartered in 1833) and the Louisville Collegiate Institute (LCI) was chartered (it opened in 1838). The Kentucky Legislature created the University of Louisville in 1846 when the two schools were combined, along with the newly-formed Law School, under one Board of Trustees.

The University can theoretically trace its roots to 1798 and the chartering of the Jefferson Seminary in Louisville. Though it took more than a decade to open (the Seminary opened in 1813) and it closed its doors in 1829, the Seminary was the foundation of the higher education institutions of Louisville and has verifiable connections to the University via the LCI's inheritance of Jefferson Seminary funds that were originally designated for higher education in Louisville.

I mentioned "potential centennial dates" in my opening paragraph above, because, based on its history, the University of Louisville can consider 1798, 1837, 1838 and 1846 all as legitimate milestone years upon which to base a centennial celebration. In the mid-1930s, the University identified 1837 as its founding year and thus celebrated 1937 as its "Centennial." Interestingly, in 1948, the University celebrated its 150th anniversary by considering Kentucky's 1798 charter of the Jefferson Seminary its historical founding. Just eleven years later on the calendar, but 39 years added to the University's history!

The O'Neal bill specified a minimum mintage of 50,000 half dollars, but was open-ended in terms of a maximum mintage. (Side Note: The Roanoke Colony Memorial Half Dollar bill/Act was similar; it specified a minimum mintage of 25,000 half dollars without setting an upper limit.) The bill did not limit the number of Mint facilities that could be engaged to strike the coin, but did specify that the coins were all to be dated 1937 "irrespective of the year in which they are minted or issued." (It seems like 1937 P/D/S sets would have been a very real possibility.) The bill set an expiration date for coining authority of one year after its enactment.

The commemorative half dollars were to be struck for the benefit of the Centennial Celebration Committee of the University of Louisville; the Committee was to use net proceeds from coin sales to defray centennial celebration expenses.

Upon its introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. It was never reported by the Committee and thus died with the adjournment of the 75th Congress - another 1937 commemorative coin proposal that fell by the wayside.

For additional details on the history of the University of Louisville, check out:

- University of Louisville: A Brief History


For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see: Commems Collection.