The Columbian half dollar was the first traditional U.S. commemorative coin. It was issued to raise funds for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and to mark the quadricentennial of the first voyage to the Americas of Christopher Columbus. Some 5,000,000 half dollars were struck, far beyond the actual demand, and half of them were melted.
About Columbian half dollar in brief
The Columbian half dollar was the first traditional U.S. commemorative coin. It was issued to raise funds for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and to mark the quadricentennial of the first voyage to the Americas of Christopher Columbus, whose portrait it bears. Some 5,000,000 half dollars were struck, far beyond the actual demand, and half of them were melted. The pieces can be purchased in circulated condition for less than USD 20; coins in near-pristine state sell for about USD 1,000. The United States had never struck a commemorative, and it was anticipated by organizers that the coins could be sold to the public at double their face value. The bullion would come from the obsolete and obsolete bullion weight of bullion bullion and would come under their double-weight face value and would be sold as souvenirs. The coin was struck by the Bureau of the Mint in 1892 and 1893. It is the first American coin to depict a historical person, although the goddess of Liberty had often been depicted. No coin had depicted an actual person until the 1892 coin, which was based on a 16th-century painting he owned by Lorenzo Lotto, reputedly of Columbus, and pushed for this through the design process. In 1890, Congress passed legislation giving federal sponsorship to an exposition to commemorate the 400th anniversary of thefirst voyage of Columbus to the New World. Had it not been for Daniel Burnham, head of the Company’s Board of Architects, the fair might never have been built. The buildings were in the classical style, reflecting Greek and Roman influences, and were composed of a combination of plaster of Paris and hemp called “staff’ which resembled marble.
President Benjamin Harrison invited all the world to take part; many foreign countries erected buildings, and every US state and territory was represented. An undeveloped site of 686 acres on the shores of Lake Michigan was selected for the fairgrounds. By May 1892 it was apparent that additional funds were needed to complete the fair’s buildings. The Company had sold stock, and the City of Chicago had issued bonds to pay for the exposition, but the budgets had been greatly underestimated. When a direct appropriation met direct congressional opposition, supporters proposed that the USD 5 million be in the form of special half dollars. Congress granted an appropriation, and allowed it to be in a form of commemorative half dollars, which legislators and organizers believed could be sell at a premium. The new coins were widely criticized, and they remained in circulation until as late as the 1950s. The first specimen struck was a publicity stunt for the Remington Typewriter, which sold for USD 10,000 for the first specimen of the coin. In April 1892, partisans had gained the support of the Director of the. Mint, Edward O. Leech, who envisioned a coin carrying a visage of Columbus on one side, and a suitable inscription on the other. He was well aware of the difficulties with the Mint’s failed competition for new silver coins in 1891, which led to the issuance of the Barber coinage.
You want to know more about Columbian half dollar?
This page is based on the article Columbian half dollar published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 07, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
