January Forum

January-February Numismatic Forum

Collecting U.S. Commemorative Coins

Part I: The Early Issues

by Robert G. Duncan

Collecting United States commemmorative coins is a unique experience. Of course what makes it unique is that it involves the same amount of design variety as type collecting but almost all the types are the same denomination! OK so the State quarter series has, or will, vastly increase the number of different commemmorative quarters produced by the U.S. Mint. But even those additional fifty are significantly fewer types over a much smaller time frame of issue than the long earlier series of commemmorative half dollars, which spanned the period from 1892 to 1954. And all those were silver!

The creation of as many as sixty-five million new coin collectors by the State quarter program is certain to bring much new interest to the vintage commemmorative half dollar series. Certainly it already has. If the exploration process of new coin collectors is still in its infancy as many suggest, certainly many more will discover the intriguing and long-lived silver commemmorative half dollars.

Beginning with the first, the Columbian Exposition half dollar of 1892, which was also issued dated the next year in large quantities, many U.S. silver commemorative half dollars are readily available today. Few circulated very long, and any that did stood out from the general issue U.S. halves immediately, and tended to be put aside eventually. Mintages varied greatly, but many were issued in fairly small numbers. Thus a complete collection is a challenge, particularly in Choice Uncirculated or better. It is possible, however, to assemble a nice representatvie collection of a dozen or more different issues for a reasonable total cost of less than one thousand dollars.

In addition to the initial Columbian Exposition issue, which can be had in About Uncirculated condition for under $15 or in Choice Uncirculated for under $100, there are, in alphabetical order, such historically and aesthetically significant issues as the Lincoln-Illinois of 1918 ($115 in MS63), the 1920 Pilgrim Tercentenary ($85 in MS63),the 1922 U.S. Grant Memorial ($80 in AU50), 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial (only $29 in AU50), 1925 Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial (($65 in MS63), 1925 Stone Mountain battle [Civil War] Memorial showing Confederate General Robert E. Lee (also $65 in MS63), a run of issues for the Oregon Trail beginning 1926, showing an Indian chief and a covered wagon ($95 in AU50), 1926 U.S. Sesquicentennial showing George Washington and the Liberty Bell ($60 in AU50), a run of Daniel Boone Bicentennial beginning 1935 ($65 in AU50), 1936 Bridgeport Connecticut Centennial showing P.T. Barnum ($110 in AU50), a run of Booker T. Washington and G.W.Carver beginning 1946 (only $17 each in MS63), as well as many others with a somewhat lower mintage and higher price. Thus the U.S. silver half dollar commemorative series adds plenty of variety to the collecting of U.S. coinage!

Next Month: Collecting Modern (post-1982) U.S. Commemoratives



	January-February Numismatic Forum Collecting U.S. Commemorative Coins Part I: The Early Issues by Robert G. Duncan

		Collecting United States commemmorative coins is a unique experience. Of course what makes it unique is that it involves the same amount of design variety as type collecting but almost all the types are the same denomination! OK so the State quarter series has, or will, vastly increase the number of different commemmorative quarters produced by the U.S. Mint. But even those additional fifty are significantly fewer types over a much smaller time frame of issue than the long earlier series of commemmorative half dollars, which spanned the period from 1892 to 1954. And all those were silver! The creation of as many as sixty-five million new coin collectors by the State quarter program is certain to bring much new interest to the vintage commemmorative half dollar series. Certainly it already has. If the exploration process of new coin collectors is still in its infancy as many suggest, certainly many more will discover the intriguing and long-lived silver commemmorative half dollars. Beginning with the first, the Columbian Exposition half dollar of 1892, which was also issued dated the next year in large quantities, many U.S. silver commemorative half dollars are readily available today. Few circulated very long, and any that did stood out from the general issue U.S. halves immediately, and tended to be put aside eventually. Mintages varied greatly, but many were issued in fairly small numbers. Thus a complete collection is a challenge, particularly in Choice Uncirculated or better. It is possible, however, to assemble a nice representatvie collection of a dozen or more different issues for a reasonable total cost of less than one thousand dollars. In addition to the initial Columbian Exposition issue, which can be had in About Uncirculated condition for under $15 or in Choice Uncirculated for under $100, there are, in alphabetical order, such historically and aesthetically significant issues as the Lincoln-Illinois of 1918 ($115 in MS63), the 1920 Pilgrim Tercentenary ($85 in MS63),the 1922 U.S. Grant Memorial ($80 in AU50), 1923 Monroe Doctrine Centennial (only $29 in AU50), 1925 Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial (($65 in MS63), 1925 Stone Mountain battle [Civil War] Memorial showing Confederate General Robert E. Lee (also $65 in MS63), a run of issues for the Oregon Trail beginning 1926, showing an Indian chief and a covered wagon ($95 in AU50), 1926 U.S. Sesquicentennial showing George Washington and the Liberty Bell ($60 in AU50), a run of Daniel Boone Bicentennial beginning 1935 ($65 in AU50), 1936 Bridgeport Connecticut Centennial showing P.T. Barnum ($110 in AU50), a run of Booker T. Washington and G.W.Carver beginning 1946 (only $17 each in MS63), as well as many others with a somewhat lower mintage and higher price. Thus the U.S. silver half dollar commemorative series adds plenty of variety to the collecting of U.S. coinage! Next Month: Collecting Modern (post-1982) U.S. Commemoratives