Commems Collection Classic: 1946 Iowa Statehood Centennial - Congress

With World War II nearly at an end and the prospects of life in the United States slowly returning to "normal," Karl Miles Le Compte (R-IA) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that called for "the coinage of 50-cent pieces in commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the admission of Iowa into the Union as a State." (The bill was introduced on February 27, 1945.)

The bill was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. The Committee, chaired by Compton Ignasius White (D-ID), sent copies of the bill to the Treasury Department to get its views on the proposed coinage.

Not surprisingly, the Treasury was not in favor of additional commemorative coinage. In its letter to the Committee, Daniel Wafena Bell, Acting Secretary (Undersecretary) of the Treasury, wrote:

"The Treasury Department has long been on record as opposed to the issuance of commemorative coins."

He continued,

"The mints are working 24 hours a day to fill unprecedently heavy orders for coins for regular issues, to produce medals and awards for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard and to manufacture coins for many friendly foreign countries having no minting facilities of their own. The mints can ill afford to spare machinery and personnel for the additional task of handling the technical problems and the work entailed in the issuance of a commemorative coin of a new design as provided in the bill under consideration."

With such a view from the Treasury, the Committee had little choice. So, on July 12, 1946, it reported the bill favorably without amendment and recommended that it pass.

Following the Committee Report, Representative Le Compte brought the bill up for consideration.

"Mr. Speaker, this bill...provides for the coinage of a special half dollar to commemorate the centennial of statehood of Iowa, which occurred 100 years ago this year. The bill will not cost the Federal Government a cent since it provides specifically that the cost of the dies and other preparations are not to be paid by the Government but by the party interested. Under the terms of the bill, 100,000 coins will be minted which will be legal tender at face value. They will be purchased by the State of Iowa and resold at par or at a premium.

"Many times the Federal Government has put out special memorial coins. In view of the important place our State holds in the Nation, this bill has been given unanimous approval by the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, and we have had valuable assistance from the chairman of the committee, and I trust will have approval of the House." ·

The bill was approved without debate and sent to the Senate for its consideration and approval. The Senate also approved the bill without debate and notified the House of such. The bill was then examined and signed in each chamber, presented to the President and signed into law by US President Harry S. Truman on August 7, 1946.

With the approval, the US Mint was back in the commemorative coin business after a multi-year absence (it last struck a new commemorative coin - the 1937 Battle of Antietam 75th Anniversary Half Dollar in August 1937; the 1938-dated New Rochelle 250th Anniversary of Settlement Half Dollar was struck in April 1937. Coins for the ongoing Oregon Trail Memorial and Arkansas Statehood Centennial programs were struck for 1939).

Note: The Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar was approved by President Truman the same day.

1946 Iowa Statehood Centennial Half Dollar



For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, including other Iowa half dollar stories, see: Commems Collection.