Albany Charter half dollar
United States | |
Value | 50 cents (0.50 Reeded |
---|---|
Composition |
|
Silver | 0.36169 Assay Commission (7,342 melted) |
Mint marks | None, all pieces struck at Philadelphia Mint without mint mark. |
Obverse | |
Design | Beaver |
Designer | Gertrude K. Lathrop |
Design date | 1936 |
Reverse | |
Design | Thomas Dongan, Pieter Schuyler, and Robert Livingston |
Designer | Gertrude K. Lathrop |
Design date | 1936 |
The Albany Charter half dollar, also known as the Albany-Dongan half dollar or Albany half dollar, is a commemorative
In 1936, Congress approved many commemorative coins for issuance, including some of mostly local significance. These included the Albany piece, wanted by city officials to mark the 250th anniversary of the 1686 grant of its
By the time of issuance, the demand for commemorative coins was falling, and the issue price of $2 was considered high. More than 7,000 were returned to the Mint in 1943, and a hoard of over 2,000 was sold by a local bank in 1954 at the original issue price. As of 2018[update], the Albany half dollar prices in the low hundreds of dollars, but the original packaging, if undamaged, may sell for more.
Background
The first European to visit the site of
Until 1954, the entire mintage of commemorative coin issues was sold by the government at face value to a group authorized by Congress, which then tried to sell the coins at a profit to the public. The new pieces then entered the secondary market; in early 1936 all earlier commemoratives sold at a premium to their issue prices. The apparent easy profits to be made by purchasing and holding commemoratives attracted many to the coin collecting hobby, where they sought to purchase the new issues. This led to many commemorative coin proposals in Congress, including some of purely local significance,[3] such as the Albany half dollar.[4] The group designated to purchase the Albany half dollar from the government was a committee to be established by Albany's mayor.[5]
Legislation
Legislation for a commemorative half dollar in honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of Albany[a] was introduced into the House of Representatives on April 23, 1935, by Parker Corning of New York. It was referred to the Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures.[7] On February 17, 1936, it was reported back to the House, with a recommendation that it pass after being amended.[8] The amendment increased the authorized mintage from 10,000 half dollars to 25,000, and required that a committee of at least three people appointed by Albany's mayor be empowered to order the coins from the Mint (the original bill permitted an individual to have that power). Congressman Corning brought the bill to the House floor on March 25, and it passed without debate or opposition.[9]
In the Senate, the bill was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency on March 26, 1936.[10] Only two weeks earlier, on March 11, a subcommittee of the Banking Committee led by Colorado's Alva B. Adams had examined abuses of commemorative coin issuers.[11] The subcommittee had heard of the commemorative coin abuses of the time, when issuers often increased the number of coins needed for a complete set by having them issued at different mints with different mint marks; existing legislation placed no prohibition on this.[12] Lyman W. Hoffecker, a Texas coin dealer and official of the American Numismatic Association, testified that some coins like the Oregon Trail Memorial half dollar, first struck in 1926, had been issued over the course of years with different dates and mint marks. Other issues had been entirely bought up by single dealers, and some low-mintage varieties of commemorative coins were selling at high prices. The many varieties and inflated prices for some issues that resulted from these practices angered coin collectors trying to keep their collections current.[13]
Adams reported the Albany bill back to the Senate on May 21, 1936, with a proposed amendment.[14] The amendment entirely rewrote the bill, imposing restrictions such as a one-year limit for issuance of the coins from the Mint after enactment of the bill, and that they be struck at only one of the mints. The bill was considered by the Senate on June 1, and the bill was amended and passed without discussion or dissent.[15] As the two houses had not passed identical versions, the bill returned to the House of Representatives, where, on June 3, James M. Mead of New York moved that the House accept the Senate amendment; it did so without recorded discussion or dissent.[16] The bill became law on June 16, 1936, with the signature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, authorizing the minting of 25,000 half dollars. The law authorized the Albany committee to sell the half dollars at face value or at a premium, and required that the proceeds go to defray the cost of the anniversary celebrations.[17][18]
Preparation
On July 2, 1936, Albany's mayor,
On September 2, Lathrop went to the offices of the
Design
The obverse of the half dollar depicts a beaver. Many of Albany's early settlers earned a living through the trade in beaver pelts, and the animal appears on the city's seal. Lathrop modeled the coin from a live beaver; one was lent to her for a few days at her studio by the New York State Department of Conservation. "[I]t is occasional contact with the interesting and friendly citizens of the wild that adds spice to one's work," Lathrop wrote.[24] The beaver in Lathrop's design gnaws on a branch of maple, the New York state tree. Two maple keys, containing the seeds, are used to divide the name of the issuing country from the coin's denomination: they, as well as the pine cones that fulfill a similar function on the reverse, were meant by the sculptor to symbolize the growth and fertility of the community.[24] The lumber industry was for many years a mainstay of Albany's economy.[25] E PLURIBUS UNUM is to the beaver's left; IN GOD WE TRUST to its right.[26]
The reverse depicts Schuyler and Livingston taking leave of Governor Dongan. Schuyler, soon to be mayor, holds his city's charter.
