Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar

Last updated

Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar
United States
Value50 cents (0.50) US dollars)
Mass12.5 g
Diameter30.61 mm (1.20 in)
Thickness2.15 mm (0.08 in)
Edge Reeded
Composition
  • 90.0% silver
  • 10.0% copper
Silver0.36169  troy oz
Years of minting1936
Mintage20,000 with 13 pieces for the Assay Commission
Mint marksNone, all pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint without mint mark
Obverse
Lynchburg sesquicentennial half dollar commemorative obverse-cutout.png
DesignBust of Carter Glass
Designer Charles Keck
Design date1936
Reverse
Lynchburg sesquicentennial half dollar commemorative reverse-cutout.png
Design Liberty
Designer Charles Keck
Design date1936

The Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar was a commemorative half dollar designed by Charles Keck and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1786 incorporation of the independent city of Lynchburg, Virginia. The obverse of the coin depicts former Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Senator Carter Glass, a native of Lynchburg. The reverse depicts a statue of the Goddess of Liberty, with Lynchburg sites behind her, including the Old Courthouse and the city's Confederate monument.

Contents

Glass sponsored legislation for the half dollar, which passed Congress without difficulty. The Commission of Fine Arts proposed that the coin should bear the portrait of John Lynch, founder of Lynchburg, on the obverse, but no portrait of him was known. Instead, the Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association decided Senator Glass should be on the coin. Despite his opposition, Glass became the third living person to appear on a U.S. coin, and the first to be shown alone.

The coins sold well when placed on sale in the late summer of 1936, and sales to out-of-towners were limited. The entire issue sold out, with some put aside for the sesquicentennial celebrations in October. Issued for $1 (equivalent to $22in 2023), the coins have appreciated over the years, with 2018 estimates of value ranging between $225 and $365, depending on condition.

Background

The Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association desired to have a commemorative half dollar honoring the anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly's 1786 first mention of the incorporation of Lynchburg; it became a city in 1852. [1] In 1936, commemorative coins were not sold by the government—Congress, in authorizing legislation, usually designated an organization with exclusive rights to purchase them at face value and vend to the public at a premium. [2] In the case of the Lynchburg half dollar, the responsible group would be the Sesqui-Centennial Association. [3]

The year 1936 saw Congress authorize 15 new commemorative coin issues, and pieces authorized in prior years were struck again, dated 1936. That year saw a major boom in commemorative coin prices, and the new issues helped fuel the market. Some of these new issues, like the Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar, were controlled by insiders for private profit. [4] The Lynchburg piece, on the other hand, would defray the cost of the anniversary celebrations, [5] and was motivated by pride in the city and its history. [6] Lynchburg was a supply center for the Confederacy during the Civil War; a Union attempt to take the city was beaten back in 1864 by Confederate General Jubal Early. In 1858, Carter Glass, later Secretary of the Treasury and a representative and senator from Virginia, was born there, and lived there in 1936. [7]

Legislation

Glass introduced the bill for a Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar in the Senate on April 8, 1936; it was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency. On April 22, Alva B. Adams of Colorado reported it back to the Senate. [8] In its report, the committee noted that the bill included the standardized language it advocated because of past commemorative coin abuses: including that they be issued by only one mint and no fewer than 5,000 at a time, have only one design, be struck within a year of enactment, and bear the date 1936 even if struck later. The committee recommended the bill pass. [9]

On April 24, Adams brought the bill before the Senate, and moved that the authorized quantity of the coins be increased from 10,000 to 20,000. Both the amendment and the bill were agreed to without debate or recorded opposition. [10] The bill then went to the House of Representatives where on May 22, Virginia's Clifton A. Woodrum brought it to the floor. Robert F. Rich of Pennsylvania, a Republican, took the floor long enough to note that "this is, perhaps, the thirtieth bill of this kind to come in here this session of Congress. It is surely the beginning of Democratic inflation, and I warn the Members of the House to beware." [11] Following laughter and applause, the bill passed without objection, [11] and with the signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 28, 1936, became a law authorizing 20,000 half dollars. [3]

