Post Your Coins And Medals With Trees

1 Rufiyaa from the Maldives, with a palm tree:

1969 Jamaica.
20 cents.


Reverse:
Mahoe trees

The 1922 Ulysses S. Grant Birth Centenary silver half dollar and gold one dollar coins were designed and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser. The coins were issued to recognize the 100th anniversary of the birth of the General who led the Union Army to victory in the US Civil War and the beloved leader who followed his time in the military by serving two terms as US president.

The coins have common obverse and reverse designs. The obverse design features a right-facing portrait of Grant. The reverse design depicts Grant's birthplace house in Point Pleasant, OH. The house is presented under a thick canopy of trees (likely oak).

US Grant Birthplace House, Pt. Pleasant, OH

(Image Credit: James Grant Wilson, ed., The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. 3. Published in 1914. Public Domain.)

1922 Grant Birth Centenary Gold $1.00, Plain Variety


1922 Grant Birth Centenary Half Dollar, Star Variety (Star is above "GRANT" on Obverse)





You can find my previous posts about the Grant coins, here:

- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Half Dollar, Plain Variety
- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Half Dollar, with Star Variety
- 1922 Grant Memorial "Cousin"
- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Coins - Coins with Beards Thread.
- 1922 Grant Birth Centenary Coins - Coins Depicting Places Thread.


Other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals can be found here: Read More: Commems Collection.

1974 Banco Central de Reserva del Peru.
25 centavos.

1976 Jamaica.
20 cents.FAO; wide legend


Reverse:
Mahoe trees

Coconut trees are not at all common in the continental US - being limited to the southernmost regions of Florida - but they grow in abundance on the Hawaiian Islands.

To help mark the 150th anniversary of its (European) Discovery by Captain James Cook, Royal Navy, the Territory of Hawaii Legislature approved a measure that called for the Hawaiian Governor to formally request the US Government to strike a commemorative half dollar on its behalf. To facilitate the request, a bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives by Victor S. Houston, Hawaii's Representative. As the US Treasury expressed its support for the coin, the US Congress went on to pass a bill that called for 10,000 coins to be struck. The bill was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge on March 7, 1928.

The Sesquicentennial half dollar incorporates coconut trees into its reverse design; the trees frame a welcoming local chieftain dressed in full regalia as he stands at the top of a hill. (I am convinced that the chieftain depicted is based on a statue of King Kamehameha I; see link below). The coconut palms behind the chieftain are meant to be symbolic of romance. To the left of the commemorative dates "1778-1928" at the coin's bottom rim (reverse) is seen a sprouting coconut, on its way to becoming a fully-grown tree.

The Hawaiian half dollar is the only coin of the classic US commemorative series to include a coconut tree in its design.

1928 Hawaiian (European) Discovery Sesquicentennial Half Dollar





You can learn more about the Hawaiian commemorative coin by checking out:

- 1928 Hawaiian Discovery Sesquicentennial
- 1928 Hawaiian Discovery Sesquicentennial - Revisited
- 1928 Hawaiian Discovery Sesquicentennial - Bank of Hawaii Auction
- 1928 Hawaiian Discovery Sesquicentennial - King Kamehameha I Statue

Other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals can be found here: Commems Collection.

The loneliest tree in the classic US commemorative series has to be the Yucca tree depicted on the 1935 Old Spanish Trail half dollar. The coin was issued to commemorate "the four hundredth anniversary of the Expedition of Cabeza de Vaca and the opening of the Old Spanish Trail." (Public Law 74-97)

Note: The Palmetto tree on the 1936 Columbia, SC Sesqui-Centennial half dollar comes in as a close second on the "loneliest" tree list.

The coin's reverse depicts a blooming yucca tree in the center foreground, with a trail map in the background. While the map represents a conjecture-laden illustration of the route taken by Cabeza de Vaca, it is unrelated to the actual "Old Spanish Trail" which was a trade route that stretched through the western expanse of the future US states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California.

The yucca plant/tree is very common in the American southwest - there are over 40 different species; it is a perennial evergreen that can go long periods without water. About once per year, the tree produces a flower spike or stalk with clusters of white flowers at its top - the tree is in this state as depicted on the coin.

1935 Old Spanish Trails Half Dollar




To learn more about the Old Spanish Trail half dollar, check out:

- 1935 Old Spanish Trail - Redux.
- 1935 Old Spanish Trail - Designers.

To check out the "lonely" tree on the 1936 Columbia, SC half dollar, have a look at:

- 1936 Columbia, SC Sesquicentennial - Coins with Flora Thread


For more posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out: Commems Collection.