1926 Oregon Trail Commemorative - What Do You Think? (PCGS)

One of my favorite designs, if we were to retro another old design this would be it for me.

Nice coin, nice toning.

What's at 3 o'clock near the rim of the reverse? Are those initials? They're kind of mushy. Obverse seems to have mushiness in the same area.

Are these coins oriented in the medallic fashion?

By the way, what distinguishes obverse from reverse on commems such as this? I'm only calling the wagon side the reverse because moxking did and he seems to know what he's talking about.

Language within the Coinage Act of 1873 specified that the side of a US coin that included the date of strike/issue was to be considered the obverse.

So, per the US Mint, the wagon side of the Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar is the obverse and the standing Native American side is the reverse.

This is opposite of how the husband and wife design team of James Earle and Laura Gardin Fraser viewed their creation - they considered the wagon to be on the reverse.

Of course, most of today's collectors and each of the third-party grading services consider the "dateless" Native American" side to be the obverse.

In either case, most consider the coin to be among the most artistic of all US coinage designs - regular circulation or commemorative.

As previously mentioned, there are several areas with greenish hues on the obverse and reverse. I'll assume they are just image artifacts vs. anything PVC-related and concur with others that the coin is a gem "65" example.

@oih82w8: Do you see any green spots/areas with the coin in hand?

Very attractive example of this coin ..
I love the tone and eye appeal.

This coin is EPIC! I want one - hoping to make it my first classic commemorative purchase.

Commems - is this coin in "high" or "deep" relief? (Photos of) other coins seem so "flat" in comparison.

Though the relief on the Oregon Trail half dollar is better than on some other commemorative coins (e.g., the Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar), it was not struck in true "high relief."

On the coin shown here, there is quite a bit of toning framing the raised devices. These darker outlines do give the impression of a higher/deeper relief than what is actually present. That's part of what makes the visual aesthetics of the coin so impactful.