Preparation

Senator Carter Glass Senator Carter Glass of Virginia.jpg
Senator Carter Glass

On May 25, 1936, with the Lynchburg bill close to enactment, the secretary of the Sesqui-Centennial Association, Fred McWane, wrote to Charles S. Moore, chairman of the federal Commission of Fine Arts. [12] The commission was charged by a 1921 executive order by President Warren G. Harding with rendering advisory opinions regarding public artworks, including coins. [13] Moore replied on the 26th, suggesting that the coin should bear the portrait of John Lynch, founder of Lynchburg, on the obverse. McWane replied the following day, stating that there was no known portrait of Lynch, and that the Sesqui-Centennial Association was considering other possible obverses. For the reverse, McWane proposed the city's Memorial Terrace, long the first sight there that greeted visitors arriving by rail. [14]

On June 3, McWane wrote to Moore stating that the Sesqui-Centennial Association was considering Charles Keck and John David Brcin to sculpt the coin; Moore in his reply on the 9th, praised both men, but praised Keck more. [15] Keck had designed the 1915 Panama-Pacific gold dollar and the Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollar in 1927. [16] The Sesqui-Centennial Association took the hint and McWane notified Moore of Keck's hiring on July 1. He also advised Moore that his commission had decided Senator Glass should appear on the obverse. [15]

Glass protested at the idea of his face appearing on a coin, but this was to no avail. He telephoned the Philadelphia Mint in the hope a law might forbid himself, as a living person, from appearing on a coin, but was told that none did. The senator stated, "I had hoped there would be an avenue of escape." [17] According to Don Taxay in his volume on U.S. commemorative coins, "though [Glass was] the most influential man in Lynchburg, and honorary president of the Sesquicentennial Association, he found himself hopelessly outvoted". [12] On July 28, Mary Margaret O'Reilly, the assistant director of the Mint, forwarded Keck's models to the Fine Arts Commission; they were approved the following day. [18] Moore wrote to Glass on the 31st, predicting that the senator's depiction was one "that both your friends and posterity will approve". [15] Keck's models were sent to the Medallic Art Company of New York, which reduced them to coin-sized dies. [19]

Design

The half dollar depicts the Lynchburg Courthouse, Confederate Memorial and Monument Terrace. Monument Terrace Lynchburg Nov 08 (cropped).JPG
The half dollar depicts the Lynchburg Courthouse, Confederate Memorial and Monument Terrace.

The obverse contains a representation of Senator Carter Glass, making the Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar the third U.S. coin to depict a living person, and the first to show one alone—the earlier two, the Alabama Centennial half dollar (1921) and the U.S. Sesquicentennial half dollar (1926), depict jugate busts of a living person, a governor or president, with a deceased predecessor. [lower-alpha 1] [20] Glass also became the first person to have his signature on U.S. currency (during his term as Treasury Secretary) and his portrait on a coin. [6] Having headed the Treasury Department, he was aware of the custom that living people did not appear on U.S. coinage; its waiver in his case did not attract unfavorable criticism, as it was deemed well-deserved. [21]

The reverse depicts a statue of the goddess Liberty, her arms outstretched in welcome. In the background is seen a portion of Monument Terrace, with the Old Lynchburg Courthouse also depicted. Before the building is the city's Confederate monument. [22] According to Anthony Swiatek in his 2012 volume on commemorative coins, "the Confederacy receives prominent recognition on this coin". [23] Amid the debate over the removal of Confederate monuments in the United States, the question of whether to displace that statue, dedicated in 1900, has been raised, but as of 2017, it remains in place. [24]

