Commems Collection Classic: 1934 Maryland Tercentenary - Historical Tidbits

Here are a few quick facts about the 1934 Maryland Tercentenary Half Dollar:

Tidbit #1

Though the United States ("US") Mint at Philadelphia struck all 25,000 Maryland half dollars during July 1934, local reports indicate that the first batch of coins received in Maryland (Baltimore) totaled 10,000. The coins were received by the Maryland Tercentenary Commission on Monday, July 9, 1934.

Tidbit #2

In addition to fulfilling mail orders for the coin, the Maryland Tercentenary Commission arranged for the Baltimore Clearing House to receive coins and distribute them to local banks; more than 50 banks were involved in coin sales (the coins were sold for $1.00 each).

Tidbit #3

R. Bennet Darnall, Chairman of the Maryland Tercentenary Commission, stated that the net proceeds from coin sales would be "used to meet the expenditures in connection with the celebration of the State's three hundredth anniversary." Such expenditures would include live events, as well as administrative expenses and initial costs for souvenir item production.

Tidbit #4

The Maryland Tercentenary half dollar was initially suggested by John Work Garrett (b. 1872, d. 1942), who encouraged Senators Millard Evelyn Tydings (D-MD) and Thomas Allen Goldsborough (D-MD) to introduce legislation calling for such a coin; they did so in March 1934. Garrett was a prominent Baltimore coin collector who carried forward his father's initial coin collection to create one of epic scale. (The original coin collection was started in 1860 by T. Harrison Garrett while he was a student at Princeton. After his death, the collection was inherited by his son Robert who later traded it to his brother John Work.)

John Work Garrett - Circa 1920s

(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division - George Grantham Bain Collection. Public Domain.)

Garrett was also a long-time American Diplomat, serving as a US Ambassador (or Minister) to multiple nations as part of multiple administrations. His posts included: Venezuela (1911), Argentina (1912-1913), the Netherlands (1917-1919), Luxembourg (1917-1919) and Italy (1929-1933).

Note: If the name "John W. Garrett" sounds familiar, it might be because of the Garrett Collection auction in the early 1980s that was conducted by Bowers & Ruddy Galleries for The Johns Hopkins University.

1934 Maryland Tercentenary Half Dollar



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including many more Maryland half dollar stories, see: Commems Collection.