The article's headline blared "Spanish Trail Coin Probably Last Commemorative as Senate Halts Issue" with a sub-head of "Sale Practices Called Misuse by President". I imagine such a headline caught the attention of many a coin collector in September 1935!
The article quoted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ("FDR") regarding his stance on US commemorative coins:
"These coins do not have a wide circulation as a medium of exchange, and because of the multiplicity of designs arising from the issuance of such coins, they jeopardize the integrity of our coins and cause confusion. Accordingly, I think the practice of striking coins in commemoration of historical events and permitting the sponsoring organizations to sell them at a profit is a misuse of our coinage system which is assuming increasingly dangerous proportions."
It needs to be noted that FDR's statement was basically a re-statement of the United States ("US") Treasury Department's view of US commemorative coins vs. being an independent, personal view.The catalyst for the article was a Senate bill introduced in June 1935 that called for "the striking of medals, in lieu of coins, for commemorative purposes." The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency, which reported the bill without amendment and with a recommendation to pass. The Senate considered the bill and passed it in July 1935; it was then sent to the House of Representatives ("House") for concurrence.
The House received the bill and immediately referred it to its Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures - but that is where the effort stalled. The bill was not considered in the House. Without the House's authorization, the bill could not be approved by FDR and signed into law.
The Senate's passing of the bill, however, was enough to generate headlines and contemplate life after US commemorative coins. The article stated, "In the future, medals will be struck at the mint to take the place of coins to commemorate the anniversaries of events in the history of the country."
Of course, history tells of the commemorative coin explosion of 1936 and the large number of coin proposals introduced in 1937 (albeit, almost all were unsuccessful). We also know that medals, despite the efforts of FDR and the US Treasury, have never replaced coins as the predominant commemorative piece struck by the US Mint. Even today, in an age of renewed interest in - and acceptance of - Mint-struck medals, coins remain the primary vehicle of choice for sponsoring organizations. (Of course, I've stated before that I consider today's non-circulating legal tender commemorative coins to essentially be medals with symbolic denominations stamped on them, so six of one...but that's a topic for a different day!)
1935 Old Spanish Trail Half Dollar
Side Note: The article described the Map design side as the coin's obverse, and the Cow's Skull side as the reverse. These designations are backwards, as the Cow's Skull side is the coin's official obverse (per the US Mint), and the Map is on the reverse. It wouldn't be the only time the obverse and reverse of a US commemorative coin was confused. Check out:
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Obverse or Reverse? for other examples.
For more on the Medals vs. Coins effort in 1935, see:
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Medals vs. CoinsOn a related note:
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1936 Hearing - Medals Vs. CoinsFor other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 08/20/2025 12:06 pm
with nickelsearcher that we would've missed out on some beautiful coins, but I also empathize with the weary collectors of the time. While the situations and circumstances are obviously different, one can see parallels between the commemorative situation of the 1930s and the Mint's current 
