Commems Collection Classic: 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial - Exposition Program

In the Summer of 1923, Los Angeles, California hosted the American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Historical Exposition. Ostensibly, a key element of the Exposition was the celebration of the centennial of the Monroe Doctrine, but such a celebration was not truly the focal point of the Exposition.

The Revue and Exposition was mostly a promotional attempt by the Hollywood motion picture industry to help shine a positive light on the it and restore Hollywood's image after several scandals involving leading personalities had captured the public's attention and newspapers of the day began running headline stories of widespread decadence. Such circumstances had begun to turn the public against the industry as a whole (e.g., movie ticket sales were down in 1922 after years of increases) and thus had become quite concerning to those in charge of the product. The most famous scandal involved the alleged rape and manslaughter (i.e., unintentional death) of a young actress by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the actor and comedian, at a party he hosted. He defended himself in three trials, with the jury deadlocked in the first two and the third acquitting him of the charges.

What does an attempted face-saving Hollywood promotional venture have to do with the Monroe Doctrine? Nothing. Other than the fact that its centennial was occurring in 1923 and the folks developing the Revue and Exposition were looking for a "hook" that could help than secure a commemorative coin that would help them raise funds for their Exposition.

The Exposition ran from July 2 through August 6, 1923 and got off to a slow start as the movie industry did not fully embrace it (even though it was meant to demonstrate unity across the industry). Attendance at the Exposition was below expectations - just over 300,000 attendees (including tens of thousands who received free tickets) when 1 million guests were expected. Overall, the Exposition was a financial failure.

The commemorative half dollar also failed to meet anticipated levels. Records indicate that approximately 27,000 coins were sold either prior to or during the Exposition at $1.00 each - 274,000 were struck and delivered by the Mint. The balance of the unsold mintage (~90%) was released into circulation at face value!

Here are a few pages from the Revue and Exposition's Official Program:

American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Historical Exposition: Official Program - Cover


American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Historical Exposition: Official Program - Title Page


American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Historical Exposition: Official Program - Co-operation and Official Endorsement Page



1923 Monroe Doctrine Enunciation Centennial Half Dollar

(I upgraded my coin to a MS-65 example a few years back - I still have this one as well, however. I need to pull the "65" coin out and get some new images to display!)


For more on the history of the Monroe Doctrine half dollar and discussions of its interesting design, check out:

- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial
- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial - Origin Story
- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial - Ancestors
- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial - Coins with Hands Thread - Design Controversy
- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial - Coins with Flora Thread
- 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial - Coins with Conjoined Portraits Thread


For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out: Commems Collection