California Diamond Jubilee half dollar
United States | |
Value | 50 cents (0.50 US dollars) |
---|---|
Mass | 12.5[1] g |
Diameter | 30.61[1] mm (1.20 in) |
Thickness | 2.15 mm (0.08 in) |
Edge | Reeded[1] |
Composition |
|
Silver | 0.36169 Forty-Niner panning for gold |
Designer | Jo Mora |
Design date | 1925 |
Reverse | |
Design | Grizzly bear |
Designer | Jo Mora |
Design date | 1925 |
The California Diamond Jubilee half dollar was a
The San Francisco Citizens' Committee wished to issue a commemorative coin as a fundraiser for a celebration of the statehood
The coins were struck in August 1925 in San Francisco, and were sold the following month. They did not sell as well as hoped: only some 150,000 of the authorized mintage of 300,000 were ever struck, and of that, nearly half went unsold and were melted. The coin is catalogued at between $200 and $1,300, though exceptional specimens have sold for more.
Background
The land that is now the state of California was first visited by Europeans when Spanish explorer
According to
Inception
The California Diamond Jubilee
The Federal Government is permitting its coinage system to be commercialized for the profit of any celebration, whether national in its scope or not ... I feel that even for an anniversary of national significance the Treasury should not be asked to debauch its currency system ... Each case is precedent for the next case, and we must draw some limit to the diversion of our currency from its legitimate purpose as a means of payment by the general public for its business transactions, to a means of profit to particular bodies.[7]
Nevertheless, Coolidge signed the bill, which became the Act of February 24, 1925, authorizing all three coins.[8] This was the first time commemorative coin legislation covered more than one issue.[9] A total of 300,000 for the California piece was authorized, with the coins to be drawn at face value on behalf of the Citizens' Committee by the San Francisco Clearing House Association or the Los Angeles Clearing House Association.[8] The latter group of banks had in 1923 distributed the Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar.[10]
Preparation
On May 4, 1925, Rossi sent a letter to Mint Director Robert J. Grant. Rossi noted that there had been some delay in the preparation of the design for the new half dollar, and that California Senator Samuel M. Shortridge had urged Rossi's committee to move forward without delay. Rossi enclosed sketches by California sculptor Joseph (Jo) Mora, with the promise that a finished design, and a model, would follow.[11] Citizens' Committee members had selected Mora unanimously, feeling he was the one artist who could capture the spirit of what was being commemorated.[12]
On receipt, the sketches and letter were forwarded to the
Despite Fraser's recommendations, the Citizens' Committee stayed with Mora, who quickly turned out the finished sketches.[13] Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen, in their volume on U.S. commemorative coins, suggested that the Citizens' Committee did not hire Beach or Aitken due to lack of time and an unwillingness to pay their large fees.[14] The finished models were sent to the Philadelphia Mint on June 17, and were forwarded to the commission.[13] By this time, Fraser was no longer a member of the Commission[12] and they were sent to Lorado Taft, along with a note that the Citizens' Committee had not hired Aitken due to the expense and that the new designs were little better than the old. However, both Taft and another member, Louis Ayres, recommended acceptance. Ayres did suggest "that 'In God We Trust' be placed in some position where it does not seem as if the '49ers were frying it in oil".[13] Numismatic historian Don Taxay averred that this advice was not followed due to the lack of an alternative position in which to place the motto.[13]
With the designs accepted, the Mint created working dies based on the plaster model in July 1925. These were sent from Philadelphia to the San Francisco Mint, where 150,000 coins were struck in August, plus 200 reserved for inspection and testing at the 1926 meeting of the United States Assay Commission.[15]
Design
In creating the half dollar, Mora used motifs evoking California at the time of statehood in 1850. The
The California Diamond Jubilee half dollar has been widely admired. Swiatek deemed the coin "one of my favorite numismatic works of art".[9] According to coin dealer and author Q. David Bowers, "the Citizens' Committee ... wisely ignored Fraser's criticism".[16] Eric Brothers, in his 2014 article on the coin, wrote that it "embodied the quintessential imagery of California in the 1850s".[12] David M. Bullowa, who studied commemorative coins on behalf of the American Numismatic Association in the 1930s, regarded it as "a very virile and well executed half dollar, in which obverse and reverse are definitely related to each other".[16] His contemporary, B. Max Mehl, wrote in 1937 that it was a "beautiful coin ... [the] obverse is a very fine piece of art".[16] Nevertheless, he mistook the animal on the reverse for a polar bear, and expressed puzzlement: "I have traveled and toured California from one end to the other and have never yet seen a bear".[16]
Art historian
Distribution and collecting
The first California Diamond Jubilee half dollar struck was given to the
At least one half dollar must have left the San Francisco Mint by August 26, 1925, as it was shown at a meeting of the Pacific Coast Numismatic Society on that day.[15] Children born on the 75th anniversary of California statehood (September 9, 1925) in that state were given one of the half dollars, a total of 494.[18] A few pieces were mounted in badges used by officials. Many were sold at a celebration in San Francisco from September 6 to 12 in commemoration of that jubilee. Although thousands were purchased by coin collectors and dealers, the bulk are believed to have gone to non-collectors. According to Bowers, "distribution efforts were not particularly well coordinated" and 63,606 pieces were returned to the Mint for melting, leaving a total of 86,594 pieces distributed to the public, including the assay coins.[21]
The half dollar has gradually risen in price over the years, with the only setbacks being the price declines following the commemorative coin booms of 1936 and 1980.[22] The 2015 edition of Richard S. Yeoman's A Guide Book of United States Coins lists it at between $200 and $1,300, depending on condition.[23] One, in exceptional MS-68 condition, brought $17,250 at auction in 2009.[24]
See also
- Early United States commemorative coins
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e Yeoman, pp. 208, 284.
- ^ a b c Slabaugh, p. 69.
- ^ Swiatek & Breen, p. 35.
- ^ Taxay, p. 89.
- ^ Taxay, pp. 89–90.
- ^ 1925 Congressional Record, Vol. 71, Page 3930 (February 17, 1925)
- ^ House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures (June 5, 1947). "Issuance of Commemorative Coins". p. 6. (subscription required)
- ^ a b Flynn, p. 350.
- ^ a b Swiatek, p. 150.
- ^ Bowers, p. 179.
- ^ Taxay, p. 103.
- ^ a b c d Brothers, p. 69.
- ^ a b c d e f Taxay, p. 106.
- ^ Swiatek & Breen, pp. 35–36.
- ^ a b c Swiatek & Breen, p. 36.
- ^ a b c d e Bowers, p. 178.
- ^ a b c Vermeule, p. 171.
- ^ a b Swiatek, p. 151.
- ^ Swiatek, pp. 151–152.
- ^ Flynn, p. 65.
- ^ Bowers, pp. 179–180.
- ^ Bowers, p. 180.
- ^ Yeoman, p. 294.
- ^ Swiatek, p. 153.
Bibliography
- Bowers, Q. David (1992). Commemorative Coins of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia. Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc.
- Brothers, Eric (May 2014). "Have Pen, Will Travel". The Numismatist. Colorado Springs, CO: American Numismatic Association: 69.
- 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: 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.
- ISBN 978-0-674-62840-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7948-4215-4.