Huguenot-Walloon 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 |
|
Silver | 0.36169 troy oz |
Years of minting | 1924 |
Mintage | 142,080 including 80 pieces for the Assay Commission |
Mint marks | None, all pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint without mint mark. |
Obverse | |
Design | Jugate busts of Gaspard de Coligny (left) and William the Silent |
Designer | George T. Morgan, based on sketches by John Baer Stoudt |
Design date | 1924 |
Reverse | |
Design | The ship Nieuw Nederlandt |
Designer | George T. Morgan, based on sketches by John Baer Stoudt |
Design date | 1924 |
The Huguenot-Walloon half dollar or Huguenot-Walloon Tercentenary half dollar is a
A commission run by the
Of the 300,000 coins authorized by Congress, fewer than half were actually struck, and of these, 55,000 were returned to the Mint and released into circulation. The coin excited some controversy because of its sponsorship by a religious group. The choice of William the Silent and Gaspard de Coligny to appear on the obverse was also questioned as the men are considered martyrs by the Huguenots and died decades before the voyage of the Nieuw Nederlandt. The coins are currently valued in the hundreds of dollars, depending on condition.
Background
The
Many Huguenots who fled France settled in the Netherlands.
The Huguenot-Walloon New Netherland Commission was established in 1922 under the auspices of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America in anticipation of the upcoming anniversary. President Warren G. Harding was the honorary president of the commission, and King Albert I of Belgium accepted an honorary chairmanship.[4] The commission, led by its chairman, Rev. Dr. John Baer Stoudt, planned an observance for the 300th anniversary of the Nieuw Nederlandt voyage, and sought the issuance of commemorative stamps and coins.[5] At the time, commemorative coins were not sold by the government—Congress, in authorizing legislation, designated an organization which had the exclusive right to purchase the coins at face value and vend them to the public at a premium.[6]
Legislation
A bill for a Huguenot-Walloon half dollar was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 15, 1923, by Pennsylvania Congressman
Vestal stated that he could not support the bill as introduced because it did not designate who should order the coins, but Gernerd indicated that the Fifth National Bank of New York had agreed to act in that capacity. Stoudt appeared before the committee, explaining that his commission planned a design with the arrival of the Nieuw Nederlandt for one side, and for the other, Peter Minuit purchasing Manhattan from the Native Americans. New Jersey Congressman Ernest R. Ackerman briefly addressed the committee in support, noting that the coins would likely be retained as souvenirs, to the profit of the government. West Virginia's Wells Goodykoontz also spoke in favor. The witnesses, all urging passage of the bill, concluded with a number of local pastors, led by E. O. Watson, secretary of the Federal Council of Churches.[9] On February 10, 1923, Vestal issued a report recommending that the bill pass with an amendment adding the bank as the ordering organization.[10]
A parallel bill was introduced into the Senate by Pennsylvania's
Preparation
Stoudt supplied the concept for the coins, as well as sketches. Rather than seeking a private designer to produce plaster models, the Huguenot-Walloon commission approached the Mint's chief engraver, George T. Morgan, who turned 78 in 1923. Morgan, best remembered for his 1878 design for the Morgan dollar, had been chief engraver since 1917, following forty years as an assistant, mostly under Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. Both Barber and Morgan felt that coins should be designed by the Mint's engravers, and were sometimes hostile when private sculptors were engaged to do the work.[16][17]
Morgan's models were transmitted on October 26, 1923, to the
After discussion, it was decided to allow Morgan to revise his model under Fraser's supervision. Numismatists Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen noted, "[This] must have been doubly and trebly humiliating in that Fraser's initial was then adorning the current 5¢ nickel, while neither Barber's nor Morgan's was on any regular issue coinage then in production".[17] On January 3, 1924, Fraser wrote to Moore that the new models had been considerably improved, and complained that Vestal had advised the Huguenot-Walloon commission to have the models made at the Mint as he had been told by its officials that private artists made models in a relief too high to be easily coined. "It seems to me perfectly disgusting that this inane and lying criticism should go on constantly".[18] The Fine Arts Commission approved the revised designs.[18]
Design
The obverse features
The March 29, 1924, edition of the
The men have their names below the busts on the obverse, and wear hats of their period. They gaze toward the legend IN GOD WE TRUST, the only one of the national mottos usually present on U.S. coins to appear. The name of the country arcs above their heads, while HUGUENOT HALF DOLLAR is below them. Morgan's initial "M" is on Coligny's shoulder.[27] The reverse depicts the ship Nieuw Nederlandt and the words, HUGUENOT – WALLOON – TERCENTENARY – FOUNDING OF NEW NETHERLAND with the years 1624 and 1924 to either side of the ship.[3] Stoudt's sketch for the reverse was also used on the one cent denomination of the stamp set issued in conjunction with the tercentenary.[17]
Art historian
Production, distribution, and collecting
A total of 142,080 Huguenot-Walloon half dollars were struck at the
The coins were sold to the public for $1 each through the Fifth National Bank and other outlets. Bulk sales were made to certain groups.
