Commems Collection Classic: What If? 1947 Patrick Henry Half Dollar - Redux

As it was a turbulent time for commemorative coin proposals in Congress, I wanted to revisit the 1947 Patrick Henry Half Dollar effort to clarify and expand my original story.

As I previously stated, Thomas Bahnson Stanley (D-VA) introduced a Patrick Henry commemorative coin bill in the House of Representatives (on January 23, 1947). The bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency.

The House bill was a companion to the bill introduced by Absalom Willis Robertson (D-VA) in the Senate the day before. Each of the bills sought half dollars "to commemorate the patriotic services of Patrick Henry and to perpetuate his home as a historic site." Robertson's bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, with a further referral to its Subcommittee on Currency and Coinage.

Each of the bills called for the striking of up to 300,000 silver 50-cent pieces, and that the coins were to be provided to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation. The Foundation was to use the profits it made from the sale of the coins to support education about Patrick Henry and his patriotic services, as well as to support the preservation of Henry's "home and last resting place in Red Hill, Virginia, forever as a national patriotic shrine." (Learn about Red Hill here: Patrick Henry National Memorial (Red Hill)

The Senate Subcommittee held a Hearing on February 10, 1947. On the docket were half dollar proposals for: the Wisconsin Statehood Centennial; Patrick Henry; the Reading, PA Bicentennial; the Utah Pioneers Centennial; the Opening of the Jamestown (Virginia) Drama and General Casimir Pulaski Birth Bicentennial - five coin Bills and one Joint Resolution (Pulaski) in all.

The Subcommittee met again two weeks later and agreed to report the Henry bill (and the others it had reviewed) favorably, with a recommendation for approval, to its parent committee, the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. It also recommended that the Senate bill to replace commemorative coins with commemorative medals be reported favorably. This report was made on February 28th.

Shortly before the Subcommittee's Report, however, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency received letters from the White House (President Truman) and the US Treasury Department which stated the opposition each had (once again!) to the continued issuance of commemorative coins. The letters requested/recommended that none of the coin proposals be passed.

Based on these letters, the Senate Committee sent the bills and resolution back to its Subcommittee for reconsideration. Ultimately, the Subcommittee withdrew its support for the coin proposals and reported such to the Committee. Only the commemorative medals bill was reported out favorably.

The medals-instead-of-coins bill passed in the Senate, but stalled in the House. This lack of action was used as an opportunity to re-engage on the commemorative coin bills that had previously been set aside.

The House Committee on Banking and Currency held a multi-coin Hearing in June 1947, the Senate Subcommittee on Currency and Coinage held a similar Hearing in July. The Patrick Henry proposal was reported out with a favorable recommendation to pass by the Senate Committees. The House Committee did not report on the bill with a recommendation for or against passage.

The Senate version of the Patrick Henry bill was passed by the Senate and sent to the House for its consideration. It was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency, but never reported out. So, there would be no commemorative half dollar honoring Patrick Henry. IMO, it was a deserving subject that should have been commemorated.


You can read my original, condensed post on the Patrick Henry Half Dollar here:

- What If? 1947 Patrick Henry Half-Dollar


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