United States 1923-S half dollar KM-153
Authorization
On January 24, 1923, legislation was passed authorizing the minting of no more than 300,000 Monroe Doctrine Centennial halves: The Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy introduced on December 2, 1823, which said that further efforts by European governments to colonize land or interfere with states in the Americas would be viewed by the United States of America as acts of aggression requiring US intervention. The Monroe Doctrine asserted that the Western Hemisphere was not to be further colonized by European countries, and that the United States would not interfere with existing European colonies nor in the internal concerns of European countries. The Doctrine was issued at the time when many Latin American countries were on the verge of becoming independent from Spain, and the United States, reflecting concerns echoed by Great Britain, hoped to avoid having any European power take Spain's colonies.
US President James Monroe first stated the doctrine during his seventh annual State of the Union Address to Congress. It became a defining moment in the foreign policy of the United States and one of its longest-standing tenets, invoked by U.S. presidents, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, John F. Kennedy, and others.
The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (added during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt) was invoked to intervene militarily in Latin America to stop the spread of European influence.
It would have been nearly impossible for Monroe to envision that its intent and impact would persist with minor variations for almost two centuries. Its primary objective was to free the newly independent colonies of Latin America from European intervention and control. The doctrine advocated that the New World and the Old World were to remain distinctly separate spheres of influence, for they were comprised of entirely separate and independent nations.
President Monroe claimed the United States of America, although only a fledgling nation at the time, would not interfere in European wars or internal dealings, and in turn, expected Europe to stay out of the affairs of the New World. The Western Hemisphere was never to be colonized again and any attempt by a European power to oppress or control any nation in the Western Hemisphere would be perceived as a direct threat to the U.S.. This quid pro quo was presumptuous on its face, yet has stood the test of time.
The formalized document known as the Monroe Doctrine essentially served to inform the powers of the Old World that the Americas were no longer open to European colonization, and that any effort to extend European political influence into the New World would be considered by the United States "as dangerous to our peace and safety." Basically, the doctrine warned the European powers “to leave America for the Americans.” It also created a sphere of influence that would grow stronger with the addition of the Roosevelt Corollary.
Because the U.S. lacked both a credible navy and army at the time, the doctrine was largely disregarded internationally. However, the Doctrine met with tacit British approval, and the Royal Navy mostly enforced it tacitly, as part of the wider Pax Britannica, which enforced the neutrality of the seas.
Obverse
The accolated busts labeled MONROE and ADAMS represent President James Monroe and his Secretary of State (later also President) John Quincy Adams. Their names are joined by two links of chain. This refers to their unanimity in promulgating the so-called Monroe Doctrine; a doctrine developed by Quincy Adams, but proclaimed by Monroe in his Presidential message of December 2, 1823. The S below the date is the San Francisco mintmark; the entire mintage was struck there.
Reverse
What appears on reverse to represent the continents of North and South America proves on closer examination to depict two female figures. Ms. North America holds some kind of branch (too vague to be identified as to species) in her left hand while her right hand offers a twig to her contorionist sister, Ms. South America, who holds a cornucopia. The position must have been a considerable strain to the model, if there was any. This lady sits with her left elbow resting halfway up her right thigh, her left forearm resting along the thigh and rotating to the left, while her upper right arm is extended well behind her back to accommodate the cornucopia. (If you think this position is easy, just try it.) The scale indicates, too, that though both females have adult proportions, Ms. North America must have been at least a foot taller than her sister. (The wonder is less that the figures are disproportionate than that they could be made at all, however.)
Centennial dates flank a scroll on which rests a quill pen, its nib pointing north, probably alluding to the Doctrine manuscripts and to the legend MONROE DOCTRINE CENTENNIAL. Faint lines in the field represent ocean currents. Clockwise, from upper right, these are the Gulf Stream, the North and South Equatorial Currents, the Brazil Current, the Falkland Current near Cape Horn (or Ms. South America's right foot and left calf, above ES), the West Wind Drift (at S ANG), the Humboldt Current (at her knees), the Pacific South and North Equatorial Currents (with the Equatorial Countercurrent between them, extending to MO), and the California and Alaska Currents. (The Japan Current would have been concealed at ROE.)
We suspect, but cannot prove, that the reason for showing ocean currents was to represent the unending flow of imports and exports between the two continents, unimpeded by foreign powers. The whole composition has a very Art Deco feeling, though its lettering is of older style and suggests only a little of the flowing look of Art Nouveau. At lower right is a circular monogram intended for CB Chester Beach, the designer and modeler. The words LOS ANGELES refer to where the celebration was to take place.
Recorded Mintage: 274,077.
Specification: 0.900 fine silver, 192.9 grains (12.50 grams), Diameter: 30.61 mm (1.205 in), reeded edge. Net Weight: .36169 ounce ASW.
Catalog reference: KM 153.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Slabaugh, Arlie R., United States Commemorative Coinage, 2nd Ed.," Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing, 1975.
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