Commems Collection Classic: What If? Phantom 1918 San Antonio Bi-Centennial Exposition

In 1915/16, the people of San Antonio, Texas organized a group to plan an Exposition to mark the 200th Anniversary of its settlement. The Exposition was also to be a vehicle to promote trade with the countries throughout the Americas. The Exposition was targeted for opening in January 1918.

San Antonio was settled by the Spanish in May 1718; the Alamo (a Spanish mission) was constructed. At the time, present-day Texas was part of New Spain (aka, Mexico) which was controlled by the Spanish. It was incorporated as a City in 1837. By 1860, San Antonio had become the largest city in Texas; Houston has since overtaken it.

A resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives ("House") in January 1916 by James Luther Slayden (D-TX) that sought US Government support for the proposed Exposition via the staging of a Government Exhibit and by the President officially inviting "all the Pan American countries and nations" to participate. The Resolution did not request a Federal appropriation, nor reference a commemorative coin.

A delegation from San Antonio went to Washington in May 1916 to lobby for the Exposition. Upon returning from the trip, James F. Garland, San Antonio City Commissioner reported that an unnamed Administration Official suggested that a souvenir coin be struck for the Exposition. (No doubt with the coins for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition fresh in the memory.) It was likely that such a coin, if struck, would be a half dollar piece, but some favored a 12-1/2 Cent piece (aka, a "bit") in recognition of the importance of the Mexican Real in circulation circa San Antonio's settlement.

The Exposition was ultimately canceled. The primary reasons were: a local $1 million bond issue in support of the Exposition was rejected by voters; the US formally entered World War I in April 1917 and the San Antonio region was impacted by a global influenza epidemic.

With the cancellation of the Exposition, the suggestion of a commemorative coin did not get formalized into a bill to be introduced in Congress. No Exposition, no coin.

Note: The House Resolution did not progress to approval.


For more of my stories about commemorative coins and medals, including other What If? and What If? Phantom stories, see: Commems Collection.