Time for another "Most Obscure" contender...In April 1937, companion bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate that called for silver half dollars "in commemoration of the one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the town of Romney, West Virginia."
Romney is a small town (Population < 2,000) located in the northeast tip of West Virginia. It is the County Seat of Hampshire County; the county borders Virginia. The town was created in December 1762 when the Virginia House of Burgesses - an elected legislative body of the Colony of Virginia - passed a bill for its establishment. It was subsequently approved by the Virginia Crown Governor and became law. (In name, the Virginia Governor at the time was Jeffery Amherst, but, as he was simultaneously the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in North America, as well as the Governor of the Province of Quebec, he was largely absent from Virginia. The bill appears to have been approved by an "Acting Governor.")
The town has very few "claims to fame," with being the oldest town in West Virginia likely its leading candidate. IMO, such a state-level distinction without noteworthy follow-up is not an event of national significance. (Romney was effectively established at the same time as the Town of Mecklenburg, WV (the bills were approved in succession with Romney being first), so even its "oldest claim" is shared vs. a unique distinction.)
The bills called for 25,000 half dollars of standard specifications, without limitations placed on which Mint facility or facilities could be used, without specification of the year/date to appear on the coins and without an expiration of coining authority. All-in-all, rather open-ended legislation. The coins were to be struck for the Romney Anniversary Committee.
The House bill was introduced first - by Jennings Randolph (D-WV) - and was referred to the House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures. Three days later, the Senate bill was introduced by Matthew Mansfield Neely (D-WV) and referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. Neither bill was reported out by its respective Committee, and, ultimately, died for lack of action - a fate shared by nearly all commemorative coin bills considered by the US Congress in 1937.
For more of my topics on commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 12/01/2022 9:53 pm
