History...1925-S Fort Vancouver Half Dollar

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Author	Replies: 10 / Views: 3,836
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15476 Posts	Posted 01/30/2011 7:09 pm In the spirit of sharing and knowledge building ... I will take some time to post photos and some history of some of the wonderful classic silver commemorative in my collection. Sooo ... in that regard this is post #1. The 1925 Fort Vancouver half dollar was struck at the San Francisco mint ... but the 'S' mint-mark was inadvertently left off the coin ... imagine that happening today. This coin commemorates the 100th anniversary of the founding of the then-frontier outpost Fort Vancouver, Washington by US settlers led by Dr. John McLoughlin ... his portrait is shown on the obverse of the coin. The settlers were acting on behalf of the Hudson Bay Company ... as can be seen on the reverse of the coin. This 'founding' and subsequent centennial commemoration with a USA half-dollar were a matter of regional interest at best ... and later US commemorative would soon exploit the idea of local interests made official on a USA coin (more to come on that topic when we explore the 1936 issues). Interesting historical sidenote is that Dr. McLoughlin (in 1842) founded an outpost and subsequent city in Oregon City ... which became the main point of entry for settlers traveling the Oregon Trail. Sooo .. the Fort Vancouver half dollar was designed by Sidney Bell ... and the actual final models were prepared by the grand-dame of US Commemorative Laura G. Fraser. 50,028 Fort Vancouver half-dollars (of 300,000 authorized by Congress) were struck at the San Francisco mint ... and in a publicity stunt on August 1, 1925 they were all delivered by air from San Francisco to Vancouver. Imagine if that plane had crashed ... no Fort Vancouver halves for us today! Anyways ... the coin proved unpopular at the original issue price of $1 ... and eventually 35,034 MS coins were returned to the San Francisco mint for melting. Considering the coins un-sold and returned for melting ... the net mintage of this coin is 14,994 total. Today ... The Fort Vancouver half-dollar is a valued and highly sought after coin for those of us trying to collecting the US Classic silver commemorative series. The Optimal Collecting Grade (OCG) today for this coin is MS64 ... as shown by the following 12-18-2010 Numismedia price guide figures .. MS61 ... $368 MS62 ... $380 MS63 ... $420 MS64 ... $525 MS65 ... $1,160 MS66 ... $1,630 MS67 ... $4,910 Lastly ... here is a photo of my lovely CAC approved PCGS MS65 Fort Vancouver half dollar. Brilliant white with no toning ... just the way I like them. I hope someone enjoys this type of thread ... and am looking forward to reporting in a similar manner on the remainder of of classic silver set. Enjoy David Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff

gilgerr24 Valued Member United States 214 Posts	Posted 01/30/2011 10:35 pm wow, thanks for the info. I love the old 50c commemoratives. to bad I will never be able to afford the set, but its nice to try. nice looking coin. Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 189340 Posts	Posted 01/31/2011 5:53 pm Very nice! Thank you for sharing the coin and the history. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
yotie Pillar of the Community United States 3077 Posts	Posted 01/31/2011 6:09 pm very cool thank you cant wait till ya do dan boone Report this Post to the Staff
numismaniac Valued Member United States 361 Posts	Posted 02/09/2011 09:52 am Hello David, thanks for the interesting and informative post. I collect older, classic commemoratives and enjoy learning all I can about them . I am looking forward to future posts. I just picked up a 1937 copy of "Commemorative Coins of the United States" compiled and published by Max Mehl. Regarding the 1925 Fort Vancouver he wrote "These coins today are classed among the rarest of the series (due to the meltings you mentioned) and the coin is destined to become a real rarity. This was written in 1937, Bob Report this Post to the Staff
numismaniac Valued Member United States 361 Posts	Posted 02/09/2011 09:57 am Gilgerr24, never say never. Some of the early commemoratives can be found in circulated condition and are not too expensive. Report this Post to the Staff
SDcoinguy Pillar of the Community United States 2424 Posts	Posted 02/09/2011 11:58 am that history is amazing! I love history! you think commemorative coins today will be worth and sought after like these ones some day? Report this Post to the Staff
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15476 Posts	Posted 02/09/2011 8:01 pm Thanks for the replies .... some feedback for you .. First .... given time constraints of work et all I do intend to spin up one of these 'history' posts on occasion ... using actual coins from my collection and based on my honest research. Quote: I just picked up a 1937 copy of "Commemorative Coins of the United States" compiled and published by Max Mehl. Great history there indeed ... I have a well used example purchased on E-Pray a year or so ago ... appreciate the reminder to reference this source for future posts. Quote: to bad I will never be able to afford the set I agree with numismaniac .... never say never. Keep your dreams alive and focus the goals. I am also working on a type set of circulated Classic US Silver Comm .... and many of them were purchased at less than $30 each. Quote: cant wait till ya do dan boone I have that coin in PCGS MS65 .... will get to it soon. David Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Report this Post to the Staff
JRose36 New Member United States 1 Posts	Posted 01/22/2012 11:18 am Hey, thanks for the info on the Hudson Bay Company 1925 half dollar. I recently received a few old coins from the safty deposit box of my grandfather. He past away and left me some coins. 1 of those coins is one of these 1925 Hudson Bay Company Half Dollars. I have not seen another one on the net for comparison purposes that is as good of shape as mine. I am aware of the fact that some were counterfieted, however given the lack of tooling marks under the CEN in Centennial and the patina and the fact that my grandpa saved only his most important coins makes me feel that this is real and not counterfiet. I cant seem to upload the picture's but this coin is in awesome shape. Please let me know how to get it verified and or valued. thank you john Report this Post to the Staff
cc99999 Pillar of the Community United States 1302 Posts	Posted 01/22/2012 12:38 pm The Vancouver is really tough to pull in MS-65+. The reason isn't so much the mintage (most of the 14,000+ that were minted survive, and a majority of the survivors are mint state. The reason behind the lack of gem specimens has to do with the high parts of the coin routinely got scuffed because of the lack of special packaging- and well struck examples with full details on the trapper are extremely scarce. It's rumored that there are three matte proofs of this issue. Breen could confirm only one, however. That coin would be worth a hundred thousands dollars or more if it were offered for sale. Report this Post to the Staff
PeaceBD New Member United States 33 Posts	Posted 02/09/2012 11:49 pm A very informative thread. Thanks for the effort. Report this Post to the Staff
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