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1952 Washington - Carver Half Dollar |
1952 Washington - Carver Half Dollar
Mintage 2,422,392
By 1951 a clamor was rising from Congress and collectors alike to halt further production of Booker T. Washington half dollars. But the sponsors of the projects being funded by sales of these coins were reluctant to give up this source of income especially considering that the overall mintage remained far short of the 5-million authorization. They came up with a solution that enabled them to keep selling coins: They induced a reluctant Congress to authorize a new coin honoring not only Booker T. Washington but also George Washington Carver, a black agricultural scientist whose distinguished career was somewhat intertwined with that of Washington. Despite strong reservations, Congress went along-primarily because the profits were to go "to oppose the spread of communism among Negroes in the interest of national defense." There was no apparent defection of blacks to this or any other foreign ideology, but members of Congress clearly were reluctant-in that age of McCarthy-style hysteria-to show any hint of softness on communism. This coin's design was credited to Isaac Hathaway. "Blamed" might be more accurate, for this is widely viewed as one of the ugliest coins in U.S. history. The balance of the authorization for Booker T. Washington halves were transferred to the new coin, and over a three-year period (spanning four different dates), the Mint made more than 2.4 million examples, using all three mints. Curiously, each years production included two low-mintage coins and one with much higher mintage. The overall high mintage causes collectors to overlook the fact that certain varieties are scarce and probably underrated.
Value $9 - $250 |
