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Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar
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Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar
The Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar or Pilgrim half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1920 and 1921 to mark the 300th anniversary (tercentenary) of the arrival of the Pilgrims in North America. It was designed by Cyrus E. Dallin.
Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Walsh was involved in joint federal and state efforts to mark the anniversary. He saw a reference to a proposed Maine Centennial half dollar and realized that a coin could be issued for the Pilgrim anniversary in support of the observances at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The bill moved quickly through the legislative process and became the Act of May 12, 1920.
Sculptor James Earle Fraser criticized some aspects of the design, but the Treasury approved it anyway. After a promising start, sales tailed off, and tens of thousands of coins from each year were returned to the Philadelphia Mint for melting. Numismatist Q. David Bowers has cited the fact that the coins were struck in the second year as the start of a trend to force collectors to buy more than one piece in order to have a complete set.
The Pilgrims were Brownist English Dissenters; they sought a version of the Christian religion without things they deemed nonessential, such as bishops or Christmas. They differed from the Puritans; the Pilgrims were stricter, and instead of seeking to reform the Church of England from within, sought to separate themselves from it. They had left England for the Netherlands because in 1608, King James I began to persecute Separatists. Among those who fled then was William Bradford.
Things became more difficult for the Separatists in the Netherlands in the late 1610s as the Dutch government moved towards alliance with England. They had few opportunities in the Netherlands as they were limited to manual labor by the guilds' refusal to accept them, and they feared that their children were straying from their language and religion. Investors led by Thomas Weston agreed to finance an expedition to North America, and the ship Speedwell was sent to fetch Separatists from the Netherlands, then join the larger Mayflower to form a two-ship expedition. After transporting the Separatists, the Speedwell proved unseaworthy for the ocean voyage. The Mayflower's passenger list was formed from some Separatists who had gone to the Netherlands and some who had stayed in England, as well as a scattering of others. Some would-be pioneers were left behind due to problems with the Speedwell. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, in South West England, on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and a crew of 47.
So they left that goodly and plesante citie, which had been their resting place near 12 years; but they knew they were pilgrimes and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits.
The expedition sighted Cape Cod on November 9, 1620, and landed at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. Two days later, the men signed the Mayflower Compact, wherein all agreed to submit themselves to the will of the majority—one of the foundation documents of American democracy. Running short of provisions, they did not proceed to Virginia, but established a settlement at Plymouth Colony (today Plymouth, Massachusetts), although they had expected to settle further south and were ill-equipped for a Massachusetts winter. Half died before spring came. There had been few Native Americans in the area, but in 1621, the settlers were approached by a group, including two, Samoset and Squanto, who spoke some English. Squanto taught the Pilgrims indigenous methods for cultivating corn (maize), a plant native to the New World with which the emigrants were unfamiliar. This knowledge helped the Pilgrims gradually become established. The Pilgrims grew in population relatively slowly over the first generations in America, and became a minority among settlers in the area. In 1691, Plymouth Colony became part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Bradford's wife had died while the ship was in Provincetown Harbor; after Governor John Carver perished during the first winter, Bradford was elected in his place, and served 15 two-year terms. He guided the colony from the communal economy necessary at first, to privatization, greatly increasing the harvest in the process. His diaries were published as Of Plymouth Plantation and constitute the major source of information concerning the Pilgrims' daily lives.
In 1920, the government did not sell commemorative coins. Congress, during the early years of commemorative coinage, usually designated a specific organization allowed to buy them at face value and to vend them to the public at a premium. In the case of the Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar, the enabling legislation did not name an organization, but it was the Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission; profits from the coin were to go towards financing the observances in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival.
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Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar
The Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar or Pilgrim half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1920 and 1921 to mark the 300th anniversary (tercentenary) of the arrival of the Pilgrims in North America. It was designed by Cyrus E. Dallin.
Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Walsh was involved in joint federal and state efforts to mark the anniversary. He saw a reference to a proposed Maine Centennial half dollar and realized that a coin could be issued for the Pilgrim anniversary in support of the observances at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The bill moved quickly through the legislative process and became the Act of May 12, 1920.
Sculptor James Earle Fraser criticized some aspects of the design, but the Treasury approved it anyway. After a promising start, sales tailed off, and tens of thousands of coins from each year were returned to the Philadelphia Mint for melting. Numismatist Q. David Bowers has cited the fact that the coins were struck in the second year as the start of a trend to force collectors to buy more than one piece in order to have a complete set.
The Pilgrims were Brownist English Dissenters; they sought a version of the Christian religion without things they deemed nonessential, such as bishops or Christmas. They differed from the Puritans; the Pilgrims were stricter, and instead of seeking to reform the Church of England from within, sought to separate themselves from it. They had left England for the Netherlands because in 1608, King James I began to persecute Separatists. Among those who fled then was William Bradford.
Things became more difficult for the Separatists in the Netherlands in the late 1610s as the Dutch government moved towards alliance with England. They had few opportunities in the Netherlands as they were limited to manual labor by the guilds' refusal to accept them, and they feared that their children were straying from their language and religion. Investors led by Thomas Weston agreed to finance an expedition to North America, and the ship Speedwell was sent to fetch Separatists from the Netherlands, then join the larger Mayflower to form a two-ship expedition. After transporting the Separatists, the Speedwell proved unseaworthy for the ocean voyage. The Mayflower's passenger list was formed from some Separatists who had gone to the Netherlands and some who had stayed in England, as well as a scattering of others. Some would-be pioneers were left behind due to problems with the Speedwell. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, in South West England, on September 6, 1620, with 102 passengers and a crew of 47.
So they left that goodly and plesante citie, which had been their resting place near 12 years; but they knew they were pilgrimes and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest cuntrie, and quieted their spirits.
The expedition sighted Cape Cod on November 9, 1620, and landed at what is now Provincetown, Massachusetts. Two days later, the men signed the Mayflower Compact, wherein all agreed to submit themselves to the will of the majority—one of the foundation documents of American democracy. Running short of provisions, they did not proceed to Virginia, but established a settlement at Plymouth Colony (today Plymouth, Massachusetts), although they had expected to settle further south and were ill-equipped for a Massachusetts winter. Half died before spring came. There had been few Native Americans in the area, but in 1621, the settlers were approached by a group, including two, Samoset and Squanto, who spoke some English. Squanto taught the Pilgrims indigenous methods for cultivating corn (maize), a plant native to the New World with which the emigrants were unfamiliar. This knowledge helped the Pilgrims gradually become established. The Pilgrims grew in population relatively slowly over the first generations in America, and became a minority among settlers in the area. In 1691, Plymouth Colony became part of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Bradford's wife had died while the ship was in Provincetown Harbor; after Governor John Carver perished during the first winter, Bradford was elected in his place, and served 15 two-year terms. He guided the colony from the communal economy necessary at first, to privatization, greatly increasing the harvest in the process. His diaries were published as Of Plymouth Plantation and constitute the major source of information concerning the Pilgrims' daily lives.
In 1920, the government did not sell commemorative coins. Congress, during the early years of commemorative coinage, usually designated a specific organization allowed to buy them at face value and to vend them to the public at a premium. In the case of the Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar, the enabling legislation did not name an organization, but it was the Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission; profits from the coin were to go towards financing the observances in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival.
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