As I note at the start of each of these "Melting Pot" posts, I've written multiple times about the subject coin(s) - this time the Fort Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar - and prefer not to repeat too much of those previous posts here, so check out the links below for my previous posts on the topic coin(s) which provide more detail about the anniversary, the coin itself and the involvement of the US Congress that brought about its creation.The 1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar "boasts" several disappointments:
1. It was struck at San Francisco, but the "S" mint mark was accidentally left off the coin and thus deprived its sponsors "proof" of the regional origin of its coins.
2. The original order of 50,000 coins (from an authorization of 300,000) proved to be more than enough to meet the sales demand.
3. 70% of the struck coins were returned to the Mint to be melted.
The coins were struck in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Fort Vancouver on the north side of the Columbia River in what is now Vancouver, Washington (just north of Portland, Oregon). The fort served as a trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) which administered Britain's interests in the area; the area was jointly occupied by British and American frontiersmen, trappers and settlers.
The initial/only batch of Ft. Vancouver coins was struck at San Francisco in early August 1925; 28 assay coins were included in the production run. Sales, however, proved to be slower than expected and most of the coins went unsold. The Fort Vancouver Centennial Corporation - the coin's sponsor - experienced severe financial difficulties regarding its centennial celebration and the slow coin sales only added to its issues.
Eventually, 35,000 of the 50,000 coins struck were returned to the Mint to be melted. It's important to realize that the Vancouver National Bank held the coins as collateral against its initial payment for them, so the funds generated by the return and melting did not directly benefit the Centennial Corporation ability to pay other debts. The returned/melted figure was a whopping 70% of the struck total, but poor sales and financial pressures forced the unfortunate issue.
ICYWW: The issue price of the Ft. Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar was $1.00 each.
1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more on the Ft. Vancouver half dollars, see:
Commems Collection.For a list of posts specifically about the Design Details of the 1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial Half Dollar, see:
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Design Discussions - 1925 Fort Vancouver Centennial 
Posted 06/13/2023 08:48 am
(Keep 'em coming!)
