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1892 and 1893 Columbian Exposition Half Dollar

Posted by The Boss on October 19, 2012 in Coins & Paper Money

The Columbian half dollar is a United States commemorative coin struck in 1892 and 1893. It was minted to raise funds for the World's Columbian Exposition, held in 1893, and to mark the quadricentennial of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus to the Americas—it bears a portrait of him. The Columbian half dollar was the first United States commemorative coin, and the first American coin to picture a historical person.

The coin stems from the desire of organizers of the Columbian Exposition to gain federal money to complete construction of the fair. Congress granted an appropriation, and allowed it to be in the form of commemorative half dollars, which legislators and organizers believed could be sold at a premium. Fair official James Ellsworth wanted the new coin to be based on a 16th century painting he owned by Lorenzo Lotto, reputedly of Columbus, and pushed for this through the design process. When initial sketches by Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber proved unsatisfactory, fair organizers turned to a design by artist Olin Levi Warner, which after modification by Barber and by his assistant, George T. Morgan, was struck by the Mint.

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