Q.David Bowers
1936 also saw the issuance of the Cincinnati half dollars struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints. Thomas G. Melish, a well-known numismatist who was associated with the issue, helped push the piece. There were many charges that these coins, which were issued at $7.75, and which were ostensibly" sold out," then to rise to $50, were in fact distributed to favored insiders. The issue itself was a sham. The obverse depicted Stephen Foster, who had no particular relation to Cincinnati. The reverse noted that Cincinnati was "a musical center of America." Cincinnati was no more prominent musically than were any number of other American "cities.
P. T. Barnum, who is said to have made the statement "There is a sucker born every minute," furnished the obverse design of the 1936 Bridgeport Centennial half dollar, much to the delight of certain numismatic writers.
Columbia, South Carolina celebrated its sesquicentennial with an issue of half dollars from the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints. A special Arkansas half dollar of 1936 was made bearing the portrait of Sen. Joseph T. Robinson on the obverse. The 1936 Delaware Tercentenary half dollar bore the date 1936, was struck in 1937, and was for a celebration to be observed in 1938! Likewise, the 1863-1938 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg was celebrated two years in advance by a 1936 commemorative half dollar issued, of course, to take advantage of the collectors' market. Norfolk, Virginia celebrated its bicentennial in the same year with a special issue.
Others were eager to get on the bandwagon, and many new commemorative issues were proposed. Some that "might have been" included:
The 50th anniversary of the founding of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania; the 150th anniversary of the expedition of Gen. Benjamin Logan in Ohio; the centennial of Montgomery, Alabama; the construction of the Fort Pect Dam (the distributor was so confident that he would be selling these soon that he ran many advertisements offering them for $2 each; the coin never materialized, and the funds had to be returned); the centennial of the changing of a town's name from Sawpit, New York, to Port Chester; the centennial of the University of Louisville; the 150th anniversary of the Berwick, Pennsylvania land grant, also the 118th anniversary of Berwick's status as a borough; the 350th anniversary of the introduction of American-grown tobacco in England; the commemoration of the Wichita Mountain Easter Sunrise Service in Oklahoma; and the 180th anniversary of the birth of John Beckley, the founder of Beckley, West Virginia.
Charles M. Prager, a Baltimore numismatist, wrote an article, "The Lighter Side of Commemoratives," which noted in part:
The obverse of the new Wisconsin half dollar pictures a badger. It seems regrettable that various other issues, notorious for their powers of multiplying dates and mintmarks, fail to picture a guinea pig.
A centennial celebration is, after all, a birthday party. And isn't it queer when a birthday party lasts three years? It would seem to indicate the host is doggone hungry.
Many a state and city enjoyed an admirable reputation-until it began celebrating it. Soon we will be spelling it buy-centennial.
If Daniel Boone were alive today, he could learn plenty about trapping.
There is not much danger of commemorative half dollars being counterfeited these days. It is so much simpler to apply to Congress and get out an issue of your own.
Comments such as this soon had their effect, and by 1937 the market fell. Large quantities of certain 1936 half dollars remained unsold and were offered at discounts. New issues such as the 1937 Roanoke 350th anniversary half dollar and the piece celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam met with sharply reduced collector interest. The next year, 1938, saw the issuance of a coin observing the founding of New Rochelle, New York, in 1688. Collectors were apathetic. New commemoratives ceased, not to reappear until after World War II when in 1946 Iowa celebrated its centennial with 100,000 pieces sold mainly to residents of that state. The issue was widely distributed and met with a favorable reception. The abuses of years earlier had been largely forgotten. Collectors did not constitute a major market.
Beginning in 1946 a series of commemorative half dollars appeared featuring Booker T. Washington. Date and mintmark varieties were issued through 1951, in which year the design was changed to feature both the portraits of Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Additional coins were struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints through 1954. These coins were distributed erratically, and complaints were made to the government and others. After 1954 commemoratives ceased.
Today, the wide number of designs, types, and varieties of commemorative half dollars and other coins makes them popular with collectors. In the intervening years since their issue many have become rare.