This edition of What if? Phantoms presents a potential Statehood Sesquicentennial half dollar that was discussed informally in Congress and at the Mint, but was "shot down" before a coin bill could be formally introduced.
With an eye toward the coordinated planning and managing of the sesquicentennial of its Statehood celebrations in 1953, the Ohio General Assembly established the Ohio Sesquicentennial Commission in 1949. Membership of the Commission included twelve non-government citizens of Ohio that were appointed by the Governor; five members selected from each chamber of the State Legislature; the Director of Education; the Director of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society; and the Executive Secretary of the Ohio Development and Publicity Commission. Harvey S. Firestone, the then-President of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, was appointed by Governor Frank Lausche and served as Commission Chairman.
Ohio officially became the 17th State to join the Union on February 19, 1803 and was looking forward to the statewide celebration of its milestone anniversary. (You can read more about Ohio's journey to Statehood in a previous post I wrote about the Official Ohio Sesquicentennial Commemorative Medal:
1953 Ohio Sesquicentennial MedalWhile testifying during the Hearing held to discuss the failed Louisiana Purchase Sesquicentennial half dollar, Leland Howard, Assistant Director of the US Mint, referenced Statehood Anniversary representatives from Ohio contacting their Congressmen who, in turn, discussed the potential coin with the Mint. Howard commented: "after we told them the evils of this thing [commemorative coins] they didn't introduce the bill." Chalk up another victory for the Treasury Department and its objections to commemorative coins!
Parallel to its failed coin attempt, the Ohio Sesquicentennial Commission pursued a privately-struck medal:
1953 Ohio Sesquicentennial Official Medal
Ohio also issued a commemorative, dual-dated license plate for its anniversary, and arranged for a US postage stamp to be issued.
1953 Commemorative License Plate
(Image Credit: Absecon 49, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.1953 Ohio Sesquicentennial US Postage Stamp
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? and What If? Phantom stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 05/04/2023 06:35 am
