United States 1935-S half dollar KM-171
Legislation was passed May 3, 1935 authorizing a mintage of not more than 250,000 pieces. No specifics were given as to the date the coins would bear or at which mint they would be coined. This oversight was used to advantage by Exposition Treasurer Emil Klicka when sales of the first issue fell drastically short of the number coined. A bill passed May 6, 1936 permitted the return for recoining of up to 180,000 of the 1935-S halves. The new coins were to bear the date 1936, regardless of when they were struck or issued! Although the exposition's backers further attempted to have the San Diego coins made at all three mints, this recoinage was assigned to the Denver Mint alone. Including 92 assay pieces, a total of 180,092 half dollars dated 1936-D were struck that summer.
Even though a commemorative stamp was issued bearing the dates 1535 and 1935, the California-Pacific International Exposition did not celebrate any particular event or anniversary, and the significance of the earlier date remains a mystery. In any case, only the date of minting appears on the coins.
It seems that the real purpose of the exposition was to advertise the virtues of San Diego, which at that time included a low cost of living, plenty of sunshine, a large U. S. Navy base and rich agricultural development. In this mission, it was only partly successful, as the total attendance over two seasons amounted to around 3,750,000 persons. Costing an estimated $20 million, the fair was spread out over some 1400 acres, making it one of the largest ever held, at least in a geographical sense.
Obverse
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The obverse is considered to be the side depicting the commemorative theme, numismatists have traditionally considered the obverse of this issue to be the side portraying the Roman goddess Minerva. In addition to her seated figure may be seen a grizzly bear, a cornucopia and a shield bearing a gorgon's head and the motto EUREKA (I've found it!). All of these elements, along with the tiny images of a gold miner with pickaxe and a square-rigged sailing ship, are adapted from California's state seal. Arranged in an arc above this tableau is the legend •UNITED•STATES•OF•AMERICA•, below it the value HALF•DOLLAR. Wedged in between Minerva's base and the value is the motto LIBERTY, while the designer's, sculptor Robert I. Aitken, monogram RA appears to the left of the bear.
Reverse
The reverse of this coin is dominated by two of the California Buildings at the exposition: the Chapel of St. Francis (with dome) and the California Tower. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST is below, SAN DIEGO above and the date of coinage at right. Letters D or S appear below the first T in TRUST indicating the place of coining, Denver or San Francisco. All of this is framed within an ornate border, which the late researcher Walter Breen identified as a tressure, a decorative element appearing on some Spanish coins of the 16th Century. Outside this border, arranged in a peripheral arc, is •CALIFORNIA•PACIFIC•INTERNATIONAL•EXPOSITION.
Mintage
A bill passed May 6, 1936 permitted the return for recoining of up to 180,000 of the 1935-S halves. The new coins were to bear the date 1936, regardless of when they were struck or issued! Although the exposition's backers further attempted to have the San Diego coins made at all three mints, this recoinage was assigned to the Denver Mint alone. Including 92 assay pieces, a total of 180,092 half dollars dated 1936-D were struck that summer.
Offered at $1.50 this time, their mintage was still too high to attract many buyers, and sales languished again. Treasurer Klicka was tireless in promoting the rarity and desirability of these coins, perhaps never understanding how the large numbers coined affected sales. In 1937, in an attempt to make them seem more valuable, he raised the price for either coin to $3, only to then lower it the following year to $2 for the 1935-S issue and to just $1 for the 1936-D coins. None of these efforts met with much success, however, and some 150,000 of the 1936-D halves met the same fate as the 180,000 1935-S coins previously melted. This left net mintages of 70,000 for 1935-S and only 30,000 for 1936-D.
Even with so many coins destroyed, large numbers remained in the hands of a few officials associated with the exposition. One hoard of 1935-S halves reportedly contained 31,050 pieces, nearly half of the number sold! Quietly sold off beginning in 1966, great care was taken to not destroy the market for these popular coins. A smaller but still quite impressive hoard of 10,000 1936-D halves was effectively distributed during the 1980s.
Specification: 192.9 grains = 12.50 grams, 0.900 fine silver, 30.6 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 171.
- 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.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011
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