Arkansas Centennial half dollar
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United States | |
| Value | 50 cents (0.50 US dollars) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 12.5 g |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Composition | 90.0% silver 10.0% copper |
| Silver | 0.3617 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1935–1939 |
| Mint marks | D, S. Under the eagle on the right. Coins minted at the Philadelphia Mint feature no mint mark. |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Liberty in Phrygian cap and Indian chief |
| Designer | Edward E. Burr |
| Design date | 1935 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Eagle, Arkansas state flag |
| Designer | Edward E. Burr |
| Design date | 1935 |
The Arkansas Centennial half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1935 to 1939.[1][2] The coin was designed by Edward E. Burr and commemorates the 100th anniversary of Arkansas's admission to the Union in 1836.[2]
The Arkansas–Robinson half dollar, a special issue of the coin featuring a different design, was minted in 1936.[3]
Authorized by an act of May 14, 1934, the coin's obverse features a depiction of Liberty in a Phrygian cap, while the reverse features elements of the state flag and diamond-shaped symbols representing the state's diamond fields, at the time the only known in the country.[4]
Proceeds from the sale of the coin were used to finance welcome stations as well as printing and distribution of centennial promotion material.[5]
In their book, Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen opined that the reverse design was littered with Confederate symbolism, including the seven largest rays represented the seven original Confederate states, the rising sun intended to show that "the South will rise again", and that the total of 13 stars represented all of the eventual seceding states. Breen also suggested that the 1936 date could be taken to represent the 75th anniversary of Arkansas joining the Confederacy.[4] This analysis has been called into question by later scholars.[6]
In 1936, the Arkansas Centennial Commission attempted to get a bill passed that would have authorized three new reverse designs for their commemorative half dollars. This followed the lead of the Texas Centennial Commission's bill that sought to create five new reverses for that coin. While the Texas bill failed, the Arkansas Commission succeeded in getting a single new design approved, which became the Arkansas-Robinson half dollar, issued in 1937, but dated 1936.[7]
Production and collecting
Minting commenced in Philadelphia in May 1935 in advance of local celebrations of the centennial, and the available mintage was sold out by September before the authorizing committee ordered additional specimens in November; these later coins were also struck at Denver and San Francisco[8], and were purchased in batches by dealer B. Max Mehl.[4] Later strikings of the coins from 1936-39 were bought up by dealers like Stack's in New York City and Mehl in Texas.[4] As a result, many of the coins could be easily found anywhere other than Arkansas.[9]
Today, the issue is one of the more available classic commemoratives for type-set collectors, with a total of 85,700 issued by the Mint.[4] The later issues were sold for $8.75 per three-coin set, (later raised to $10.00).[10] In his 2008 book, numismatist Q. David Bowers wrote that since the issue has never been popular with collectors, the later strikings are still affordable despite their low mintages. Many coins have "greasy" surfaces due to poor striking.[11]
