Q. David Bowers
Following the acceptance of his sketches, Keck created for the obverse an idealized portrait of Ira Allen in high relief, a visage different from that on Fry's statue. The reverse showed a large catlike animal of uncertain species, which had nothing to do with the history of Vermont being commemorated but was a rebus for the Catamount Tavern, a subtlety lost on just about everyone who saw it. The final design was criticized not only by the Vermont Sesquicentennial Commission but also by numismatists.
In January and February 1927 some 40,034 Vermont Sesquicentennial half dollars (called Battle of Bennington or Bennington half dollars in contemporary government correspondence) were struck at the Philadelphia Mint. The distribution was handled by a group titled the Bennington Battle Monument and Historical Association, which sold the pieces by mail, through banks, and elsewhere for $1 each. In March 1929 the Association was offering coins for $1.25 each by registered mail or $1 per coin sent by express (consignee to pay charges) in lots of 10 or more. (Per quotations from E.L. Bates, secretary, to H.J. McCloskey, in response to an inquiry dated March 21, 1929.) Sales were satisfactory but not up to expectations, and eventually 11,892 coins were returned for melting. A letter dated November 23,1934, quotes the curator of the Bennington Museum (which had received profits from the sale of the half dollars), who informed a correspondent that 22,000 (sic) coins had been returned to the Mint and that all others had been sold with the exception of about 200 currently owned by the museum. (In the collection of Anthony Swiatek.) So far as is known, the distribution of the Vermont half dollar proceeded in a fair and equitable manner. Funds raised were given to various educational facilities.
Collecting Vermont Half Dollars
The Vermont half dollar was struck in the highest relief of any commemorative issue. Despite the depth of the work in the dies, nearly all specimens were struck up properly and showed excellent detail. The prominence of the obverse portrait militated against the survival of pristine coins, and most show some evidence of contact at the central points.
As all Vermont half dollars were sold to collectors or citizens at a premium, most were preserved over the years, save the inevitable specimens which were subjected to cleaning or mishandling. Today examples are readily available, mostly in lower Mint State levels.
In the 1950s and early 1960s Charles French, a Troy, New York hobby shop owner who was also a coin auctioneer and columnist, endeavored to hoard Vermont half dollars and succeeded in acquiring several hundred pieces, which were later redistributed. Most of these were in what would be called MS-60 to MS-63 grades today. Vermont half dollars have always been popular with numismatists and are an integral part of many collections.
GRADING SUMMARY: Nearly all coins show some friction and evidence of handling on Ira Allen's cheek. Check also the high points of the catamount on the reverse. Most coins are deeply lustrous and frosty. Avoid cleaned coins, which are often seen.
Commemorating: 150th anniversary of the Battle of Bennington and the independence of Vermont
Obverse motif: Portrait of Ira Allen
Reverse motif: Catamount
Authorization date: February 24, 1925
Dates on coins: 1927 (also 1777)
Date when coins were actually minted: 1927
Mint used: Philadelphia
Maximum quantity authorized: 40,000
Total quantity minted (including assay coins): 40,034
Assay coins (included in above): 34
Quantity melted: 11,892
Net number distributed (including assay coins): 28,142
Issued by: Vermont Sesquicentennial Commission (Bennington Battle Monument & Historical Association, Lock Box 432, Bennington, Vermont, E.L. Bates, secretary)
Standard original packaging: Apparently no official packaging; some banks (including the County National Bank, Bennington; First National Bank, Bennington; and the First National Bank, North Bennington) distributed their own imprinted holders
Official sale price: $1 ($1.25 by registered mail)
Designer of obverse and reverse: Charles Keck
Interesting facts: This issue was authorized two years before the minting date, a remarkable situation, as typically commemoratives were authorized in the same year of issue; the catamount pictured on the reverse is a reference to the Catamount Tavern, where the Green Mountain Boys quaffed ale; this half dollar is one of the few commemoratives to bear a day date, in this instance August 16, to the left of the catamount; Vermont half dollars were struck in higher relief than any other commemorative coin.
(average market prices)
1930 MS-63 $1
1935 MS-63 $2
1936 (summer) MS-63 $2.50
1940 MS-63 $2
1945 MS-63 $5
1950 MS-63 $6
1955 MS-63 $12
1960 MS-60 to 63 $28
1965 MS-60 to 63 $45
1970 MS-60 to 63 $40
1975 MS-60 to 63 $95
1980 MS-60 to 63 $825
1985 MS-60 to 63 $400
1986 MS-60 $240, MS-63 $350, MS-64 $775, MS-65 $1,850
1990 (spring) MS-60 $205, MS-63 $280, MS-64 $640, MS-65 $2,400
1990 (December) MS-60 $200, MS-63 $245, MS-64 $425, MS-65 $1,250