Just a few short months after the conclusion of the fighting in World War II (i.e., V-E Day and V-J Day), companion bills were introduced in the US Congress that called for large circulating commemorative half dollar and dollar issues. V-E Day - Victory in Europe Day - (i.e., the surrender of Germany) took place on May 8, 1945 and V-J Day - Victory in Japan Day (i.e., the surrender of Japan) occurred on August 14, 1945 (with the formal surrender papers signed on September 2, 1945).
Late in the First Session of the 79th Congress (December 1945), Representative Compton Ignatius White (D-ID) introduced a pair of related coin bills. The first proposed that 10 million silver half dollars be struck, the second sought 10 million silver dollars. In each case, the coins were intended to be circulating commemorative coins. The half dollars were to be struck "in commemoration of Pearl Harbor" and to "emphasize our resolve that such a thing shall never happen again." The silver dollars were to be produced "in commemoration of the victorious conclusion of World War II."
The production of 10 million of each of the proposed circulating commemorative coins/denominations would definitely have changed the production landscape for the year! For reference/comparison:
- Walking Liberty Half Dollars struck in 1946 (P/D/S combined): 17,993,000
- Peace Silver Dollars struck in 1946: 0
Senator Edward Peter Carville (D-NV) introduced a companion bill to each of White's bills in January 1946, just after the Second Session of the 79th Congress began. The House bills were referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures; the Senate bills to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency.
None of the bills were the subject/focus of a Hearing, nor were any reported out by their respective Committee.
The Mint had forecast 1946 to be a busy year filled with the striking of millions of decorations/medals for WWII military personnel, producing a large volume (~334 million) of the new dime bearing the portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and striking coins of all denominations for a booming post-WWII economy. It
did not support Pearl Harbor or World War II Victory commemorative coinage, even though it publicly stated (during the Hearing for commemorative coins recognizing Will Rogers, the Iowa Statehood Centennial and the life of Booker T. Washington) that each was an "outstanding event."
Interesting Note: The Rogers/Iowa/Washington Hearing (three sessions in June and July 1946) included a telling comment by Representative White, the Chairman of the Committee on Coinage: When brought up, he didn't recall much about his Pearl Harbor and WWII Victory bills other than he believed he introduced them to "use silver" - such a surprise coming from a Representative from a major silver-producing state such as Idaho. 
On a serious note, White had introduced a bill "to monetize unobligated silver in the Treasury" early in 1946, and could easily have been recalling that unsuccessful bill when he made his "use silver" comment at the Hearing OR maybe he was revealing his true motive for introducing the commemorative bills and requesting the large number of silver coins - he might have been hoping to "strike while the iron was hot" and post-WWII emotions were still strongly positive to increase the demand for silver from his home state. At this point, either conclusion would come with a healthy dose of speculation.
The coin bills died for lack of action and Americans had to "make do" with Walking Liberty half dollars (and any other previous half dollar issues still in circulation) and without silver dollars as they made the transition from a war-time economy to a peace-time economy.
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 11/17/2022 10:59 am
