Post Your Coins Representing The Animal Kingdom.

1936 Albany (NY) Charter 250th Anniversary

I wanted to revisit my post here from a year and a half ago to add a bit of background on why a beaver is featured on this commemorative half dollar.

The unsettled area in upstate New York that includes present-day Albany was an area rich in beaver. The animals were hunted for their fur in great numbers and fur trading became an important industry. The Dutch West India Company established a fur trading post in the area (Fort Orange) near which the community of Beverwyck ("Beaver District") was settled.

When the Dutch surrendered the area to the British in 1664, the name "Beverwyck" was changed to "Albany" in honor of its new land owner - James, the Duke of York and Albany. James was King Charles II's brother and was granted the area by him. Albany received its Charter from Thomas Dongan, the Governor of the Province of New York, in 1686.

The Albany area's first major industry - the trapping and trading of beaver pelts - is recalled via a very realistic depiction of a beaver on the coin's obverse. The coin's reverse also honors the animal kingdom via its inclusion of a small eagle at the 12 o'clock position. The coin was designed and modeled by artist/sculptor Gertrude Lathrop.






You can learn more about the Albany half dollar, and view my other posts about commemorative coins and medals, by checking out : Commems Collection.

Interesting examples !

2012 Banco Central de Reserva del Peru.
2 Nuevos Soles.

An American Bald Eagle is featured prominently on the reverse of the 1921 Alabama Statehood Centennial half dollar as part of the State Seal in use at the time of the State's Centennial and the coin's issue; the Seal was used from 1868 to 1939.

While elements included on state Seals are often closely tied to the State itself, the eagle on the Alabama Seal needs to be viewed in a larger context. Yes, there were eagles in Alabama at the time the Seal was developed, but it was also just a few years after the conclusion of the Civil War.

Alabama was re-admitted to the Union on July 13, 1868 and its new Seal reflected its return by including a Bald Eagle (the US national symbol) perched on a US Shield while holding a ribbon with "HERE WE REST" inscribed on it. All reflective of Alabama being part of the US vs. a strong individual identity.

The Seal was not popular with all residents of the state, as some believed it to be the result of post-Civil War Reconstruction policies and not reflective of Alabama and its rights as an individual state. In 1939, the Eagle Seal was replaced with one based on the Alabama Territory Seal - it features an outline map of Alabama with its most prominent rivers identified. (To my eyes, its is rather simplistic and too literal - I believe a State Seal should be more symbolic.)

[1868-1939 Seal of Alabama



Current Great Seal of Alabama

(Image Credit: Svgalbertian, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)


1921 Alabama Statehood Centennial Half Dollar

1973 Republica de Bolivia.
20 centavos.

1891 Republica Mexicana
5 centavos

Nice examples!