Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar
The obverse of the coin depicts former Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Senator Carter Glass. The reverse depicts a statue of the Goddess of Liberty, with Lynchburg sites behind her. The coins sold well when placed on sale in the late summer of 1936, and sales to out-of-towners were limited.
About Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar in brief
The obverse of the coin depicts former Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Senator Carter Glass, a native of Lynchburg, Virginia. The reverse depicts a statue of the Goddess of Liberty, with Lynchburg sites behind her, including the Old Courthouse and the city’s Confederate monument. The coins sold well when placed on sale in the late summer of 1936, and sales to out-of-towners were limited. The entire issue sold out, with some put aside for the sesquicentennial celebrations in October. Issued for USD 1, the coins have appreciated over the years, with 2018 estimates of value ranging between USD 225 and USD 365, depending on condition. The year 1936 saw Congress authorize 15 new commemorative coin issues, and pieces authorized in prior years were struck again, dated 1936. In 1936, commemorative coins were not sold by the government—Congress, in authorizing legislation, usually designated an organization with exclusive rights to purchase them at face value and vend to the public at a premium. The Lynchburg piece, on the other hand, would defray the cost of the anniversary celebrations, and was motivated by pride in the city and its history.
Lynchburg was a supply center for the Confederacy during the Civil War; a Union attempt to take the city was beaten back in 1864 by Confederate General Jubal Early. In 1858, Carter Glass was born there, and lived there in 1936. Despite his opposition, Glass became the third living person to appear on a U. S. coin, and the first to be shown alone. The Commission of Fine Arts proposed that the coin should bear the portrait of John Lynch on the obverse, but no portrait of him was known. On May 25, 1936, the Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association decided Senator Glass should be on the coin. The following day, Charles S. McWane, chairman of the federal Commission ofFine Arts, wrote to Charles Keck with advisory opinions regarding public artworks, including coins. The commission was charged by a 1921 executive order by President Warren G. Harding with rendering public art works.
You want to know more about Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar?
This page is based on the article Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