Art historian Cornelius Vermeule, in his volume on U.S. commemorative coins and medals, deemed Keck's half dollar, "a successful but not startling combination of conservative elements". [25] He described the figure of Liberty on the reverse as "a Greco-Roman, actually Greek imperial, frontal Liberty placed before local landmarks". [25] Vermeule suggested that the tall, thin lettering on the reverse indicates that Keck was less influenced by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, under whom he studied, than by Chief Engraver of the United States Mint Charles E. Barber (served 1880–1917) and his successor George T. Morgan (1917–1925). Further, Vermeule tied Keck's Liberty to coins and medals designed by the two chief engravers, including their work on medals for the Assay Commission. He concluded that Keck's "style, as manifest in the Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half-dollar, was a recollection of the fashions perpetuated by Barber and Morgan". [26]

Production, distribution and collecting

In September 1936, the Philadelphia Mint struck 20,000 Lynchburg half dollars, plus 13 extra that would be held for inspection and testing at the 1937 meeting of the annual Assay Commission. The new coins came on the market during the price boom in commemorative coins, and readily sold at a price of $1 each. There was an order limit of 10 per person, though this might be waived if there was a written explanation. [27] Orders were accepted in advance, and the August 1936 issue of The Numismatist (the journal of the American Numismatic Association) contained a statement from the Sesqui-Centennial Association that orders for 2,000 had been received. [28] Once 15,000 had been sold, the remainder was held to allow local residents the opportunity to buy them. [29] On September 2, McWane wrote to a potential out-of-state buyer stating that they had all been purchased. [30] They were formally placed on sale on September 21. [27] Some were put aside for sale at the sesquicentennial celebration, held in Lynchburg from October 12 to 16, where they sold, mainly to local residents. [31]

The coins increased in price after 1936, their value helped by the wide distribution of the mintage, with no known hoards. By 1940, the value in uncirculated condition was $2, and by 1970 $40. At the height of the later commemorative coin boom in 1980, they sold for $550, dropping back to $375 by 1985. [32] The deluxe edition of R. S. Yeoman's A Guide Book of United States Coins , published in 2018, lists the coin for between $225 and $365, depending on condition. [33] An exceptional specimen sold in 2008 for $4,830. [5]

Notes

  1. The Alabama coin depicts Thomas Kilby, the governor in 1921, with William Bibb, Alabama's first governor. The U.S. Sesquicentennial piece shows the president in 1926, Calvin Coolidge, with the first U.S. president, George Washington. The Arkansas-Robinson half dollar, also issued in 1936, depicts Joseph Taylor Robinson alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alabama Centennial half dollar</span> US commemorative coin

The Alabama Centennial half dollar, or Alabama half dollar, was a commemorative fifty-cent coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1921 as a belated acknowledgement of the 100th anniversary of Alabama's admission to the Union in 1819. The coin was created by Laura Gardin Fraser, the first woman credited with designing a coin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeport, Connecticut, Centennial half dollar</span> 1936 US commemorative coin

The Bridgeport, Connecticut, Centennial half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece issued in 1936 by the United States Bureau of the Mint to honor the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Bridgeport, Connecticut, as a city. Designed by Henry Kreis, the obverse depicts the showman P. T. Barnum, who was one of Bridgeport's most famous residents, was mayor of the city, helped develop it, and is buried there. The reverse depicts a stylized eagle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar</span> 1936 commemorative U.S. coin

The Elgin, Illinois, Centennial half dollar was a fifty-cent commemorative coin issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936, part of the wave of commemoratives authorized by Congress and struck that year. Intended to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Elgin, the piece was designed by local sculptor Trygve Rovelstad. The obverse depicts an idealized head of a pioneer man. The reverse shows a grouping of pioneers, and is based upon a sculptural group that Rovelstad hoped to build as a memorial to those who settled Illinois, but which was not erected in his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland Centennial half dollar</span> 1936 US commemorative 50-cent coin

The Cleveland Centennial half dollar is a commemorative United States half dollar struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1936 and 1937, though all bear the earlier date. Sometimes known as the Cleveland Centennial Great Lakes Exposition half dollar, it was issued to mark the 100th anniversary of Cleveland, Ohio, as an incorporated city, and in commemoration of the Great Lakes Exposition, held in Cleveland in 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Diamond Jubilee half dollar</span> United States commemorative silver fifty-cent piece

