Commems Collection Classic: 1946-51 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial - 1948 Promotion

The Booker T. Washington ("BTW") Birthplace Memorial tried a new promotional approach in 1948 - it connected its BTW campaign to the 215th Anniversary of the birth of George Washington. (b. 1732) (Never let it be said that missing the target by a year should stand in the way of a national marketing campaign! 1947 was the actual 215th birth anniversary of George Washington.)

In practical terms, however, those who responded to the campaign on a timely basis likely received 1947-dated coins. I base this on the fact that notices of the Memorial's new campaign appeared in February 1948 and US Mint reports indicate that 1948 BTW half dollars were not sruck until May 1948. Per the Mint's reporting, 20,000 of the 1948 BTW half dollars were struck at each of the Mints in Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco for a total of 60,000 (plus assay coins).

The Campaign piece did not make a strong connection between George Washington and BTW, referencing only the former's birth date anniversary and how the BTW campaign was launching at the same time "the nation celebrates the 215th anniversary of George Washington's birth" and that "it will be memorializing Booker T. Washington."

The BTW-George Washington Campaign of 1948 does not appear to have been very successful. While its unknown how many 1947-dated (or 1946-dated) coins may have been delivered to those who ordered based on the campaign, ~36,000 of the 1948 coins struck were returned to the mints to be melted. This resulted in a net mintage of ~8,000 per Mint facility or 40% of the total struck. Based on these statistics, it can be confidently stated that the Campaign did not have long-lasting impact.

The selling price of the coins was specified at $1.00 per coin; this price included shipping/handling.

The Order Form printed with the piece requested the name of the newspaper in which it was found. I imagine this was a tracking tool to determine which outlets drove the most orders. The open-ended nature of the request, however, could have produced the names of newspapers that did not carry the campaign's release, and thus could be identified for potential future campaign initiatives by the Memorial.

Booker T Washington 1948 Campaign Order Form

(Image Credit: Booker T Washington Birthplace Memorial. Fair use; education.)

Of all the classic-era US commemorative coin programs, the 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial, the 1926-39 Oregon Trail Memorial and the Booker T Washington Birthplace Memorial were certainly among the most tenacious and creative in terms of their marketing. You can't fault their efforts regarding their coins!

1946-51 Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial Half Dollar (1946 Example)



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more about the Booker T Washington coins, see: Commems Collection


Note: I'm preparing a story about the name connection between BTW and George Washington Carver with George Washington, the first United States ("US") President under the Constitution. Stay tuned!