Returning to a story I "promised" back in January...The 75th anniversary of the 36th State - Nevada - was the occasion for an attempt to secure a commemorative US half dollar in 1937. Though it would have marked a significant event dating to the US Civil War period, the coin's Statehood bill in the 75th Congress failed and Nevada marked the occasion without a legal tender coin.
I provided a brief Nevada history and discussed the failed coin attempt here:
What If? 1937 Nevada Statehood 75th Anniversary.
Fast forward to March 1963, and the introduction of a bill "to provide for the striking of medals in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the admission of Nevada to statehood" by Senator Alan Harvey Bible (D-NV) for himself and Howard Walter Cannon (D-NV).
In introducing the measure, Senator Bible's remarks included:
"I deem it appropriate to point out that Nevada entered the Union during a time of great conflict. Less than a year after its admission as the 36th State, the war between the States had ended, and the great President who made possible that statehood was the victim of an assassin's bullet.
"Out of this modest beginning, Mr. President, grew a State that has enriched our Nation in manifold ways. From the fabulous mines of the Comstock Lode in Virginia City poured gold and silver that provided the needed stimulus for the burgeoning of San Francisco as the metropolis of the West. That same Virginia City also provided the Nation with one of its most brilliant scientists. I refer to Albert Michelson, the renowned physicist who developed techniques for measuring the speed of light, and was the first American to receive the Nobel Prize for Science, in 1907. And it was Albert Michelson's brother, Charles, a highly competent newspaperman, who gained fame as President Franklin Roosevelt's chief press strategist.
"Mark Twain began his newspaper career on the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, having come west with his brother Orion, who was Nevada's territorial secretary of state. Nevada's history is peopled with many luminaries, but the growth and its progress can be measured more by those nameless individuals who had an undimmed faith in their State's future and worked accordingly toward a goal of greater progress for the generations that were to follow.
"Ours is a glorious history, Mr. President, and I am sure that passage of this measure providing special medals for Nevada's centennial will contribute materially to the observance that is being planned for 1964."
Now that's the way to introduce a bill!
The medal bill called for the striking of up to 20,000 silver medals for the benefit of the Nevada Centennial Commission, with design details and medal specifications to be worked out between the Commission and the Secretary of the Treasury (via the Mint). Orders for the medal were required to be a minimum of 2,000 and no medals could be struck after December 1964.
The bill was immediately referred to the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency. The Committee supported the bill, and reported it without amendment and with a recommendation to pass. The Committee's Report also noted that the US Treasury Department had reviewed the medal proposal and had no objection to it.
When brought up for consideration in the Senate, it passed without objection and was subsequently sent to the House for its consideration. Upon its receipt, the Senate bill was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency. As the Senate Committee had done before it, the House Committee reported the bill favorably with a recommendation to pass without amendment.
Walter Stephan Baring, Jr. (D-NV) offered extended remarks in support of the bill, including
"Nevada was the last Western region to be explored in this country. Probably not more than one or two parties crossed Nevada before 1800 and they did not stop to explore. A few trappers explored parts of the area in search of new fur sources, but the great natural wealth of the region remained unknown until 1843 when an expedition led by John Fremont surveyed the Rocky Mountain Divide. In 1859 two prospectors discovered unusually rich gold deposits at Virginia City, Patrick McLaughlin and Peter O'Riley, and soon they took in Henry Comstock, a trapper, as partner. These deposits became known as the Comstock lode. The gold was found to be mixed with extremely rich veins of silver, and miners rushed to the area and the real development of the region began. Later discoveries of gold, silver, copper, and other minerals established mining as Nevada's most valuable industry.
...
"Territorial life in Nevada was far from comfortable. The first settlers in mining camps lived in tents, in rough stone huts, or in holes in the hillsides, and all their supplies had to be hauled over the mountains from California. Prices were almost unbelievably high and lawlessness and disorder often ruled in the mining camps. To make matters worse, Indians went on the warpath from time to time between 1861 and 1864. The Army built forts to protect the settlers against the Indians, while tile Army at the same time began to enforce law and order in the mining camps.
...
"This was the picture of Nevada when it came into statehood, but the silver and gold of Nevada's mines became vitally important to the Federal Government when the Civil War started in 1861, and these precious metals provided much of the funds necessary to finance the war. In addition, the Union needed another antislavery State to make sure that amendments to the Constitution urged by President Lincoln would be passed. For these reasons, Lincoln became a strong supporter of statehood for Nevada, even though the territory had less than a third of the 127,381 residents required by Congress for statehood.
...
"Thus, Nevada has made a tremendous imprint in our Nation's history and we wish to have a commemorative medal struck in the State's honor on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of statehood."
The conclusion to the story can be found here:
Commems Collection: 1964 Nevada Statehood Centennial - Part II 
Posted 03/27/2023 3:40 pm
