Commems Collection Classic: US Commemorative Coins With Unrealized Multi-Year Potential

There are certainly a number of classic-era US commemorative coin bills that, in their language at introduction, left open the possibility of a multi-year program. A few that come immediately to mind (with links to my posts about their multi-year potential) are:

- 1936 Albany, NY Charter 250th Anniversary
- 1936 (1938) Delaware Tercentenary
- 1936 Battle of Gettysburg 75th Anniversary
- 1936 Long Island Tercentenary

There are others in this "potential multi-year" category that I haven't yet discussed (they're on my "ToDo" list!), these include the:

- 1936 Bridgeport, CT Centennial
- 1936 Elgin, IL Centennial
- 1938 New Rochelle, NY 250th Anniversary

In addition to the Providence, RI half dollar just discussed (1936 Providence, RI Half Dollar Proposal), there are others whose final language, as passed into Law, did not include a date/year requirement or specifically include an expiration date, both of which opened the door to potential multi-year programs (unfulfilled).

Such "omissions" were essentially standard in the early Acts that authorized the coins. For example, the Acts authorizing the 1918 Illinois Statehood Centennial, the 1920 Maine Statehood Centennial, the 1921 Alabama Statehood Centennial and 1921 Missouri Statehood Centennial half dollars all lack specific date limits. Restrictive language was also lacking from some later Acts such as those for the 1934 Maryland Tercentenary, 1935 Hudson, NY Sesquicentennial, the 1936 Cincinnati Music Center and the 1936 Columbia, SC sesquicentennial half dollars. There are likely more...I'll go through my notes and attempt to put together a more complete list.