In May 1936, companion bills were introduced in the House and Senate that called for "50-cent pieces in commemoration of the three-hundredth anniversary of the founding of York County, Maine." The House version of the bill was introduced by Simon Moulton Hamlin (D-ME); the Senate bill by Wallace Humphrey White, Jr. (R-ME).
The bills sought up to 30,000 coins, all of which were to be struck at one Mint (designated by the Director of the Mint), all were to bear the year "1936" regardless of when struck and coin orders had to be for a minimum of 5,000. Also, the bills specified that the authority to strike the coins expired one year after the bill's enactment. The bill's provisions were in line with the recently-adopted guidelines of the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency.
The coins were to be struck for the Committee for the Commemoration of the Founding of York County.
The House bill was referred to its Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures upon its introduction. The bill was reported back without amendment and with a recommendation to pass. When it was called up for consideration in the House, however, 20-term Representative John Taber (R-NY) objected to it and ended the House's discussion. In the same session, he also objected to the bill for the Providence, Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar - the move delayed the House's consideration of each of the coin bills, but did not, ultimately, stop either coin from being approved. For Taber, it was more about the large number of commemorative coins being passed vs. specifically the York County (or Providence, RI) coin.
The Senate Committee on Banking and Currency received the Senate version of the York County bill and viewed it favorably. It was reported out with a recommendation to pass but with an amendment. The Committee recommended the minimum order size to be increased to 25,000. The Senate agreed to the amendment and passed the bill without debate.
Note: The change in the order size meant that the only way for the York County Committee to get its full request of 30,000 coins was to order all of them with its initial order. An order for 25,000 coins was placed, however, which left 5,000 coins on the table and made them the subject of a future effort in 1937. (See link below for more.)
The House received the Senate bill and was host to a brief, but interesting challenge. Andrew Lawrence Somers (D-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures, called for consideration of the Senate bill and asked that it to be considered under Unanimous Consent. Stephen Marvin Young (D-OH), a second term Representative, rose with a threatened objection, he was disturbed that the House was considering a commemorative coin bill when an "important housing and slum-clearance bill" was being held in committee; Young supported the housing bill and appeared passionate about it - he did not introduce it, however.
Somers attempted to get Young to withdraw his potential objection by pointing out that the coin bill had nothing to do with the housing bill, that the two bills were reviewed by different committees and that he sympathized with Young's frustration. Young was not placated, however. At that point, Bertrand Hollis Snell (R-NY), a member of the House since 1915, rose and issued a thinly veiled threat directed toward Young indicating that if he continued with his unrelated objection of the coin bill, "there will be a lot of other things objected to." Young immediately withdrew his objection (out of respect for the senior colleague?). The House proceeded to consider the coin bill and passed it without further discussion or objection.
The bill moved forward and was signed into law on June 26, 1936 by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The US Mint in Philadelphia struck 25,000 York County coins in August 1936.
1936 York County, ME Tercentenary
The York County half dollar was revisited in 1937, see
What If? 1937 York County, MEFor more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals,including more on the York County half dollar, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 10/03/2022 09:25 am
