San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. Congress authorized an explosion of commemorative coins in 1936; an unprecedented fifteen were issued. It was the first of many coins that were sold by the government at face value to a group authorized by Congress, who then tried to sell the coins at a profit to the public.

About San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar in brief

The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. One of many commemoratives issued that year, it was designed by Jacques Schnier and honors the opening of the Bay Bridge that November. Congress authorized an explosion of commemorative coins in 1936; an unprecedented fifteen were issued. Just over 70,000 coins were sold of the distribution mintage of 100,000, by mail, in person, and—making it the first commemorative coin to be sold on a drive-in basis—from booths at the Bay bridge’s approaches. The coins were taken off sale in February 1937, with the unsold remainder returned to the Mint for redemption and melting. Unlike many early commemoratives, which were struck to mark an anniversary, this coin was struck in order to celebrate a present-day engineering achievement. It catalogs in the low hundreds of dollars, depending on condition. It was the first of many coins that were sold by the government at face value to a group authorized by Congress, who then tried to sell the coins at a profit to the public. In early 1936 all earlier commemoratives sold at a premium to their issue prices. Sparked by low-mintage issues which appreciated in value, the market for United States commemorative Coinage bills spiked in 1936, with many collectors seeking to purchase the new issues. The bill that only commemorated theBay Bridge was successful, and passed into law with the signature of President Franklin D.

Roosevelt. A bill for a. commemorative half dollar honoring the opening. of the Golden Gate Bridge was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Hiram Johnson of California on April 10, 1936. Other than referring the bill to the Banking and Currency Committee, the Senate took no action on the bill that day; it was busy with impeachment trial of federal judge Halsted Litter on the trial of Ritter Litter. The Senate considered six commemorative bills in a row on June 1, 1936; two were deferred until later that year. The bills were referred to the Coinage Committee on April 21, 1936, and referred to Weights and Measures on April 22, 1936 and on April 23, 1936 respectively. A coin honoring the new bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area was introduced by Albert E. E. Carter, of California, on April 24, 1937. The coin honoring Bay Bridge, including four Bay Bridge bills, passed without any discussion; two other bills were deferred, including one honoring the Golden. Gate Bridge, which was also under construction at the time of the bill’s passage. The Bay Bridge bill was passed in the House of Representatives on April 28, 1937, and the Senate considered it on June 30, 1937; it passed without a vote. The San Francisco Bridge was completed in November 1937. It allowed motorists, for the first time, to drive quickly and easily between San Francisco and Oakland.

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