USA ½ dollar 150th Anniversary-Independence 1926
USA, Philadelphia
稀有度
较稀有
硬币属性
| Region | USA |
|---|---|
| Denomination | ½ dollar |
| Krause number | KM# 160 |
| Mintage | 140,592 |
| Metal | Silver 0.900 |
| thickness | 2 mm |
| diameter | 30.6 mm |
| weight | 12.5 g |
正面:
Head of state
Creators:
John Ray Sinnock, John Frederick Lewis
IN GOD WE TRUST
LIBERTY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
背面:
Tool, device
Creators:
John Ray Sinnock, John Frederick Lewis
1776
1926
E PLURIBUS UNUM
HALF DOLLAR
SESQUICENTENNIAL OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
硬币介绍
July 4th, 1926 marked the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To mark this important anniversary, the National Sesquicentennial Exhibition Association envisioned the release an entire series of commemorative coins. This plan was eventually pared back to just two coins however, a half dollar, and a $2.5 quarter eagle gold piece. The bill passed by Congress on March 3rd, 1925, authorized the striking of up to on million half dollars and 200,000 gold quarter eagles. The chief sculptor-engraver of the U.S. Mint, John Ray Sinnock, was entrusted to design the coins. While his models for the quarter eagle were deemed satisfactory, the Exhibition Association didn’t approve of his half dollar designs. Therefore, they called on John Frederick Lewis, a local patron of the arts to sketch a design. These sketches were given to Sinnock who then translated them to the models. The obverse of the half dollar features overlapping right-facing busts of George Washington, the nation's first president, and Calvin Coolidge, the White House's occupant at the time of the sesquicentennial. This design caused an uproar at the time as most people did not want living individuals depicted on U.S. coins. These portraits are surrounded by a multitude of coinage mottos. LIBERTY is above, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is below, and IN GOD WE TRUST is in tiny letters to the right. The coin's reverse features a straightforward view of the Liberty Bell, with the dual dates 1776 and 1926 to the left and right, respectively. Above the bell is the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Circling the rim, within an interior border, are the inscriptions SESQUICENTENNIAL OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE and HALF DOLLAR. This reverse would reappear, in modified form, 22 years later on the Franklin half dollar. For a reason lost to history, the designs are in extremely low relief, leading to one of the most poorly struck coins that the U.S. Mint has ever created. This low relief is rather unattractive, and undoubtedly hurt sales. Out of the 1,000,000 coins minted in May and June of 1926, only 140,592 were sold at the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia held from June through November of that year. The remaining 859,408 coins were returned to the Mint to be melted.阅读更多