Numismatic author
Minting, distribution and collecting
A total of 25,013 Albany half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia Mint during October 1936, including 13 pieces set aside to be available for inspection and testing at the 1937 meeting of the annual
The committee wrote to O'Reilly in February 1937, wanting to know the procedure for returning unsold coins,[33] and in 1943, with sales at a standstill, it returned 7,342 pieces for redemption and melting, leaving 17,658 specimens extant.[23] The retail price from coin dealers of the Albany half dollar in uncirculated condition dropped as low as $1.50 in 1940, recovering to $4 in 1950.[34] In 1954 it became known that the State Bank of Albany had some 2,000 Albany half dollars in its vaults and was willing to sell them for the original issue price of $2. They sold to several local collectors and dealers.[28] At the time, the market price was $8.[26]
By 1970, the market price was $80 and by 1985, $400.[34] As of 2009, the coin could fetch $330 for an uncirculated coin rated as
The original packaging, which is rarer than the half dollar itself, included a four-page booklet containing an illustration of the coin, a history of Albany, and slots for one to five coins. Both the booklet and the envelope it came in are highly collectible. Even scarcer are boxes designed to hold single coins and inscribed with "The National Commercial Bank and Trust Company of Albany".[17] Numismatic author Anthony Swiatek, in his 2012 volume on commemoratives, values the holder at between $75 and $125, increased with the original envelope to between $125 and $175. The boxes have sold for between $350 and $3,000, depending on condition.[38]
See also
- Early United States commemorative coins
Notes
References
- ^ Slabaugh, pp. 128–129.
- ^ Bielinski, Stefan (April 25, 2015). "Robert Livingston: the founder". New York State Museum. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- ^ Bowers, pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b c Flynn, p. 43.
- ^ Flynn, p. 355.
- ^ a b Slabaugh, p. 128.
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 6257–6258 (April 23, 1935)
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 2275 (February 17, 1936)
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 4324 (March 25, 1936)
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 4365 (March 26, 1936)
- ^ Senate hearings, pp. title page, 1–2.
- ^ Senate hearings, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Senate hearings, pp. 18–23.
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 7659 (May 21, 1936)
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 8440 (June 1, 1936)
- ^ 1936 Congressional Record, Vol. 82, Page 8825 (June 3, 1936)
- ^ Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Archived from the originalon July 14, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
- ^ "Public No. 687 — 74th Congress H.R. 7690". United States Congress. June 16, 1936. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ Flynn, p. 254.
- ^ Flynn, pp. 254–255.
- ^ Taxay, pp. v–vi.
- ^ a b Taxay, p. 222.
- ^ a b Swiatek & Breen, p. 6.
- ^ a b Duffield, pp. 909–910.
- ^ Slabaugh, p. 129.
- ^ a b c d Swiatek, p. 280.
- ^ Taxay, pp. 220–222.
- ^ a b c Bowers, p. 321.
- ^ Bullowa, p. 155.
- ^ a b c Vermeule, p. 199.
- ^ Bowers, p. 320.
- ^ Swiatek, p. 279.
- ^ Flynn, p. 255.
- ^ a b Bowers, p. 322.
- ^ Paul M. Green (March 30, 2009). "Albany Half Dollar One of Many 1936 Issues". Numismatic News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
- ^ Yeoman, pp. 1087–1088.
- ^ Flynn, p. 44.
- ^ Swiatek, p. 282.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-943161-35-8.
- Bullowa, David M. (1938). "The Commemorative Coinage of the United States 1892–1938". Numismatic Notes and Monographs (83). New York: JSTOR 43607181. (subscription required)
- Duffield, Frank (uncredited) (November 1936). "The designs of the Albany half dollar". The Numismatist: 909–910.
- Flynn, Kevin (2008). The Authoritative Reference on Commemorative Coins 1892–1954. Roswell, GA: Kyle Vick. OCLC 711779330.
- Slabaugh, Arlie R. (1975). United States Commemorative Coinage (second ed.). Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing. ISBN 978-0-307-09377-6.
- Swiatek, Anthony (2012). Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States. Chicago: KWS Publishers. ISBN 978-0-9817736-7-4.
- Swiatek, Anthony; ISBN 978-0-668-04765-4.
- ISBN 978-0-668-01536-3.
- United States Senate Committee on Banking and Currency (March 11, 1936). Coinage of commemorative 50-cent pieces. United States Government Printing Office.
- ISBN 978-0-674-62840-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7948-4580-3.
External links
- Media related to Albany Charter half dollar at Wikimedia Commons