The Washington County Historical Society of Hagerstown, MD was the named sponsor of the 1937 commemorative half dollar that paid tribute to the bloody 1862 US Civil War Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg.
The conflict was one of two
major battles fought in the North during the War. There were multiple smaller battles fought on Union soil in Maryland, Missouri (after the Union had gained control of it), Ohio, Washington, DC and other Union states/territories.
Section 2 of the coin's authorizing legislation reads:
SEC. 2 The coins herein authorized shall bear the date 1937, irrespective of the year in which they are minted or issued, shall be legal tender in any payment to the amount of their face value, and shall be issued only upon the request of the Washington County Historical Society of Hagerstown, Maryland, upon payment by it of the par value of such coins, but not less than twenty-five thousand such coins shall be issued to it at any one time and no such coins shall be issued after the expiration of one year after the date of enactment of this Act. Such coins may be disposed of at par or at a premium by such Washington County Historical Society of Hagerstown, Maryland, subject to the approval of the Director of the Mint, and the net proceeds shall be used by it in defraying the expenses incidental and appropriate to the commemoration of such event. (The bolded emphasis added.)
In January 1967, Charles McCurdy Mathias, Jr. (R-MD) introduced a bill in the House of Representatives on behalf of the Historical Society that sought to "authorize the sale of certain commemorative coins by the Historical Society of Washington County, Maryland."
The bill's language specified that "notwithstanding any provisions of section 2 of the Act of June 24, 1937...the Historical Society of Washington County, Maryland, is hereby authorized to sell such coins at par or premium."
WARNING! YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE SPECULATION ZONE!It would appear that the Historical Society found itself in possession of a quantity of the 1937 commemorative half dollars in 1966-67, either the result of the uncovering of decades-old / forgotten inventory or a more recent acquisition or donation, and desired to sell the coins to raise funds but did not want to be in violation of the terms of the coin's original authorization. Namely, selling the coins for uses other than defraying expenses associated with commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle - a condition impossible to meet in 1967. (Recall that the original sales of the Antietam half dollar were disappointing, with a reported 32,000 of 50,000 coins struck returned to the Mint for melting. Maybe fewer were returned than could have been? Maybe some were held back?)
It seems, however, that such new legislation was deemed unnecessary as it was never reported by the House Committee on Banking and Currency for further consideration.
Note: I've written to the Historical Society on multiple occasions in an attempt to get an "official" account of the situation, but have not heard back from them. If I ever do, I will provide an update.For other of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more on the Antietam half dollar, see:
Commems Collection.
1937 Battle of Antietam 75th Anniversary Half Dollar
Posted 04/25/2023 09:54 am
