Commems Collection Classic: 1936 San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge - Ephemera

Tonight I'm following up on my previous post about the 1936 San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge commemorative half-dollar (see it here: http://goccf.com/t/115776) with a few pieces of related ephemera.

First up is a form letter used by the "Coin Division" of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Celebration group to provide background information on the half-dollar and instructions on how to place an order for it. As is typical for these types of letters, it hypes the demand for the coin and urges collectors "to send in their orders as soon as possible so that they may not be disappointed." Actual demand for the coin did not quite match the expectations of the Celebration's Coin Division, however, as more than 28,600 of the 100,000 coins struck went unsold and were returned to the US Mint to be melted.

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I've also included images of the fairly scarce holder/mailer and envelope used to deliver the coins. In contrast to many of its mid-1930s contemporaries which were distributed in small informational folders, the Bay Bridge half-dollar was mailed to purchasers in a simple, unmarked cardboard holder with spaces for up to six coins; a plain glossy paper cover was folded over the coin holder to protect inserted coins. In the image below, the white paper wrap is shown behind the coin holder.





Lastly, here are images of the Bay Bridge I have in my collection.

Enjoy!