Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar
United States | |
Value | 50 cents (0.50 US 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 | 1920–1921 |
Mintage | 1920: 200,112 including 112 pieces for the Assay Commission (48,000 melted) 1921: 100,053 including 53 assay pieces (80,000 melted) |
Mint marks | None, all pieces struck at the Cyrus E. Dallin |
Design date | 1920 |
The Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar or Pilgrim half dollar was a
Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Walsh was involved in joint federal and state efforts to mark the anniversary. He saw a reference to a proposed Maine Centennial half dollar and realized that a coin could be issued for the Pilgrim anniversary in support of the observances at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The bill moved quickly through the legislative process and became the Act of May 12, 1920.
Sculptor James Earle Fraser criticized some aspects of the design, but the Treasury approved it anyway. After a promising start, sales tailed off, and tens of thousands of coins from each year were returned to the Philadelphia Mint for melting. Numismatist Q. David Bowers has cited the fact that the coins were struck in the second year as the start of a trend to force collectors to buy more than one piece in order to have a complete set.
Background
The
Things became more difficult for the Separatists in the Netherlands in the late 1610s as the Dutch government moved towards alliance with England.[2] They had few opportunities in the Netherlands as they were limited to manual labor by the guilds' refusal to accept them, and they feared that their children were straying from their language and religion. Investors led by Thomas Weston agreed to finance an expedition to North America, and the ship Speedwell was sent to fetch Separatists from the Netherlands, then join the larger Mayflower to form a two-ship expedition. After transporting the Separatists, the Speedwell proved unseaworthy for the ocean voyage. The Mayflower's passenger list was formed from some Separatists who had gone to the Netherlands and some who had stayed in England, as well as a scattering of others. Some would-be pioneers were left behind due to problems with the Speedwell. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, in South West England, on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and a crew of 47.[1]
So they left that goodly and plesante citie, which had been their resting place near 12 years; but they knew they were pilgrimes and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits.
The expedition sighted
In 1920, the government did not sell commemorative coins. Congress, during the
Legislation
Legislation for a Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar was introduced in the House of Representatives by Massachusetts'
Walsh appeared and explained to the committee that Congress had previously authorized a commission to work with state and local authorities in planning for observances which were to be held in December 1920 on the 300th anniversary of the Mayflower landing, and were also to occur the following summer. Although events were to be held elsewhere in Massachusetts, and even outside the state, the focus would be on Plymouth, with the beautification of the area around
The three coinage bills—Maine Centennial, Alabama Centennial, and Pilgrim Tercentenary—were considered in that order by the House of Representatives on April 21, 1920. As the Maine and Alabama pieces were considered, Ohio's
The following day, April 22, the House reported its passage of the bill to the Senate.
Preparation
The Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission made sketches for a design, which were converted to three-dimensional plaster models by
Dallin finished his models in August 1920 and the CFA referred the designs to sculptor member James Earle Fraser. On examining Dallin's work, Fraser deemed the lettering crude, and in an undated letter to Moore (probably late August) regretted that there was no opportunity to make changes. He suggested that the Mint be urged to allow three months in future for CFA consideration. After the commission met on September 3, a letter to that effect was sent to the Director of the United States Mint, Raymond T. Baker.[23] The letter was ignored, but the Treasury approved the designs.[8]
Design
The obverse of the coin features William Bradford. He wears a hat and carries a Bible under his arm.[21] Bradford, noted for piety, is intended to be seen in a moment of meditation.[24] Dallin's plaster models had the words "HOLY BIBLE" on the volume; these, together with Dallin's initials "CED", were removed.[25] Instead, the initial D was placed under Bradford's elbow, likely impressed upon the hub as an afterthought by a punch normally used to create the mint mark D for the Denver Mint.[22] Numismatists Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen deemed Bradford's broad collar near enough to Puritan wear of the day to pass, though they questioned the authenticity of the ruffled cravat.[26] Bradford's portrait is in any case an invention; no genuine likeness of him is known.[27] The crudeness of the lettering complained of by Fraser is not apparent due to the relatively small size of the coins.[28]
The reverse depicts the Mayflower
Art historian
Production, distribution, and collecting
The
Both dates of the Pilgrim half dollar have appreciated in price over the years, particularly the 1921 issue, of which only 20,000 are extant. At the peak of the first commemorative coin boom in 1936, the 1920 sold for $1.75 and the 1921 for $8; at the peak of the second boom in 1980, the 1920 sold for $275 and the 1921 for $800.
Coin dealer and numismatic author Q. David Bowers deemed the Pilgrim coin to be the first time that a commemorative half dollar had been struck over multiple years for the purpose of making numismatists buy multiple coins to keep their collections complete:
Up until this time relatively little attention had been paid to promoting commemorative coins to collectors. The numismatic fraternity accounted for only a small percentage of the total sales ... The 1921-dated Pilgrim halves were created to "get" the collector, as [coin dealer] B. Max Mehl put it, to pander to the desire of numismatists to achieve complete sets. The handwriting was on the wall, and in the same year it soon became every collector for himself against the greed of the issuers of the 1921 Alabama and Missouri halves. The age of innocence had ended.[36]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c Slabaugh, p. 44.
- ^ a b Flynn, p. 151.
- ^ Slabaugh, pp. 44–45.
- ^ Flynn, pp. 151–52.
- ^ Taxay, pp. v–vii.
- ^ Slabaugh, pp. 3–5.
- Pub. L.66–182
- ^ a b Flynn, p. 152.
- ^ a b "Fifty-Cent Piece Commemoration Act". Retrieved May 21, 2016 – via ProQuest.
- ^ House hearings, pp. 3–5.
- ^ House hearings, pp. 5–9.
- ^ House Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures (March 26, 1920). "Coinage of a 50-Cent Piece in Commemoration of the Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Landing of the Pilgrims".
- ^ a b 1920 Congressional Record, Vol. 66, Page 5947–5950 (April 21, 1920)
- ^ House hearings, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b 1920 Congressional Record, Vol. 66, Page 5950 (April 21, 1920)
- ^ 1920 Congressional Record, Vol. 66, Page 5966 (April 22, 1920)
- ^ 1920 Congressional Record, Vol. 66, Page 6202 (April 28, 1920)
- ^ 1920 Congressional Record, Vol. 66, Page 6443 (May 3, 1920)
- ^ 1920 Congressional Record, Vol. 66, Page 6454 (May 3, 1920)
- ^ Bowers, p. 141.
- ^ a b c Slabaugh, p. 43.
- ^ a b Bowers, p. 142.
- ^ a b Taxay, pp. 48–51.
- ^ Vermeule, p. 161.
- ^ a b c d Swiatek, p. 115.
- ^ Swiatek & Breen, pp. 209, 211.
- ^ a b Bowers, p. 144.
- ^ Taxay, p. 51.
- ^ a b c Swiatek & Breen, p. 211.
- ^ Taxay, p. 49.
- ^ Swiatek & Breen, pp. 211, 213.
- ^ Vermeule, p. 160.
- ^ Vermeule, pp. 161–62.
- ^ Bowers, pp. 144–45.
- ^ Yeoman, pp. 1125–26.
- ^ Bowers, p. 146.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-943161-35-8.
- 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 House of Representatives Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures (March 26, 1920). Authorizing Coinage of Memorial 50-Cent Piece for the State of Alabama. United States Government Printing Office.
- ISBN 978-0-674-62840-3.
- ISBN 978-0-7948-4307-6.
External links
- Media related to Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar at Wikimedia Commons