Q. David Bowers
Distribution of Later Sets
By end of the year 1936 it was decided to go the dealer route once again for distribution of subsequently dated coins. The franchise was given to Stack's, a firm which had opened a few years earlier in New York City under the ownership of Joseph, Morton, and Shirley Stack. It fell to Joseph Stack to be in charge of the advertising and distribution of the Arkansas sets. Black leatherette cases were made up for the 1937offering. Of the 5,500 sets struck in 1937, Stack's announced the intention to reserve 500for distribution to citizens of Arkansas, and the balance of 5,000 was to be offered to the numismatic fraternity, a reflection, undoubtedly accurate, of the fact that at the time commemoratives were made more to turn a profit from collectors than they were to be part of a valid celebration. Besides, by 1937 the anniversary of the Arkansas Centennial was over. Stack's offered the 1937-dated sets for $8.75 each. (Stack's had a related distribution in early 1937 of a "special issue" of 1936-dated Arkansas 50¢ pieces bearing on one side the portrait of Sen. Joseph Robinson of Arkansas and on the other the standard eagle motif as used on Arkansas half dollars since 1935. These are described separately in the present text under the 1936 heading for Robinson-Arkansas half dollars.)
Joseph B. Stack sent the following comment in a letter to dealer Walter P. Nichols dated April 24, 1937: "Believe me, when I reach the age of eighty, I never want to look at another commemorative. Until then, if there is money to be made in it, I'll play with them. Otherwise, I will extend the glory to our fellow numismatists. Believe it or not, we start sending out the new headaches [1937 Arkansas sets] during the coming week."
In 1938 the Arkansas Centennial Commission once again offered sets directly to collectors. The mintage quantity was raised to 6,000 coins from each of the three mints, and the price remained the same. A letter dated February 8, 1938, from A.W. Parke to H.J. McCloskey noted: "The 1938 issue of the Arkansas Centennial commemorative half dollar will be ready for distribution around February 10. There will be 6,000 coins issued [from each of the mints]. The price of these coins is $8.75 per set, which includes postage;: and insurance .... Make remittance payable to Arkansas Centennial Commission. The limit on the 1938 half dollars is five sets per person." On July 1, 1938, the official issue price was raised to $10 per set. Sales of 1938 Arkansas sets proved disappointing, and just 3,150 sets eventually found buyers.
In the November 1939 issue of The Numismatist, A. W. Parke stated in a full-page advertisement that 1,850 sets of the 1938 Arkansas coins had gone back to the Mint. Parke offered remaining 1938-dated sets for $8.75 each, stating there would be "no advance in price ... for the present .... If there are still coins on hand December 1, the surplus will be sent back to the Mint, and museum specimens made of the few remaining. Should this be done there will be a material price increase in the handful left. "Later, an additional 1,000 of the 1938 sets were sent to the Mint for melting. In 1938 Parke also offered unsold 1936 sets at $6.75 per set. He noted that his next advertisement would announce a price advance if there were any coins left to sell.
The 1939 Sets
Projections for coin sales were much less optimistic for the following year, and in 1939 just 2,100 Arkansas sets were offered for $10 each, representing a new high initial price. In 1939 the Arkansas Centennial Commission was once again distributing its own coins.
On October 19, 1938, the following acknowledgment was sent by A.W. Parke, executive secretary of the Commission, to Walter P. Nichols: "Your order for 1939 Arkansas commemorative half dollars has been received and entered. You understand that these coins cannot be minted until 1939. Our order will be placed with the Mint so that those coined in Philadelphia will be delivered soon after January 1, 1939. The dies must then be transported to the Denver and San Francisco mints, and it will be some time in February when coinage is completed. Immediately upon receipt of the coins they will be forwarded to the address given with your order. With a limited issue, and orders arriving so numerously, we are certain to be sold out within the next few weeks. Your reservation has been made so you are protected."
At the new high issue price of $10 per set apparently sales were brisk, for the low mintage was attractive to what few collectors and speculators remained in the market. A.W. Parke announced that the issue had sold out quickly.
A Complaint About 1939
Arkansas Sets
Martin F. Kortjohn, a member of the Board of Governors of the ANA, wrote an open letter to the members of the United States Senate. Published in The Numismatist, December 1938, Kortjohn's letter complained about an advertisement by the Arkansas Centennial Commission which appeared in The Numismatist, October 1938, stating that orders were now being taken for the 1939 Arkansas commemorative half dollars. The offending text noted: "Only 2,000 sets, Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, will be obtained. These will be gone by the date of issuance, January 1, 1939. When the supply is exhausted, there will be no more. First come, first served. Mail check or money order for $10 per set."
Kortjohn stated: "The special attraction which makes such high-handed methods possible is that only 2,000 sets of the coins will be requested by the commission, the small issue causing the price to rise considerably after sale by the commission. Arguments might be advanced to the effect that collectors do not have to buy the coins, but the fallacy of this argument may be readily seen if one considers the reactions of collectors who have previously made a complete collection of these very interesting commemorative coins. The coins must be purchased in order to keep the collection complete; thus their sale at the high price advertised may be likened to robbery.
"Despite the fact that I am writing this letter, I shall order and pay for my sets so that my own collection of the commemorative coins shall remain complete. I am thinking of the many other collectors who are not as able as I to buy them. If these pieces are issued by the three mints in 1939, they will be the 13th, 14th, and 15th pieces of the Arkansas Centennial (1936) half dollars having exactly the same obverse and reverse designs but differing only in dates and mintmarks. In addition, there is also issued another Arkansas half dollar bearing the likeness of Senator Robinson on the reverse. All of these have been issued since 1935." Kortjohn also went on to take sharp issue with C. Frank Dunn's policy of charging high prices for Boone commemorative coins.