United States 1937 half dollar KM-190
Authorization
The Washington County Historical Society of Hagerstown, Maryland, worked with the United States Antietam Celebration Commission (of 45 E. Washington St., Hagerstown) to set up a celebration in the area, September 4-17, 1937, known as the National Antietam Commemoration. This was natural, since Park W.T. Loy was simultaneously chairman of the Historical Society and Secretary of the Commission. This was to include a wide variety of what would later be called family entertainment. Political pressure exerted by Senator Millard Tydings (D.-Md.) resulted in passage of the PUBLIC—NO. 160—75TH CONGRESS, Act of June 24, 1937, authorizing a maximum of 50,000 pieces.
Generals George B. McClellan and Robert E. Lee were opposing commanders in the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single day in the Civil War, September 17, 1862. This horrific battle between the North and South culminated in the total deaths of over 25,000 Americans in what many believe to be one of the turning points in the South's struggle for freedom from what they believed as government tyranny. The first specimen went to president Roosevelt on August 12, 1937. The Commission sold these at $1.65.
Obverse
William Marks Simpson designed the obverse with three stars behind Lee, representing his rank as General in the Confederate Army; two stars left of McClellan represent his rank as Major General in the Union Army.
Reverse
On the reverse, the Burnside Bridge was the major focus in the battle. Spanning Antietam Creek, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, this bridge was the key to strategic high ground overlooking Sharpsburg. It was only later was named after General Ambrose E. Burnside (the namesake of sideburns). Monogram WMS behind Lee's shoulder is for William Marks Simpson, designer and sculptor, of Baltimore.
Recorded Mintage: 18,000 sold.
Specification: 192.9 grains = 12.50 grams, 0.900 fine silver, 30.6 mm diameter, reeded edge.
Catalog reference: KM 190.
- 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.
Link to:
- 1936 half dollar, Albany Charter Anniversary
- 1936-S half dollar, Opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
- 1936 half dollar, Bridgeport centennial
- 1936 half dollar, Cincinnati Music Center
- 1936-D half dollar, Cincinnati Music Center
- 1936-S half dollar, Cincinnati Music Center
- 1936 half dollar, Cleveland-Great Lakes Exposition
- 1936 half dollar, Delaware Tercentenary
- 1936 half dollar, Elgin centennial
- 1936 half dollar, Battle of Gettysburg
- 1936 half dollar, Long Island Tercentenary
- 1936 half dollar, Lynchburg Sesquicentennial
- 1936 half dollar, Norfolk Bicentennial
- 1936 half dollar, Arkansas-Robinson Centennial
- 1936 half dollar, Wisconsin Territorial Centennial
- 1937-D cent
- 1937 half dollar, Roanoke Island
- 1938 half dollar, New Rochelle, 250th anniversary
- Coins and currency dated 1937
- return to United States Commemorative Coins, 1892-1954