Q. David Bowers
"Summary of Characteristics" Listed
For each commemorative variety I give a "Summary of Characteristics" table. Capsule information is provided concerning the primary aspects of each issue. Given below is a sample "Summary of Characteristics" listing, that for the 1936 Albany commemorative half dollar. For purposes of this illustration only, an explanation of each characteristic is given in brackets [ ]:
SUMMARY OF CHARACTERISTICS
Commemorating: 250th anniversary of the charter of Albany, New York [The reason the coin was issued according to the original congressional legislation.]
Obverse motif: Beaver [The main design element]
Reverse motif: Three standing historical figures [The main design element]
Authorization date: June 16, 1936 [The date the congressional bill was signed into law by the president of the United States.]
Dates on coins: 1936 (also 1614 and 1686) [Date or dates appearing on the coin; in this instance the 1936 date represents the date of intended issue, whereas 1614 and 1686 are historical dates appearing as part of the coin's inscriptions.]
Date when coins were actually minted: 1936 [Albany half dollars were struck in 1936; in some other instances commemoratives were produced before or after the dates on the coins.]
Mint used: Philadelphia [The mint at which the coins were struck.]
Maximum quantity authorized: 25,000 [The maximum quantity of Albany half dollars authorized by Congress to be minted.]
Total quantity minted (including assay coins): 25,013 [The total number of coins struck of the Albany half dollar.]
Assay coins (included in above): 13 [The number of pieces struck for examination by the Assay Commission; this number is in addition to those coins intended for sale.] Quantity melted: 7,342 [The number of unsold coins returned to the Mint and melted into bullion.]
Net number distributed (including assay coins): 17,671 [The net number of Albany half dollars distributed; calculated by taking the total number of coins minted and subtracting the total number melted.]
Issued by: Albany Dongan Charter Coin Committee, 60 State Street, Albany, New York (W.L. Gillespie, chairman) [The group or organization which served as the central sales depot or distribution facility for the issue.]
Standard original packaging: Cardboard coin holder with spaces for five coins; with imprinted cover; additionally, white box with blue velour interior, printed in blue on top of box cover, and red box with red velour interior, printed in white on top of box cover. No hinges on either type of box. Imprint is "The National Commercial Bank and Trust Company of Albany," with coat of arms. [Description of the container, holder, or other device in which the commemorative issue was usually sold or shipped.]
Official sale price: $2 post paid [Price at which single Albany half dollars were advertised for sale to the public. In many if not most instances, wholesale prices, remainder prices for left over quantities, etc., may have been lower, but the regular retail price represents the figure at which many collectors acquired the coins at the time of issue.]
Designer of obverse and reverse: Gertrude K. Lathrop [The person who sketched and/or modeled the motifs used on the coin.]
Interesting fact: This is one of many commemorative half dollars issued to observe an event of strictly local significance, in this case the anniversary of the granting of a city charter. [An interesting aspect or point concerning this particular commemorative issue.]
The above data include most numbers relevant to analyzing the quantity made, melted, and distributed, and also include basic information about the Albany coin. Additional background details are given in the narrative part of the text (not reprinted in the sample above).
Market Index
Prices for each commemorative variety or set are given at five-year intervals (such as 1920, 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, etc) representing the valuations in effect at the end of each year. In addition, prices for the year 1936, representing the height of the market in the summer of 1936, are given for issues that had been distributed by that time(some 1936-dated commemoratives were issued later in the year and are not listed; certain others were advertised in anticipation of imminent release but had not yet been distributed). For the year 1990 valuations are given for spring 1990 (a peak in the market) and for December 1990 (by which time prices were lower).
Prices listed are average prices for coins in the grade levels indicated, as computed or estimated by the author using the method described earlier. Specific transactions were apt to take place at higher or lower figures. It is not possible, for example, even today (in an era in which pricing information is widely available and on a weekly or even daily basis, unlike years ago), to state that a given commemorative is worth precisely $52, or $34, or $1,110. Any such price as $52 used in the following compilations represents a mathematical median. In the instance of a coin listed for $100 in the following study, this might typically represent transactions or listings at the following levels: $75, $85, $95, $98, $99, $100, $100, $102, $105, $115, and $135. In this hypothetical instance the author would have discarded the $75 and $135 prices as not being representative and would have selected the approximate price of $100 to be used in the study. In any event, consider all numbers to be indications of approximate value at the time.