# 1317 - Early American Commemoratives - Part 9

Most of the info below comes from: https://earlycommemorativecoins.com/

"Commemorative coins were first issued by the United States Mint in 1892 to mark the World’s Columbian Exposition. The silver half dollars depicting Christopher Columbus were sold at the expedition for one dollar each. In subsequent years, the US Mint would continue the tradition of issuing gold and silver commemoratives to honor the important people, places, and events of the country.

Early commemorative coins were issued between the years 1892 and 1954 and have included primarily silver half dollars and gold dollars."

I will show the series "Silver Early Commemoratives". It will be presented in alphabetical order.

All coins weight 12.5g, with 90% silver purity.

The ninth is a MS65 1936 "Elgin" Half Dollar.

"The 1936 Elgin Centennial Half Dollar was issued for the purpose of raising funds to construct a Pioneer Memorial Statue in Elgin, Illinois. The amount raised through the commemorative coin sales would ultimately fall short of the funds necessary to complete the project. The statue would eventually be completed and dedicated more than six decades later in 2001."

PCGS graded 6,407 1936 "Elgin" Half Dollars, with 2,334 as MS65 and 1,712 above. 20,015 1936 "Elgin" were minted in Philadelphia.

Today's price is around $200.00.

"The obverse of the Elgin Half Dollar features the profile of a pioneer facing left. This is a detail view from one of the pioneers who appears on the reverse. The first date refers to the year when Louis Joliet and Jacques Margquette entered Illinois. The second date is the year of issue. The actual centennial dates of Elgin, Illinois (1835-1935) do not appear on the coin."

"The reverse design is an image of the Pioneer Memorial statue, which was intended to be constructed using funds raised from coin sales. The statue was designed by Trygve Rovelstad, who also designed the coins."

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