Texas Centennial half dollar

Texas Centennial half dollar

United States
Value	50 cents (0.50 U.S. dollars)
Mass	12.5 g
Diameter	30.61 mm (1.20 in)
Thickness	2.15 mm (0.08 in)
Edge	Reeded
Composition	90.0% Ag 10.0% Cu
Silver	0.36169  troy oz
Years of minting	1934–1938
Mint marks	D, S. To the right of Victory's foot on the reverse. Philadelphia Mint coins struck without mint marks.
Obverse
Design	An eagle perched atop an oak branch in front of the Lone Star of Texas.
Designer	Pompeo Coppini
Reverse
Design	The goddess Victory spreading her wings over the Alamo. Portraits of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin embedded within clouds to the sides. The Six Flags of Texas fly above her head, alongside the banner "Liberty".
Designer	Pompeo Coppini

The Texas Centennial half dollar was a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1934 to 1938. It features an eagle and the Lone Star of Texas on the obverse, while the reverse is a complex scene incorporating the winged goddess Victory, the Alamo Mission, portraits of Texan founding fathers Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, alongside the six flags over Texas. Proposed by the American Legion's Texas Centennial Committee as a fundraising measure for the Texas Centennial Exposition and a celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Texas Revolution, the coin's issue was approved by Congress in 1933, ending a multi-year pause on new commemorative issues under the Hoover administration. It was designed by sculptor Pompeo Coppini, previously the designer of several Texan public monuments. Rough models of the coin were approved by the committee in May 1934, but rejected by the United States Commission of Fine Arts, who viewed the design as crowded and overly-complicated.

Despite the Fine Arts Commission's recommendations for a redesign, the coin's congressional sponsor, Texas representative William D. McFarlane, opposed any broad-scale revision of Coppini's models. A smaller set of changes was approved by both Coppini and the commission, and the coin entered production at the Philadelphia Mint in October 1934. The vast majority of this initial issue went unsold and was sent back to the mint to be melted down for its silver. Smaller issues were produced at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints for the four following years, even beyond the conclusion of the Centennial Exposition in 1936. The Texas Centennial Committee ceased sales of the coin in November 1938. Despite their relative lack of sales, the type proved popular with collectors, and gradually appreciated in value over the course of the 20th century.

Inception

In 1933, in preparation for the hundredth anniversary of the Texas Revolution, the American Legion's Texas Centennial Committee began plans for the Texas Centennial Exposition, a world's fair set to take place in Dallas in 1936. In order to fund the massive exposition, the committee pursued a commemorative coinage issue, likely inspired by the Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar. Texas congressman William D. McFarlane, enjoying friendly connections to the committee, pushed for the creation of a coin to commemorate the centennial and fund the exposition. ^[1]

Pompeo Coppini, c. 1910s

Opposition to commemorative coinage due to counterfeiting concerns led to various failed or vetoed commemorative coinage bills during the administration of Herbert Hoover. A more favorable climate was found under Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration. On June 15, 1933, Congress approved a commemorative half dollar to mark the Texas Centennial, authorizing an issue of 1,500,000 coins. ^{[2] [3]}

The Texas Centennial Commission hired Pompeo Coppini, a prominent Italian-American sculptor, to design the coin. While based in Texas, his main studio was located in New York City. Coppini had previously designed various public monuments in Texas, prominently including the Littlefield Fountain of the University of Texas at Austin. ^{[4] [5]} During this period, Texan numismatist and coin dealer B. Max Mehl wrote that he had advised the committee on how to create a more profitable design for the coin. ^[3]

By May 1934, Coppini completed models of both faces of the coin, later described as "unusually crude" by numismatist Don Taxay. These included a large number of design elements, likely requested by the Centennial Committee itself. Following the approval of the committee, these were sent to the United States Commission of Fine Arts for examination. ^{[1] [2]} Charles Moore, the chair of the commission, was a critic of commemorative half-dollar series, and took an especially dim view of Coppini's initial models, describing them as a conglomeration of "the whole history of Texas and all its leading personages in a perfect hodgepodge." ^[2] Sculptor and commission member Lee Lawrie also critiqued the design, and wrote an extensive request for design alterations to the model. Lawrie recommended the removal of the six flags over Texas and the winged goddess Victory, to be replaced by a design focused on the Alamo, alongside Texan founding fathers Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. ^[2]

