Fair warning ... this is another of my occasional (
and lengthy) posts sharing some history and MS versus circulated examples of classic US silver commemorative coinage.
Topic today is the 1936 Norfolk Virginia Bicentennial Half Dollar.
This coin represents one of the most obscure and localized events ever to be honored with a USA commemorative coin.
Nominally issued to celebrate Norfolk's 200th anniversary as a Borough (1736)... the City founders also wished to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the original Land Grant (1636).
A photo so we can discuss some of the interesting details and history of the coin ... here is my PCGS MS67 CAC Norfolk half dollar ... spectacular coin in hand.
The Baltimore, MD husband-wife team of William Marks Simpson and Marjorie Emory Simpson designed the coin. Their combined monogram WM(S)+MES can be seen in the reverse field at 5:30.
William Marks Simpson also created the designs for the 1937 Roanoke and Antietam Half Dollars ...
At the time this coin was being designed (Spring 1936), Congress was fed up with the abuses going in the 1936 commemorative issues and had actually authorize a medal on June 26, 1936 for the purpose of honoring Norfolk somewhat localized anniversary.
Politics often come into play in the early commemorative issues ... so in this case Mr. Simpson reached out to then Virginia US Senator Carter Glass who promised action ... which resulted in an Act dated June 28, 1937 to issue 25,013 Norfolk half dollars that were eventually struck at the Philadelphia mint in September 1937.
8077 coins were eventually returned as un-sold ... resulting in a net mintage of 16,936 Norfolk half dollars.
Interesting to note the historical connection that Senator Carter Glass is the featured obverse figure on the 1937 Lynchburg VA half dollar ... a topic that I have posted on recently. Wondering if politics came into play to have a living person depicted on a USA mint coin.
You can see the depiction of Carter Glass here:
https://goccf.com/t/87624Anyways ... take another look at the photo above ... and you will see a menagerie of 5 dates ... 1636, 1682, 1736, 1845 and 1936. None of these are the year (1937) in which the coin was actually minted!
Imagine that today!
The obverse of the Norfolk half dollar is ... IMHO ... the most cluttered USA commemorative coin ever minted. Three concentric rings contain details that even most specialists do not recognize today. The nature of the design tends to hide most bag marks as there is little field to speak of!
The inner ring contains the Norfolk city seal. Below the stylized 3-masted ship are waves and a row of young plants ... species unknown but possibly peanuts as Norfolk is a major peanut growing area ... and below these are three wheat sheaves.
The inner ring also contains two mottoes ... ET TERRA ET MARE DIVITIAE TUAE ... "
Both land and sea are your riches" ... and CRESCAS ... "
May you prosper".
The second ring contains the dates of the 'significant' events in Norfolk history ... while the outer ring contains the fake 1936 mintage date and the purported reason for the coin ...
The reverse is equally interesting ... and equally jammed full of letters sufficient IMHO for two coins alone.
The central feature of the reverse is Norfolk's Royal Mace ... presented to the Borough of Norfolk in 1753 by Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie and cherished ever since as the city's greatest historical treasure.
My research leads me to believe this is the only Royal Mace ever presented to an American city during the colonial times ... and it spends most of it's time today in a bank vault and is seldom on public display.
Today the Norfolk half dollar is readily available in high MS condition ... largely due to the cluttered nature of the design which tends to hide nicks and bag marks. A clean MS65 example can be had for appx $575.
That said ... clean circulated Norfolk half dollars are tough to come by!
After over 2 years of searching via shows, dealers and on-line ... I finally scored this XF40 example ...
My circulated Norfolk has a rim hit at 5:30 on the obverse ... but original surfaces and I am pleased with it.
Now have 30 of the 50 'type' coins in circulated condition ... a fun and challenging complement to my MS set.
I truly enjoy the history, stories and beauty of this great series ... Thanks for allowing me to share.
Hoping someone out there reads this missive.
David
Posted 08/13/2011 10:08 pm
