Q. David Bowers
Why Commemoratives?
Commemoratives are interesting. For this succinct reason alone many people have collected United States commemorative coins over the years. Perhaps no better tribute is paid to the series in a widely distributed publication than in A Guide Book of United States Coins, which informs its readers as follows: "Many modem nations have issued commemorative coins and such pieces are highly esteemed by collectors. Yet no nation has surpassed our own country when it comes to commemorative coins, and in this we have reason to be proud. The unique position occupied by commemoratives in United States coinage is largely due to the fact that with few exceptions all commemorative coins have a real historical significance."
The Coin World Almanac stated: "Commemorative coins-the most colorful coinage issues struck in the United States are pure Americana, history of a great nation frozen into metal"
Arlie Slabaugh, in United States Commemorative Coinage, noted: "Collecting commemorative coins is the easy way to collect historical objects. It's easy to buy an Illinois (Lincoln) half dollar, but we can't all own Lincoln's cabin. The intangibility of Liberty becomes tangible here."
In 1989 the Treasury Department stated this in a news release: "Americans buy and collect commemorative coins for a variety of reasons, such as their artistic value, their patriotic appeal, use as jewelry, special gifts and as mementoes and keepsakes. These coins are also of value and interest to members of the coin collecting community. All U.S. Mint commemorative coin programs operate at no net cost to the federal government or the American taxpayer."
While I shudder at the thought of someone buying a nice commemorative coin and using it for jewelry purposes, this does have ample historic precedent, and the first commemorative gold dollar varieties ever made-the 1903-dated Louisiana Purchase Exposition coins-could be purchased mounted in brooches, pins, and even as part of spoons. Fortunately for posterity and the preservation of coins, most buyers acquire commemoratives for their value as "mementoes and keepsakes," which refers to their status as collectibles.
Modem commemorative coins of the types issued from 1982 to date are readily available in superb Uncirculated and Proof finishes as issued. An attractive collection rich in historical interest can be made by assembling a set of clad, silver, and gold coins issued since that time. Hopefully, many more will be produced in future years.
While current commemoratives are in-expensive, earlier issues of the 1892-1954 period are priced at higher levels but are within the range of nearly all serious collectors. Of course, if 100,000 people all decided that they wanted to form complete sets of early commemoratives, there would be a big problem, but that isn't the case. The number of such interested individuals is probably on the order of just a few thousand people. Of course, as some are building their collections, others are selling-thus providing a continuing supply of coins on the market.
One nice thing about putting together a collection of early American commemorative coins, such as a type set of silver half dollars of the 48 different designs minted from 1892 to 1954, is that there are no impossible rarities. Even the most elusive issues-the 1928 Hawaiian, 1935 Hudson, and the 1935 Old Spanish Trail, each of which was minted to the extent of just 10,008 coins-are within the financial reach of nearly all numismatists. As a coin dealer I have seen many clients turn away from collecting a set of early regular-issue silver dollars because they could not afford or had no hope of obtaining the classic 1804 (of which just 15 exist), or to decide against collecting 1892-1916 Barber dimes because the 1894-S (of which just 24 were coined) could not be obtained, or to stay distant from $5 gold coins of the 1820s because even the least expensive varieties cost many thousands of dollars apiece. Not so with commemoratives, which are eminently affordable.
Each commemorative coin design is different, and each has its own story to tell. Art, history, romance, and other considerations all play a part. I will discuss these and other aspects of commemorative coin collecting.
Art in Commemoratives
We all have our favorite coins. I have mine and you have yours. Personally, among commemorative silver coins I like the early issues-the Columbian half dollars of 1892 and 1893, the Isabella quarter of the latter date, and the 1900 Lafayette dollar-four coins which on their own constitute a complete commemorative collection of the era. Among later issues I enjoy the half dollar varieties produced in 1936-rich in their diversity and each one carrying a generous measure of history. This was a unique era in American numismatics. I even like Oregon Trail, Boone, and Texas sets.
My opinion that the 1892-1893 Columbian half dollar design is really attractive is diametrically opposed to that of a reviewer in the American Journal of Numismatics in January 1893: "The long expected Columbian half dollar has made its appearance .... As a work of art it certainly is a great disappointment. The relief is very low; the broad cheek and the long and flowing hair occupy a large space on the obverse and give a kind of breadth to the design that should satisfy the desires of the promoters of the Columbian Exposition for liberality on the part of the government. ... The flatness of the devices runs in the same monotonous line that marks all our coinage. We are well aware of the arguments that necessitate this low relief so far as coins are concerned, but they seem to apply with far less force to an issue of this character, designed first of all to find its way into collections as a souvenir."
This is a reflection that the designs of commemorative coins have sparked a wide diversity of opinion ever since the first half dollars of this genre were issued in 1892. In recent times in the 1980s and early 1990s, no sooner would the Mint release sketches of a proposed design for a new commemorative, than readers of Coin World and Numismatic News would rush letters to the editors to offer criticisms. Designs will probably continue to create debate a century from now. Perhaps this is part of the commemorative idiom. Everyone can be an expert. Commemoratives afford a healthy outlet for freedom of expression.
From the standpoint of attractiveness I consider the reverse of the 1918 Illinois Centennial half dollar to be the best thing that Mint engraver John Sinnock ever did, whereas someone else might think that his regular-issue 1946 Roosevelt dime or 1948 Franklin half dollar are more worthwhile. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," it has been said.
Among the many designs produced in 1936-a year which set a record for new motifs-I like the Cincinnati, Elgin, York County, and several others. Among modem issues I believe that the 1986 Statue of Liberty and the 1988 Olympic $5 coins are among the nicest commemoratives ever made. The new 1991 Mount Rushmore $5 gold motif is attractive to my eyes, depicting as it does an eagle with a hammer and chisel in its talons, but I can't help but wonder if it would have looked nicer on a silver dollar, a coin of much larger diameter.