1948 50C Booker T. Washington MS66+ Certification #42208002, PCGS #9412

David Hall

Like the 1947 BTWs, the 1948 Booker T Washingtons were not very good sellers at the time of issue. For each of the three Mints, 20,000 coins were struck, 12,000 were subsequently melted as unsold, leaving a quantity distributed to the public at 8,000 for each of the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mints. Today, the three issues are fairly available in mint states grades up to MS66, but like the 1947s, and indeed all BTWs, they are rare in MS67 or better condition. The problem is marks on the relatively flatly designed face. Interestingly, the coins are rarely seen in circulated grades. The sets had a three coin face value of $1.50, and they were only sold by the set, and the price was $7.50. So the people who bought them, kept them! This is quite a bit different fron the 1946 issues, which were made in such a large number, about 1,200,000 distributed, that they were really only worth face value early on, so many were spent. The three 1948 BTWs are all about equal rarity.