Great Fun ... Oregon Trail Comparison

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Author	Replies: 9 / Views: 1,798
nickelsearcher Moderator United States 15395 Posts	Posted 07/07/2012 5:02 pm Many collectors consider the Oregon Trail half dollar to be the most inspired design of any coin in the classic US silver commemorative series ... and I agree. Designed by the husband/wife team of James Earle Fraser and Laura Gardin Fraser ... each of whom found fame as the designer of other classic USA coinage. James is well know ... of course ... for his design of the Buffalo nickel ... a true classic work of coinage art. He created the motif for the 1925 Norse medal and is credited with the design of the 1924 Huguenot-Walloon half dollar where he modified the motif by George T. Morgan. Laura is the grand dame of classic silver commemorative coin design ... being credited with the designs for the 1921 Alabama half dollar, 1922 Grant half dollar, 1922 Grant gold dollar and the 1925 Fort Vancouver half dollar. They came together in 1926 and designed the Oregon Trail half ... a true classic example of USA coinage art. Minted sporadically from 1926 through 1939 ... this 14 coin mini-series was held out in the day as a prime example of the abuses of the series. Today all examples are prized for their design and in general are readily available in the market in a wide range of circulated to gem MS condition. To the photos ... Here is the current Oregon Trail half in my MS type set ... 1937-D PCGS MS67+/CAC. Blast white, hammered strike with no flaws visible to the naked eye. Circulated examples tend to be found from the 1926 issue ... in that initial year of issue (1926) the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints contributed 131,010 net examples whereby the entire 14 coin series net mintage total (after official melting) is 203,102 coins. Coin aficionados with a sense of humor realize that the entire mintage of the Oregon Trail half dollar is well less the 1/2 of the mintage of the much more renowned 1909-S VDB LWC ... which checks in at 484,000 coins. Here is my current circulated example ... 1926-S which I grade as an honestly circulated, problem free VF20. Truly enjoy the circulated cameo look. Enjoy David Take a look at my other hobby ... http://www.jk-dk.art Edited by nickelsearcher 07/07/2012 5:10 pm Report this Post to the Staff

muddler Pillar of the Community United States 7187 Posts	Posted 07/07/2012 5:22 pm Show us more Oregon Trail halves!! Report this Post to the Staff
basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 07/07/2012 6:03 pm Great coins. Perfect design for what it was representing as well Report this Post to the Staff
OneBowl Pillar of the Community United States 759 Posts	Posted 07/07/2012 7:00 pm Thanks, once again, David, for an entertaining comparison. This is one coin where I absolutely love the wear patterns, especially the oxen and its driver on the Mint's obverse and the Native American on the reverse. Looks pretty good in 67 CAC though too. Report this Post to the Staff
paleoguy45 Pillar of the Community United States 2936 Posts	Posted 07/07/2012 7:39 pm That Oregon coin is beautiful bright white or well traveled. It certainly is one of the finer efforts of our mint. Report this Post to the Staff
Not Mint to Be Valued Member United States 469 Posts	Posted 07/07/2012 10:46 pm Another nice looking comparison :) Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187702 Posts	Posted 07/08/2012 01:18 am Very nice! Quote: Another nice looking comparison :) I agree. I really enjoy seeing the contrast. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
commems CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives United States 12257 Posts	Posted 07/09/2012 8:25 pm As always, it's cool to compare a pristine example with one that is well-traveled. Enjoyed the tidbit re: the mintage of the 1909-S VDB LWC vs. Oregon Trail coins -- didn't realize it! Just goes to show, relatively speaking, how few collectors there are pursuing the US commemorative series! Thanks for post! Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved. Report this Post to the Staff
CoinsKelly Pillar of the Community United States 3453 Posts	Posted 07/13/2012 1:33 pm Yes please show more! While I have the GWC, BW and Columbus in circulated examples, I really would like the Oregon as my first unc commem. Hmmm, how about you and Commem show what you both have? Pretty please? With crawfish on top? (that almost worked with JBuck once). Report this Post to the Staff
DNA Pillar of the Community United States 2734 Posts	Posted 07/13/2012 10:27 pm Oh, my, I love that VF-20 1926-S! Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 9 / Views: 1,798

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