Commems Collection Classic: What If? Phantom 1940 Baltimore College Of Dental Surgery

Here's a Phantom that slipped by during my initial pass through these "almosts" - I had read about it, but somehow forgot to include it with the others.

The June 1938 issue of the American Numismatic Association's The Numismatist magazine published notice of a commemorative coin bill that reportedly had been prepared for introduction in Congress; the bill was to propose half dollars for the centennial of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. No statement of the number of coins to be requested was included in the brief notice.

The Baltimore College of Dental Surgery was chartered by the Maryland General Assembly in 1840; it was the first dental school to be established. The school was initially proposed to be part of the University of Maryland's medical school, but the General Assembly rejected the proposal, and set the course for a separate dental college. By the time of the coin bill, the College was no longer independent and had been incorporated into the University of Maryland system; it was generally known as the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.

From what I can find, the bill was never formally introduced in Congress. The American Dental Association (ADA) held a convention in Baltimore, MD from May 18 to May 20, 1940 to help mark the centennial of "the founding of the first institution for the formal teaching of dental science and the dental art..." - it's possible that the upcoming convention was a "bonus" catalyst for the potential coin proposal in 1938.

I have not yet encountered a privately-struck medal for the school's 1940 centennial - anyone else?


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? and What If? Phantom stories, see: Commems Collection.