Arlie R. Slabaugh, in his 1975 volume on commemoratives, noted that a uniface die trial of the reverse in brass was made.
References
- ^ Yeoman, p. 1062.
- ^ a b c Slabaugh, p. 59.
- ^ a b c Flynn, p. 103.
- ^ House of Representatives hearings, pp. 6–7.
- ^ Swiatek & Breen, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Slabaugh, pp. 3–5.
- ^ a b c "67 Bill Profile S. 4468 (1921–1923)". Retrieved August 21, 2015 – via ProQuest.(subscription required)
- ^ House of Representatives hearings, pp. 1–4.
- ^ House of Representatives hearings, pp. 4–11.
- Vestal, Albert (February 10, 1923). "Coinage of 50-cent pieces in commemoration of the three hundredth anniversary of the settlement of New Netherland, the Middle States, in 1624, by Walloons, French and Belgian Huguenots, under the Dutch West India Company". United States Government Printing Office.(subscription required)
- ^ 1923 Congressional Record, Vol. 69, Page 2897 (February 2, 1923)
- ^ 1923 Congressional Record, Vol. 69, Page 3295 (February 9, 1923)
- ^ 1923 Congressional Record, Vol. 69, Page 3416 (February 10, 1923)
- ^ a b 1923 Congressional Record, Vol. 69, Page 4034 (February 19, 1923)
- ^ 1923 Congressional Record, Vol. 69, Page 4061 (February 20, 1923)
- ^ Taxay, pp. 69–70.
- ^ a b c Swiatek & Breen, p. 106.
- ^ a b c d Taxay, p. 70.
- ^ Taxay, pp. v–vi.
- ^ Swiatek & Breen, p. 105.
- ^ a b Swiatek, p. 146.
- ^ Flynn, p. 104.
- ^ Slabaugh, p. 58.
- ^ Zwierlein, p. 565.
- ^ Zwierlein, p. 566.
- ^ "Huguenot half-dollars" (PDF). The New York Times. April 6, 1924.(subscription required)
- ^ Swiatek, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Vermeule, p. 167.
- ^ Vermeule, pp. 167–168.
- ^ a b Bowers, p. 174.
- ^ Jones, p. 394.
- ^ Bowers, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Jones, pp. 394–395.
- ^ Shultz, p. 1287.
- ^ Yeoman, p. 1063.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-943161-35-8.
- Flynn, Kevin (2008). The Authoritative Reference on Commemorative Coins 1892–1954. Roswell, GA: Kyle Vick. OCLC 711779330.
- Jones, John F. (May 1937). "The Series of United States Commemorative Coins". The Numismatist: 393–396.
- Shultz, April (March 1991). "'The Pride of the Race Had Been Touched': The 1925 Norse-American Immigration Centennial and Ethnic Identity". Journal of American History. 77 (4): 1265–1295. S2CID 163240744.(subscription required)
- 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 House of Representatives Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures (February 7, 1923). Coinage of 50-Cent Pieces in Commemoration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Founding of New Netherland, the Middle States, in 1624. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.(subscription required)
- ISBN 978-0-674-62840-3.
- Yeoman, R.S. (2018). A Guide Book of United States Coins 2014 (Mega Red 4th ed.). Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-0-7948-4580-3.
- Zwierlein, F.J. (March 29, 1924). "Huguenot Half-Dollar". America: 565–566.(subscription required)
External links
- Media related to Huguenot-Walloon half dollar at Wikimedia Commons