Commems Collection Classic: 1935-1939 Arkansas Statehood Centennial - Historical Tidbits

Here are a few coin tidbits for the Arkansas Statehood Centennial Half Dollar:

Tidbit #1

The revised designs for the Arkansas Statehood Centennial half dollar (per feedback received from the Commission of Fine Arts and United States ("US") Treasury) were approved by the Treasury in December 1934. (You can read about the design history here: Coins And Medals With Conjoined Portraits - Arkansas Statehood Centennial.)

Tidbit #2

Working from the revised design sketches prepared by Edward Everett Burr, and approved by the Arkansas Statehood Centennial Commission, Arkansas-resident Emily Bates created the models from which the coinage dies were created. Ms. Bates worked on the models in Chicago, Illinois in the studio of noted artist/sculptor Lorado Taft in January 1935; Taft supervised her work.

Tidbit #3

In late July 1935, the Arkansas Statehood Centennial Commission's Coin Committee reported strong sales for its commemorative half dollar with "less than 2,000" remaining. What the release failed to note, however, was the fact that the 10,000 Philadelphia Mint coins discussed were just the first batch of coins ordered by the Commission in 1935. An additional 3,000 coins from Philadelphia would be ordered later in the year, and 5,500 each would be ordered from Denver and San Francisco. Also, the coin's legislation authorized 500,000 coins for the program, which enabled tens of thousands of additional coins to be ordered between 1936 and 1939, The Commission was never in danger of running out of coins!

Tidbit #4

The Arkansas Statehood Centennial Half Dollar design includes the dual dates "1836-1936". As the Centennial Commission was planning a multi-year issue and the US Mint required the year of striking to be included on each coin, the dual dates were a device that ensured the State's anniversary dates would always appear on the coins.

1935-39 Arkansas Statehood Centennial Half Dollar (1935 Example)



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more "Tidbits"about classic US commemorative coins, see: Commems Collection