Q. David Bowers
A.W. Parke kept selling Arkansas sets until at least 1940. An advertising notice dated March 1, 1940, announced that unsold 1936 sets would be raised in price to $10 and unsold 1938 sets to $12. Further (who was he kidding?): "Through a lucky trade I have acquired 10 sets of 1939s which I hold at $20 per set. They won't last long, for so far as I know, they are the only ones on the market." (Advertisement printed on a postcard to Walter P. Nichols, postmarked December 12, 1939. This seems to be prima facie evidence that Parke was selling 1939 sets in 1939 for double the official issue price; whether the issue was "sold out" as claimed earlier is left up to the reader's imagination.)
Collecting Arkansas Half Dollars The Arkansas sets were produced with a satin like, almost "greasy" finish, which many collectors and others found to be unattractive. In addition, the prominence of the girl's portrait on the center of the obverse made that part of the coin prone to receiving bagmarks, scuffs, and other evidences of handling with the result that relatively few pieces present a pleasing appearance. The reverse area where the ribbon crosses the eagle's breast is often very weak.
The satiny, "greasy" surface is such that even freshly minted coins appeared as if they had been dipped or cleaned repeatedly. Today most specimens grade from about AU-55 (by appearance, although such a coin may have received no actual wear) to MS-60 or slightly higher. MS-65 coins of satisfactory aesthetic quality are few and far between.
GRADING SUMMARY: Minted carelessly, Arkansas half dollars typically show handling marks, particularly on the cheek of Miss Liberty on the obverse and on the higher areas of the eagle on the reverse. This is particularly true of 1935 and 1936 coins. Some examples are lightly struck on the eagle just behind its head. Issues of 1937-1939 are usually more satisfactory but still are not deeply lustrous. Grading Arkansas half dollars is a black art, so to speak, and often the experts will disagree by a point or two or three.
Commemorating: Centennial of the admission of Arkansas into the Union in 1836
Obverse motif: Portraits of Miss Liberty and Indian
Reverse motif: Arkansas State Seal
Authorization date: May 14, 1934
Dates on coins: 1935 (also 1836 and 1936)
Date when coins were actually minted: 1935
Mints used: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Maximum quantity authorized: 500,000 (maximum total for all issues 1935 onward) Total quantity minted (including assay coins): 13,012 Philadelphia, 5,505 Denver, 5,506 San Francisco
Assay coins (included in above): 12 Philadelphia, 5 Denver, 6 San Francisco
Quantity melted: None
Net number distributed (including assay coins): 13,012 Philadelphia, 5,505 Denver, 5,506 San Francisco
Issued by: Arkansas Centennial Commission, War Memorial Building, Little Rock, Arkansas (A.W. Parke, secretary); most D and S coins were bought in bulk and retailed at the time for $2.75 each (see text) by B. Max Mehl, Mehl Building, Fort Worth, Texas; orders received early in the year were handled by Robert E. Wait (chairman, Coinage Committee of the Arkansas Centennial Commission) from the offices of the Arkansas Bankers Association, 923-924 Southern Building, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Standard original packaging: Paper envelopes; some coins shipped in five-coin insert type Dennison cardboard holders inserted in Dennison envelopes sealed with colorful Arkansas Centennial stamp
Official sale price: $1 per coin; however, few Denver and San Francisco coins were sold at this price as B. Max Mehl bought nearly the entire mintage and soon raised the "issue price" to $2.75 each.
Designers of obverse and reverse: Edward Everett Burr prepared sketches that were modeled by Emily Bates
Interesting facts: The set celebrated the 1836-1936 Arkansas Centennial a year early.
(average market prices)
1936 (summer) MS-60 to 63 $13
1940 MS-60 to 63 $9
1945 MS-60 to 63 $12
1950 MS-60 to 63 $11
1955 MS-60 to 63 $15
1960 MS-60 to 63 $21
1965 MS-60 to 63 $42
1970 MS-60 to 63 $44
1975 MS-60 to 63 $117
1980 MS-60 to 63 $550
1985 MS-60 to 63 $420
1986 MS-60 $265, MS-63 $415, MS-64 $1,250, MS-65 $3,200
1990 (spring) MS-60 $250 MS-63 $330, MS-64 $760, MS-65 $3,650
1990 (December) MS-60 $250, MS-63 $300, MS-64 $415, MS-65 $1,300
Notes: For about a decade after 1935 it was popular for dealers to list the 1935 Philadelphia Mint coin separately from the rarer Denver and San Francisco coins; later many dealers offered the 1935 Arkansas coins in sets of three (as listed here). The price of an Arkansas "type" coin in recent decades can be approximated by dividing the set price by three (although the D and S coins in the 1935 set are slightly scarcer).