Commems Collection Classic: Quick Bits 123 - An African-American Connection

I've previously written how the 1921 Missouri Statehood Centennial Half Dollar and the 1934-38 Daniel Boone Birth Bicentennial Half Dollars form one of the most obvious connections within the classic-era US commemorative coin series via their depiction of frontiersman Daniel Boone. This post is about the most obvious classic-era coin connection: the 1946-51 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollars and the 1951-54 George Washington Carver-Booker T. Washington National Memorials Half Dollars.

Booker T. Washington (BTW)

(Image Credit: Public Domain.)

Geprge Washington Carver (GWC)

(Image Credit: Public Domain.)

Of course, the most obvious connection is found in the depiction of Booker T. Washington on each of the coins. (I've also posted about a potential third coin that was to feature BTW. Read it here: What If? 1956 Booker T Washington Coin #3.)

Another connection for the BTW and GWC-BTW coins is the fact that the GWC-BTW coin program resulted from an amendment to the original BTW coin bill that was approved by Congress in 1946; the bill was amended by Congress in 1951 to authorizes the second coin.

A more behind-the-scenes connection lies in the fact that Sidney J. Phillips was the president of each of the groups that sponsored / benefited from coin sales: the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial and the George Washington Carver National Monument Foundation.

The social/cultural/historical - and most important - link between the two coin programs lies in the relationship of the two African-American men honored by the coins:

- BTW established the Tuskegee Institute (Alabama) for African Americans in 1881; impressed with his work, BTW hired George Washington Carver in 1896 to head up the school's agricultural department. Carver taught at Tuskegee until his death in 1943 - he became known as "The Wizard of Tuskegee."

- Carver was a strong supporter of BTW and BTW's drive to provide vocational training to African Americans so that they could financially support themselves and be productive in society. GWC supported BTW and his philosophies until BTW's death in 1915; BTW's achievements and legacy continued to be an inspiration for GWC in the years that followed.

1946 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar


1951 George Washington Carver - Booker T. Washington Half Dollar



For more of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including others about the BTW and GWC-BTW half dollars, see: Commems Collection.