Commems Collection Classic: Quick Bits 118 - A Huguenot Connection

I recently posted about the connection between the 1925 Norse-American Centennial Medal and the 1936 Landing of the Swedes in Delaware 300th Anniversary Half Dollar:

- 1936 Delaware Tercentenary - A New Connection

Here is another pair of classic-era US commemorative pieces that are linked by a common ethnicity: 1924 Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar and the 1938 New Rochelle, NY 250th Anniversary Half Dollar.

The 1924 coin was issued "in commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of the settling of New Netherland, the Middle States, in 1624, by Walloons, French and Belgian Huguenots, under the Dutch West India Company."

The 1938 half dollar was issued "in commemoration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding and settlement of the city of New Rochelle, New York."

But where's the Huguenot connection? New York?

While the New York connection is certainly true, it's not the one I'm highlighting here.

French Huguenots were among those recognized for the 1624 settlement of what would become New York City and the surrounding area. New Rochelle, NY was also settled by Huguenots.

Per the New Rochelle celebration's Official Historical Program: "New Rochelle was settled by Huguenots. It took its name from the fortified seacoast city of La Rochelle in old France which during the Reformation was the citadel of Calvinism. New Rochelle, likewise, was the only Huguenot settlement in the New World to retain its integrity as a French Protestant community, speaking the French language and living according to old country traditions until the tide of immigration following the War of Independence stirred the melting pot which gave us a common tongue."

And so, if you are of Huguenot ancestry, a pairing of the 1924 and 1938 commemorative half dollars seems a perfect way to pay homage. (If you're not of Huguenot ancestry, the two coins are an interesting and relatively inexpensive mini thematic set of US commemorative coins.)

1924 Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary Half Dollar


1938 New Rochelle, NY 250th Anniversary Half Dollar


New Rochelle - City of Huguenots

(Image Credit: New Rochelle - Two Hundred and Fifty Years Official Historical Program / New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce, 1938.)


For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, including more about the Huguenot-Wallon and New Rochelle, NY half dollars, see: Commems Collection.