Just following up on my post from yesterday regarding the Hudson, NY / Providence, RI combination commemorative coin bill. (
1935 Hudson, NY Sesquicentennial - Congressional Path.) I wanted to complete the "story" so to speak...
As noted previously, a bill proposing the striking of "50-cent pieces in commemoration of the three-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the city of Providence, Rhode Island" was introduced in the Senate in January, 1935; Senator Jesse Houghton Metcalf (R-RI) introduced it.
The bill did not specify a date to be used on the coins, or an expiration date for their striking; it only specified "That, as soon as practicable...there shall be coined at the Mints of the United States..." The bill requested 100,000 coins. When it was combined with the Hudson, NY coin proposal bill. the mintage request was reduced to 50,000 coins.
The bill lacked the name of a sponsor. It did not include any specification of who was to pay for or receive the half dollars once struck, but did include language that prevented the Federal Government from incurring any costs for the coins. So, some outside entity was clearly intended to be involved - but went unnamed.
IMO, the bill, as presented, was "unfinished." This may have been a driver behind the lack of attention it generated within the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency - the Committee to which it had been referred. When it was introduced as an amendment to the Hudson, NY bill, it included a sponsor name - the Providence Tercentenary Committee - in addition to the mintage request reduction noted above.
The amended bill did not impose a time limit on the coins, simply stating "The coins authorized herein shall be issued in such numbers, and at such times as they may be requested by the... Providence Tercentenary Committee." Theoretically, the coins could have been struck in multiple years at each Mint facility. Considering the 50,000 coin maximum, the yearly mintage amounts would have been small, but I can envision them splitting the limit to include at least 1937-dated coins (even though the State's official celebrations ended in October 1936) as a marketing gimmick.
1936 Providence, RI Tercentenary Half Dollar
If you're interested in learning more about the Providence, Ri Half Dollar, check out:
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1936 Rhode Island Tercentenary-
1936 Rhode Island Tercentenary - Revisited-
1936 Rhode Island Tercentenary - Horace Grant-
1936 Rhode Island Tercentenary - School of DesignFor a variety of commemorative-themed posts about coins and medals, check out:
Commems Collection. 
Posted 01/13/2022 10:06 am
