United States 1936 half dollar KM-173

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US 1936 50C Albany 1.jpg

Authorization

Authorized during the late spring of 1936, at the very height of the speculative market in commemorative coins, creating the Albany Dongan Charter Committee. Many felt that commemorative issues such as this, marking events of purely local importance, these themes seemed unworthy of commemoration on a national scale. As residents of the second oldest chartered city in the United States, the leaders of Albany sought to recognize the 250th anniversary of their charter in 1936. Among the souvenirs of this occasion, it was hoped that a commemorative half dollar could be obtained from Congress, as such coins were much in the news during 1936 and had proved quite successful in raising funds for local celebrations. With relatively little debate, a bill was passed authorizing the coining of 25,000 half dollars commemorating the Albany Charter.

The various types of original packaging that accompanied the Albany halves are also collectable. These included a four-page booklet which illustrated the coin, presented a brief history of Albany and provided slots for one to five coins. This was enclosed in an envelope imprinted ALBANY DONGAN CHARTER COMMITTEE, 60 STATE STREET, ALBANY, N.Y. A scarcer item is the small box designed to hold single coins and imprinted THE NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BANK AND TRUST COMPANY OF ALBANY.

Obverse

Gertrude K. Lathrop

The Albany Dongan Charter Coin Committee selected as its coin's designer Miss Gertrude Lathrop, an accomplished sculptor and Albany native who would go on to create the New Rochelle half dollar the following year. The obverse of the Albany Charter half dollar is dominated by a realistic and lifelike beaver gnawing on a maple branch. The beaver (and more specifically its pelt) formed one of the Albany region's principle products in its early years, as well as being symbolic of industrious effort in general. It also appears on the city's seal. The maple is New York's state tree, and its keys (seeds) are used to separate UNITED STATES OF AMERICA from HALF DOLLAR, both of which are arranged in arcs around the obverse periphery. Appearing in small letters above the beaver, in a semi-circular pattern, are the statutory mottoes E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST.

Reverse

On the reverse are standing figures of (from left to right) Thomas Dongan, Robert Livingston and Peter Schuyler. The governor is shaking hands with Schuyler in farewell, the latter holding onto the new charter that he and his secretary will take back to Albany. The three stand upon a semi-spherical base, on which is inscribed the date 1936. Over their heads is an eagle, and above it in tiny letters the legend LIBERTY. Arranged in arcs around the periphery are SETTLED 1614 CHARTERED 1686 (above) and ALBANY, N Y (below). Pine cones separate these two inscriptions, and the artist's initials GKL are incused in minute letters beside Dongan's feet. The small pine tree behind the governor, along with the pine cones and the maple keys collectively represent the fertility and growth of the city.

Mintage

Authorized, 25,000; coined, October - November, 1935, (25,000 + 13 assay); melted, 7,342 (1943). 1936 (Net 17,658).

Specification: 192.9 grains = 12.50 grams, 0.900 fine silver, 30.6 mm diameter, reeded edge.

Catalog reference: KM 173.

Source:

  • 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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