Commems Collection Classic: To Be Or Not To Be Legal Tender - Is It A Question?

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 1,593
commems CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives United States 12251 Posts	Posted 12/29/2019 7:37 pm I was reviewing the authorizing legislation of the various classic US commemorative coins recently, and noticed something that I found to be interesting. So, I thought I'd share... As I was going through the enacting laws (alphabetically), I noticed an "error of ommission" in the law for the 1935 Arkansas Statehood 100th Anniversary half dollar; it spurred me to look closely at all of the enacting laws. After completing my review, I fiound the same issue with the laws for 11 out of the 53 classic US commemorative programs (silver and gold coin programs combined). What did I find? A potential for questionable legal tender status for some US commemorative coins. Most of the classic commemorative bills contain a phrase such as "...[the coins] shall be legal tender in any payment to the amount of their face value." But the authorizing laws for 11 programs did not include any such language! The laws that authorized the commemorative coins in the list below do not contain specific language making the coins legal tender. The programs (listed alphabetically) are: - 1935-39 Arkansas Statehood 100th Anniversary - 1936 Arkansas-Robinson (Amendment of original Arkansas Statehood Act) - 1936 Columbia, SC Sesquicentennial - 1935 Connecticut 300th Anniversary - 1935 Hudson, NY 150th Anniversary - 1934 Maryland 300th Anniversary - 1935 Old Spanish Trail - 1936 Providence, RI 300th Anniversary - 1935-36 San Diego / California-Pacific International Exposition - 1946-51 Booker T. Washington - 1951-54 Booker T. Washington-George Washington Carver Does this mean that the half dollars issued for these 11 programs were not legal tender? In a word, "No!" The US coinage laws in place at the time gave all US half-dollar coins legal tender status for amounts up to $5.00. So, while most commemorative coinage laws did include specific language stating that the coins (whether silver or gold) were legal tender, the half dollars authorized by the 11 laws that did not were still legal tender by virtue of the fact they were specified to be US half-dollar / 50-cent coins. Theoretical crisis averted! Just another little quirk of my favorite coin series! If you're looking for an oddball subset of the series to collect, you may have just found it! Hope you enjoyed the read! Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved. Report this Post to the Staff

jbuck Moderator United States 187581 Posts	Posted 12/30/2019 4:45 pm That is very interesting! We almost had us some non-circulating-not-so-legal-tender. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
Ballyhoo Pillar of the Community United States 1613 Posts	Posted 01/23/2020 7:19 pm Having read the post in it's entirety (rare for me before responding ), I immediately thought about what ever law currently in place at the time of mintage. Which brings up a similar question, pertaining to current and future Innovation Dollars. If someone attempts to spend one, which is an almost certainty, what then? I've seen proof strikes in circulation. Are they not "legal tender" as well? My best answer would be the use of the word "monetized", which all coinage and currency receives prior to release. Am I right? ANA member - PAN Member - BCCS Member There are no problems only solutions - the late, great John Lennon Report this Post to the Staff
Alpha2814 Pillar of the Community United States 2023 Posts	Posted 01/23/2020 9:09 pm The bill authorizing the Innovation dollars states they are "numismatic items". Elsewhere in the US Code, it says that "coins" are legal tender. Between those two, it would imply that the Innovation dollars are not explicitly legal tender. I didn't have time (or a law degree) to analyze the rest of the text so I'll leave further analysis to those who do. Edited by Alpha2814 01/23/2020 9:09 pm Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 3 / Views: 1,593

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: US Coins and Currency Forums Forum: US Commemoratives and Non-Circulating Coinage (NCLT) Including Grading, Varieties, and Errors

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.21 seconds to rattle this change.