Commems Collection Classic: 1936 Elgin, IL Centennial - Marquette And Joliet Connection?

I've written before about the mismatch between the founding of Elgin, Illinois (1835) and the Elgin Centennial half dollar (1936). (Read it here: 1936 Elgin, IL Centennial Vs. City Of Elgin. It appears, however, that the coin's objectives were 'expanded' at the time of its issue when presented to the general public. Here's a historically broader perspective on the coin's objectives...


The Act that authorized the Elgin half dollar states that the coin was to be struck "in commemoration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the city of Elgin, Illinois..."

While contemporayy news releases about the Elgin coin noted the City's Centennial in regards to the coin, they also expanded the coin's objectives beyond Elgin to tie into the early exploration of the Illinois area by the French explorers - Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet. The Frenchmen traveled the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and passed through what is now the State of Illinois during 1673; they also traveled (over land) through the present-day Chicago area to extend their trip from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River system. (The "1673" date is incorporated into the Elgin coin's design.)

Newspaper articles of the day regarding the coin included notes such as:

- "The date, 1673, is symbolic of the year that white men first visited the Fox valley region.

- "Marquette and Joliet, missionaries, visited this district 263 years ago and are said to be the first white men to have gazed upon the northern Illinois country.

.- ...the Elgin Centennial coins, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the settlement of northern Illinois."

Note: The Spanish, via Hernando De Soto, explored the southern Mississippi River area in 1541, but did not travel as far north as present-day Illinois.

Linkng the Elgin coin into the explorations made by Marquette and Joliet was a bit of a stretch considering the dates involved: 1936 (coin date) and 1673 (Marquette and Joliet exploration date) - they are 263 years apart vs. a 100 year multiple (e.g., a Centennial anniversary). The 1673 date does provide some regional historical context, however.

Theoretically, the expansion of the coin's commemorative objectives beyond solely celebrating the City of Elgin could have made the coin more attractive to regional souvenir seekers who did not have specific ties to Elgin. Of course, most of the coins sold likely went to collectors who would have purchased examples regardless of the city being commemorated ("gotta keep the set complete!").

The expanded scope, however, did not spur sales on to a sell out - 5,000 unsold coins were eventually returned to the Mint to be melted. This resulted in a final distribution of 20,000 coins out of the 25,000 authorized.

1936 Elgin, IL Centennial Half Dollar



For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals including more about Elgin coin discussed here, see: Commems Collection