Clinton, NY is a small village in upstate New York, east of Syracuse, southwest of Utica. It traces its roots to 1787 when several Revolutionary War veterans from Connecticut settled in the area - Captain Moses Foote, generally credited with leading the Clinton settlement efforts, was among them.
Upon learning the land upon which he and others were working to establish a settlement had previously been surveyed and was already the property of another, Foote traveled to Philadelphia, PA in the summer of 1788 to work out an agreement to purchase the land in question. The property was originally owned by Daniel Coxe, a former Governor of West New Jersey (1689-1692) and East New Jersey (1687-1688), but, as Coxe had died in 1730, it was then owned by his heirs. Foote was able to make the needed arrangements with Coxe's heirs and returned to upstate New York.
During its years of development, Clinton was a part of the Town of Whitestown, the Town of Paris and the Town of Kirkland. It became its own incorporated village in 1843 - the Village of Clinton, NY. The town was named after George Clinton, New York's first governor.
1927 Founding of New York State Government Medal
The Clinton, NY coin bill was introduced in the House by Representative Fred James Douglas (R-NY). It proposed half dollars "in commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the village of Clinton, New York."
The bill called for the striking of up to 50,000 half dollars on behalf of the Clinton Sesquicentennial Committee. No restrictions/limits on the Mint facilities that could be used to strike the coins was specified - P/D/S sets would have been possible.
By 1937, the House Committee had become a more difficult review group for commemorative coin proposals, and the very local nature of a coin for a small village in New York meant that it met a tough audience and had little chance of being reported favorably. In fact, the Committee took no action on the bill and it died for lack of action.
Collectors desiring a numismatic tribute to Clinton, NY have to content themselves with one of the medals (as above) struck for the source of the Village's name - NY Governor George Clinton. (Multiple different medals exist, the above is an example of one.)
For more on the Clinton Medal shown above, see:
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1927 New York State Government SesquicentennialFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out:
Commems Collection. 
Posted 06/29/2022 09:21 am