The commission approved Lawrie's recommendations and sent them to Coppini and McFarlane. While Coppini wrote in response that the models were intended as rough sketches, McFarlane was insistent on the use of the modeled designs. The commission eventually relented their broader criticisms of the design, in favor of adjustments to the specific design elements of the coin. Lawrie met with Coppini in early June and the two agreed on a set of smaller changes. These were approved by the commission on June 25, 1934, with the Treasury consenting shortly thereafter. ^[6]

Design

The obverse includes a bald eagle perched in front of the Lone Star of Texas. The presence of an eagle on the obverse is distinct from most other American coins, which traditionally feature eagles on the reverse. In early models of the coin, the eagle held a laurel wreath in its claws, but this was changed to an oak branch for the final design. Six stars accompany the label of Half Dollar at the bottom, likely referencing the six flags over Texas. The dual mottoes of In God We Trust and E pluribus unum flank the star. The text United-States-of-America, arcing along the upper edge of the obverse, is hyphenated for unknown reasons. ^[7]

The Alamo Mission features prominently on the coin's reverse.

The reverse features a complicated series of elements. The winged goddess Victory, wearing a liberty cap, crouches while holding the Alamo and an olive branch. Besides her, embedded within clouds, are two tondo busts of Texas founders Sam Houston and Stephen Austin, each with an extremely small label. Behind the central figure is the six flags over Texas, ^{[lower-greek 1]} although these are indistinct and partially obscured by a scroll bearing the word Liberty, an addition required by the Coinage Act of 1792. Another motto, Remember The Alamo, is placed along the bottom edge of the reverse. When a mint mark is present, it is placed below Victory. Coppini's initials, P. C., are adjacent to the bottom-right corner of the Alamo. ^[7]

Reception

Lawrie, writing to Fine Arts Commission secretary H. P. Caemmerer shortly before the coin's approval, described the final design as "much improved" over the initial model, but ultimately held by the large number of separate design elements. ^[6]

Art historian and numismatist Cornelius Clarkson Vermeule III described the complex reverse of the coin as Coppini's tour de force and "a classic triumph of how much can be successfully crowded on a coin". ^[4] Numismatists Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen held a much dimmer view of the coin, describing the reverse design as "impossibly confusing", and especially prone to illegibility due to poor striking. ^[9]

Production and distribution

205,113 of the coins were produced at the Philadelphia Mint in October and November 1934. Although much lower than the initially authorized 1,500,000, this was considered a large mintage during the period. ^{[3] [10]} Distribution was slightly delayed from an initial target of November 1934, and became available to the public the following month. This initial mintage was mainly distributed through Texan banks, available at a price of one dollar per coin. Demand was far lower than initially planned, and 143,650 unsold coins were sent back to the Treasury to be melted down for their silver content. Despite this, the Centennial Committee continued commissions and sales of the coinage. The Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints produced 10,000 coins each in November 1935, alongside a small number of specimens reserved for assay purposes. The 1935 issue was sold at a raised price of $1.50 per coin, while the committee's remaining stock of 1915 coins were available for $1.15. ^[3] The coins were shipped to buyers in envelopes, occasionally within cardboard holders. Some were sold unofficially by B. Max Mehl in boxes. ^[11]

Anthony Garland Adair, the chairman of the Centennial Committee, attributed the low sales of the 1934 issue to a small advertising budget. Walter P. Nichols, later a distributor of the York County Tercentenary half dollar, wrote to Adair recommending that the committee pursue a design change. As alterations to the design required congressional approval, Texas senator Tom Connally introduced a bill in 1936 to allow for a new edition of the coin. The bill, S. 3721, outlined five separate designs variations in an attempt to drive further sales. This was opposed by Colorado senator Alva B. Adams, who reasoned that an excessive total of 15 varieties of the coin would be produced per year if issues of each were struck at each branch mint. ^{[12] [13]}