The California Diamond Jubilee half dollar was a United States commemorative silver fifty-cent piece struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1925. It was issued to celebrate the 75th anniversary of California statehood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Sesquicentennial coinage</span> 1926 commemorative US half dollar and quarter eagle

The United States Sesquicentennial coin issue consisted of a commemorative half dollar and quarter eagle struck in 1926 at the Philadelphia Mint for the 150th anniversary of American independence. The obverse of the half dollar features portraits of the first president, George Washington, and the president in 1926, Calvin Coolidge, making it the only American coin to depict a president in his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar</span> 1928 United States coin

The Hawaii Sesquicentennial half dollar was struck in 1928 by the United States Bureau of the Mint in honor of the 150th anniversary of Captain James Cook's landing in Hawaii, the first European to reach there. The coin depicts Captain Cook on the obverse and a Hawaiian chieftain on the reverse. Only 10,000 were struck for the public, making the coin rare and valuable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maine Centennial half dollar</span> 1920 US commemorative coin

The Maine Centennial half dollar is a commemorative coin struck in 1920 by the United States Bureau of the Mint, in honor of the anniversary of Maine's admission to the Union on March 15, 1820. It was sculpted by Anthony de Francisci, following sketches by artist Harry Cochrane, from Monmouth, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri Centennial half dollar</span> US commemorative fifty-cent piece (1921)

The Missouri Centennial half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Mint in 1921. It was designed by Robert Ingersoll Aitken. The US state of Missouri wanted a commemorative coin to mark its centennial that year. Legislation for such a coin passed through Congress without opposition and was signed by President Warren G. Harding on his inauguration day, March 4, 1921. The federal Commission of Fine Arts hired Aitken to design the coin, which depicted Daniel Boone on both sides. The reverse design, showing Boone with a Native American, has been interpreted as symbolizing the displacement of the Indians by white settlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollar</span> 1927 American commemorative fifty-cent piece

The Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollar, sometimes called the Bennington–Vermont half dollar or the Battle of Bennington Sesquicentennial half dollar, is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1927. The coin was designed by Charles Keck, and on its obverse depicts early Vermont leader Ira Allen, brother of Ethan Allen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Tercentenary half dollar</span> US commemorative fifty-cent piece (1934)

The Maryland Tercentenary half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent piece issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1934. It depicts Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore on the obverse and the Coat of Arms of Maryland on the reverse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar</span> 1935 commemorative U.S. coin

The Hudson, New York, Sesquicentennial half dollar, sometimes called the Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar, is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935. The coin was designed by Chester Beach. Its obverse depicts the Half Moon, flagship of Henry Hudson, after whom the city of Hudson, New York is named. In addition to showing the ship, the coin displays a version of the Hudson city seal, with Neptune riding a whale, a design that has drawn commentary over the years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Territorial Centennial half dollar</span> 1936 United States commemorative coin

The Wisconsin Territorial Centennial half dollar is a commemorative half dollar designed by David Parsons and Benjamin Hawkins and minted by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The obverse depicts a pick axe and lead ore, referring to the lead mining in early Wisconsin, while the reverse depicts a badger and the territorial seal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">York County, Maine, Tercentenary half dollar</span> Commemorative fifty-cent coin struck by the United States Mint

The York County, Maine, Tercentenary half dollar is a 50-cent commemorative coin minted in 1936 to mark the tercentenary of the founding of York County, Maine. The obverse shows Brown's Garrison, the fort around which York County was formed, while the reverse depicts the county's arms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar</span> 1936 US commemorative coin

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar or Bay Bridge half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. One of many commemoratives issued that year, it was designed by Jacques Schnier and honors the opening of the Bay Bridge that November. One side of the coin depicts a grizzly bear, a symbol of California, and the other shows the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, with the Ferry Building in the foreground.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar</span> United States commemorative coin

The Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint. Designed by Abraham Wolfe Davidson and minted in 1936, it marks the 150th anniversary of the designation of Columbia as South Carolina's state capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Tercentenary half dollar</span> 1937 commemorative American coin

The Delaware Tercentenary half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first successful European settlement in Delaware. The reverse features the Swedish ship Kalmar Nyckel, which brought early settlers to Delaware, and the obverse depicts Old Swedes Church, which has been described as being the oldest Protestant church in the United States still used as a place of worship. While the coins are dated "1936" on the obverse and the reverse also has the dual date of "1638" and "1938", the coins were actually struck in 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk, Virginia, Bicentennial half dollar</span> Commemorative coin

The Norfolk, Virginia, Bicentennial half dollar is a half dollar commemorative coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1937, though it bears the date 1936. The coin commemorates the 200th anniversary of Norfolk being designated as a royal borough, and the 100th anniversary of it becoming a city. It was designed by spouses William Marks Simpson and Marjory Emory Simpson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grant Memorial coinage</span> US 1922 gold dollar and silver half dollar

The Grant Memorial coinage are a gold dollar and silver half dollar struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1922 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant, a leading Union general during the American Civil War and later the 18th president of the United States. The two coins, identical in design and sculpted by Laura Gardin Fraser, portrayed Grant on the obverse and his birthplace in Ohio on the reverse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roanoke Island, North Carolina, half dollar</span> United States commemorative coin

The Roanoke Island, North Carolina, half dollar is a commemorative coin issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1937. The coin commemorated the 350th anniversary of the Roanoke Colony, depicting Sir Walter Raleigh on one side, and on the other Eleanor Dare, holding her child, Virginia Dare, the first child of English descent born in an English colony in the Americas.

References

  1. Taxay, p. 212.
  2. Slabaugh, pp. 3–5.
  3. 1 2 Flynn, p. 355.
  4. Bowers, pp. 12–13.
  5. 1 2 Flynn, p. 118.
  6. 1 2 Swiatek & Breen, p. 144.
  7. Slabaugh, pp. 124–25.
  8. S. 4448 Calendar No. 2009. United States Senate. April 22, 1936.(subscription required)
  9. Senate Committee on Banking and Commerce (April 22, 1936). Authorize the Coinage of 50-cent Pieces in Commemoration of the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Issuance of the Charter to the City of Lynchburg, Va. p. 1.(subscription required)
  10. 1936 Congressional Record , Vol. 82, p. 6067 (April 24, 1936)
  11. 1 2 1936 Congressional Record , Vol. 82, pp. 7774–75 (May 22, 1936)
  12. 1 2 Taxay, p. 211.
  13. Taxay, pp. v–vi.
  14. Taxay, pp. 212, 214.
  15. 1 2 3 Taxay, p. 214.
  16. Bowers, p. 376.
  17. Swiatek, p. 351.
  18. Taxay, p. 216.
  19. Bullowa, p. 149.
  20. Swiatek, pp. 251–52.
  21. Bullowa, p. 150.
  22. Slabaugh, p. 24.
  23. Swiatek, p. 352.
  24. Louissaint, Magdala (August 17, 2017). "Lynchburg City to Discuss Whether to Keep or Take Down Confederate Statue". WSLS . Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  25. 1 2 Vermeule, p. 196.
  26. Vermeule, pp. 196–97.
  27. 1 2 Bowers, pp. 26, 376.
  28. "The Lynchburg (Va.) Half Dollar". The Numismatist . August 1936. p. 660.(subscription required)
  29. Horner, John V. (October 1936). "The Lynchburg Half Dollar". The Numismatist . p. 828.(subscription required)
  30. Swiatek, pp. 352, 354.
  31. Swiatek & Breen, p. 376.
  32. Bowers, pp. 376–77.
  33. Yeoman, p. 1086.

Sources