Commems Collection Classic: To The Melting Pot #15 - 1934 Texas Independence Centennial

I think the lesson to be learned from the coin that is the subject of this "Melting Pot" installment is: If the early bird come too early, the worms won't yet be available,

As I note at the start of many of these "Melting Pot" posts, I've written multiple times about the subject coin(s) - this time the Texas Independence Centennial - and prefer not to repeat too much of those previous posts here, so check out the links below for my previous posts on the topic coin(s) which provide more detail about the anniversary, the coins themselves and the involvement of the US Congress that brought about their creation.

Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836 after the defeat of Mexican forces - under the direct command of Santa Anna - at the Battle of San Jacinto; the Texas troops were commanded by Sam Houston.

A coin to commemorate the centennial of Texas independence was approved in June 1933; its Act authorized the striking of up 1.5 million 50-cent pieces.

The American Legion Texas Centennial Committee, sponsor/beneficiary of the commemorative half dollar, got an early jump on coin sales, launching them via advertisement in January 1935 - more than a year ahead of the actual centennial anniversary date. The Committee placed an initial order for 205,000 coins from the Mint, which struck the pieces in October and November 1934 in Philadelphia. It was, by far, the largest order for coins placed during the program's five-year run (1934-38) - the maximum subsequent order for any single Year/Mint was 10,000.

While the citizens of Texas were certainly gearing up for their independence centennial in 1934/35, they had not yet reached full celebration mode - for example, the Texas Centennial Exposition was not scheduled to open in Dallas until June 1936 - and folks were not quite ready for Centennial souvenirs with 1934 dates.

Unfortunately for the Committee, sales of the program's initial coin release lagged behind expectations and 143,600 1934-dated half dollars were soon returned to the Mint to be melted. The large number of returns represented ~70% of the coins struck. In the years that followed (1935-38), smaller orders for coins struck at each of the active Mints (Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco) were placed, with few coins, if any, returned for melting. From the 1935 through 1938 orders, ~10,900 coins were returned/melted vs. the 143K from the 1934 issue - less than 8% of the 1934 total.

How about a little math?

- A return of ~143,600 50-cent coins equates to a credit of ~$71,800;
- Between 1935 and 1938, 99,000 additional coins were requested - representing a cost of ~$49,500;
- ~10,900 coins dated 1935-38 were returned to the Mint to be melted which yielded a credit of ~$4,450;
- Subtract the cost of the new coin orders from the sum of the program's returned/melted coins credit and be left with a surplus of ~$26,750.

I wonder if the coin program's finances were drawn up that way?

So, getting out front of the Centennial might have seemed like a good plan, but 1934/35 proved to be a bit too early for souvenir seekers! In the end, the overall net mintage of the Texas half dollar at ~149,500 was just 10% of its authorization- sales definitely fell short of expectations.

1934 Texas Independence Centennial Half Dollar



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including other Melting Pot stories, see: Commems Collection.


For topics about the coin's design elements, see:

- Design Discussions - 1934-38 Texas Independence Centennial