The proposal for modified designs was rejected, but another issue of 10,000 coins each were struck at all three mints in 1936. Following the Centennial Exposition's end in November 1936, distribution was turned over to the Texas Memorial Museum Centennial Coin Committee, seeking to raise funds for the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin. Low sales continued, but an issue of around 8,000 coins was produced at all three mints in April–May 1937. A final issue of 5,000 coins were again struck at each mint in January 1938, sold by the committee at an increased price of $2.00 per coin. The Committee struggled to sell either the 1938 issues or their remaining stock of coins from previous years, and many were returned to the Treasury for melting following the end of sales in November 1938. In total, 304,000 coins were struck during the four year period of issue, far short of the originally authorized figure of 1,500,000. Of these, a slight majority of 154,522 coins were melted down by the Treasury. ^{[12] [13]}

Mintage figures

Texas Centennial half dollar mintage ^[13]

Date	Mint	Distributed	Assay	Melted	Net
1934	(P)	205,000	113	143,650	61,350
1935	(P)	10,000	8	12	9,988
	D	10,000	7	0	10,000
	S	10,000	8	0	10,000
1936	(P)	10,000	8	1,097	8,903
	D	10,000	7	968	9,032
	S	10,000	8	943	9,057
1937	(P)	8,000	5	1,434	6,566
	D	8,000	6	1,401	6,599
	S	8,000	7	1,370	6,630
1938	(P)	5,000	5	1,225	3,775
	D	5,000	5	1,230	3,770
	S	5,000	6	1,192	3,808

Collecting

Although the 1934 issue of the coin is by far the most numerous, it was treated as a novelty souvenir, and is thus commonly found in mishandled or circulated condition. Poor strikes are common, especially on the reverse of the coin, as are damages from whizzing or polishing. Price variations between the various issues are minor in lower mint-state grades, but diverge significantly in MS-65 and beyond. Numismatist Anthony Swiatek described the 1935-D coin as the most appealingly produced in the series, with proof-like appearances early in the production run. ^[14]

Despite low sales, the coins found popularity among collectors. They remained at roughly their original issue price until the 1950s, after which they began appreciating. By the 1980s, mint-state examples were sold for well over $100 per coin. ^[15]

Notes

1. Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States, and the Confederate States of America ^[8]

References

Citations

1. Swiatek & Breen 1981, pp. 234–237.
2. Taxay 1967, pp. 132–133.
3. Bowers 1991, p. 267.
4. Vermeule 1971, p. 186.
5. Remy, Caroline; Levering, Jean L.; Branda, Eldon Stephen; Curlee, Kendall (July 19, 2023). "Coppini, Pompeo Luigi (1870–1957)". Texas State Historical Association . Retrieved June 4, 2024.
6. Taxay 1967, pp. 135–136.
7. Swiatek & Breen 1981, pp. 233–234.
8. Swiatek & Breen 1981, p. 233.
9. Swiatek & Breen 1981, p. 234.
10. Swiatek 2012, p. 236.
11. Bowers 1991, p. 271.
12. Bowers 1991, pp. 268–270.
13. Swiatek & Breen 1981, pp. 237–238.
14. Swiatek 2012, pp. 236–237.
15. Bowers 1991, pp. 270–275.

Bibliography

• Bowers, Q. David (1991). Commemorative Coins of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia. Bowers and Merena Galleries. ISBN   0-943161-36-3.
• Swiatek, Anthony (2012). Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States: History, Art, Investment & Collection of America's Memorial Coinage (2nd ed.). Chicago: KWS Publishers. ISBN   978-0-9817736-7-4.
• Swiatek, Anthony; Breen, Walter (1981). Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins 1892-1954. New York: Arco Publishing. ISBN   0-668-04765-8.
• Taxay, Don (1967). An Illustrated History of U.S. Commemorative Coinage. New York: Arco Publishing. LCCN   67-10696.
• Vermeule, Cornelius Clarkson III (1971). Numismatic Art in America: Aesthetics of the United States Coinage. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. SBN   674-62840-3.