During the 1946 holiday season, the Booker T Washington Birthplace Memorial placed various newspaper advertisements for its newly-minted half dollar as a tool for "Giving Hope and Inspiration For Christmas and The New Year " while also proclaiming that its coin was "Not Only a Souvenir - Real Money - Authorized by CONGRESS."
The advertisements announced (with a bit of hyperbole regarding "sweeping"):
"A Grateful Nation Pays Tribute to an outstanding Negro educator. These coins are sweeping the country. Get yours now."Some of the advertisements promoted the half dollar's 'firsts' and implored readers to join in by proclaiming:
"Add Another FIRST!!
...Negro to appear on United States money -- Booker T. Washington;
...Negro to design United States money -- Isaac Hathaway, sculptor;
...Now Be the first to own a Booker T. Washington coin."The coin's philanthropic objectives were also touted:
"Help perpetuate the memory of Booker T. Washington by building a shrine and memorial of service at his birthplace in Franklin County, Virginia."The coin's potential many uses were presented via the following call to action included in some of the ads:
"SECURE THESE COINS FOR:
- A Keepsake, Pocketpiece
- Children's Bank, Investment, Gifts
- Security, Collector's Item."The first-year campaign offered single coins at $1.00 each; three-coin P/D/S sets were offered at $3.50. Free shipping, courtesy of an anonymous benefactor, was available on the first 100,000 coins ordered.
Production for the 1946-dated coins reached 1 million for the Philadelphia strikes, 200,000 for the Denver strikes and 500,000 for the San Francisco coins. Considering that ~800,000 of the 1,800,000 coins were later returned to the Mint to be melted, it's difficult to gauge the success of the 1946 holiday campaign. I think it's fair to say, however, that it was not overwhelming.
All of the advertisements included a convenient Order Form for the promotion's 'Special Offer.' Completed forms were to be sent directly to the Birthplace Memorial in Virginia.
Here's one of the advertisements:
(Image Source: Call and Post, December 21, 1946.)1946 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more BTW half dollar stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted Today 5H 1M ago
