Q. David Bowers
Next on the list of commemorative coins are the 1904 and 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition gold dollars, which are quite rare today. Then we encounter the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a grand world's fair that numismatists remember today for a panorama of five different commemorative coins ranging from a silver half dollar to two varieties of $50 gold pieces.
Then came the McKinley Memorial gold dollars dated 1916 and 1917, which by all accounts were artistic and commercial failures, although Texas dealer B. Max Mehl, who sopped up the unsold remainders for close to face value, was able to turn a profit from later sales of them. Then followed the 1918 Illinois Centennial half dollar, a coin with a pleasing portrait of young Abe Lincoln, after which we find the 1920 Maine Centennial coin of the same denomination, a coin whose design was widely criticized for its simplicity (not that simplicity cannot be desirable; in this instance, however, it wasn't).
Exploitation Begins
With relatively few exceptions coin collectors provided the main market for commemorative coins. This was true early in the 20th century, and it is true today.
However, in a classic case of "taxation without representation," collectors have almost never had a voice in any aspect of commemorative issuance, whether it be design, price, or distribution procedure. Rather, Congress, the Mint, and (until 1982) distributors (some of whom were private individuals) set the rules. Beginning in 1982 the government established sales and distribution procedures.
Buyers of commemorative coins, including members of the general public, were often exploited. Those who paid $1 to buy Columbian half dollars in 1893 were not pleased when a couple of years later vast quantities were placed into circulation for face value, and their investment became worthless. The 100% premium paid may not seem like much today in the 1990s, but in the 1890s the difference between 50¢ and $1 would have paid for a nice dinner.
When Farran Zerbe sold 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars he turned a nice profit by pricing them for 300% of face value (he paid only $1, plus a nominal minting cost, for each). Zerbe was the first of many commemorative promoters who endeavored to increase sales by issuing misleading statements and even blatant lies in order to give the impression that the coins were selling very well and that the market for them was strong. Almost immediately thereafter, the market price of Zerbe's Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollars plunged to $2 or less, and people became unhappy. This scenario was to be repeated again and again as years went on.
In the 1920s a new tactic was tried: exploit collectors not only by inconsistent prices and lack of market maintenance butalso by creating special dates, varieties, and design differences for them. First out of the starting gate was the Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar. Minted in large quantities in 1920, these coins were not completely sold. Of 200,112 struck, 48,000 were eventually returned to the Mint to be melted. This did not deter the sponsors from making more coins, but the new ones were dated 1921. Extra coins were certainly not needed at this point, and, in any event, 1921 was a year after the 1620-1920 anniversary span that the coins were supposed to commemorate. The target was the collector's pocketbook, which was believed to be well filled. The coin aficionado who thought his collection of commemoratives was complete when he bought a 1920 Pilgrim Tercentenary coin now had to buy a 1921 half dollar as well. The floodgates of exploitation opened, and in 1921 Alabama and Missouri half dollars each were made in additional quantities in the form of special varieties created for collectors, as were 1922 Grant half dollars and gold dollars.
The decade of the 1920s saw the production of a number of other commemorative coins including the meaningless 1923-S Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar (issued for an exposition that had no relevance to the event being commemorated), the unconstitutional 1924 Huguenot Walloon half dollar (which the president of the American Numismatic Association endorsed in advertising), the 1925 Fort Vancouver half dollar struck in San Francisco (but someone forgot to put a mintmark on the coin), the insipid 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition half dollar and quarter eagle (the Exposition and the coins were each quite forgettable), the rare 1928 Hawaiian Sesquicentennial half dollar (sold out quickly at the issue price of $2 each), and others. Some were beautiful; some were ugly. Some were common; some were hard to find. All were interesting to numismatists of the era and are no less fascinating today.
The Oregon Trail
An omen of things to come occurred in 1926 when a group of entrepreneurs from New York City sought to memorialize by means of commemorative coins the travails endured by pioneers who migrated westward on the Oregon Trail in the early 19th century. The Oregon Trail never did pass anywhere near New York City, but that didn't make any difference. James Earle Fraser and his wife, Laura Gardin Fraser, created a half dollar design featuring an Indian standing in front of an outline map of the United States on the obverse; and on the reverse a Conestoga wagon headed westward toward the setting sun.
Not satisfied with having the pieces struck at just one mint-as other commemoratives had been up to this time-the issuing commission ordered Oregon Trail coins from two locations, Philadelphia and San Francisco, thus establishing a precedent that would put sparkles in the eyes of others contemplating issuing commemorative half dollars. Just wait! Not content to have the pieces dated in just one year, 1926-as most commemorative half dollars had been up to this time (the 1892-1893 Columbian and 1920-1921 Pilgrim halves were exceptions)-the issuing commission ordered Oregon Trail coins again in 1928. Never mind that vast quantities of 1926 coins still remained unsold and that the 1928 coins could not be paid for!
The Treasury Department dutifully stored the 1928-dated coins year after year until finally in 1933 they were paid for and released, but only when an outsider, the Scott Stamp & Coin Co., put up the money. By this time it was obvious that the world at large, and the numismatic fraternity in particular, needed Oregon Trail half dollars as much as the proverbial hole in the head, but that did not prevent still more varieties from being issued. Year after year, until Congress put a stop to it (1939), more Oregon Trail half dollars spewed forth. Otherwise, as stated in congressional testimony, issuance of Oregon Trail half dollars might have gone on for another 300 years! If there is a redeeming feature to this situation it is that today Oregon Trail halves are considered to be among the most beautiful of all commemorative designs.
In commemorative coins promotional schemes for profit were always copied, and before long there appeared other lengthy series of half dollars issued for more than one year and at more than one mint, including the 1934-1938 Texas, 1934-1938 Boone, and 1935-1939 Arkansas coins. The story of the Boone coins would by itself make a fascinating book. In the following text details of these and other issues are given, not only under the individual types, but also under the occasional heading, "The Continuing Story of Commemoratives," which provides a transition from one issue to another.