1936-S Bay Bridge Commemorative Framed Display

[leeg]

Someone wanted this item Real Bad!!!!!

 

 

Stack's Priced Realized of $2,990. It is a very cool piece and possibly unique.

 

 

Anyone know who the winning bidder was? Would be a very cool addition to my book project.

 

 

 

 

Item Description

 

1936-S Bay Bridge commemorative framed display

 

including a pair of Bay Bridge half dollars and an exceedingly rare original San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge half dollar order form. The half dollars appear to be approximately MS-64 (only obverse visible) and AU-58 with PVC residue (only reverse visible). The order form, measuring 235 mm x 202 mm, is printed with black ink on blue-green paper. Actual-size half tones of the coin designs are printed on silver ink circles, between two columns of text. Although the obverse design appears to be a perfect match for the design adopted on the coin, the reverse is notably different from the adopted type—it is without stars and displays both mottoes E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST. So far as we are aware, this order form is the only contemporary documentation depicting this prototype reverse design. The order form has been folded vertically down the center and is water stained at the upper left.

 

The display is housed an attractive wooden frame and has a textured black background.

 

No examples of the order form are mentioned in the Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins by Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen, and no examples were included in the extensive offering of commemorative ephemera in our (ANR's) Chesapeake Collection of United States Silver Coins and Related Ephemera, back in March 2005.

 

 

The order form reads in part as follows:

"San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Celebration / November 11, 12, 13, 14, 1936 / Headquarters: / 625 Market Street, Room 615 / San Francisco / "To the citizens of the San Francisco Bay Area:

"A United States one-half dollar coin commemorating the opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge had been authorized by Congress in a bill introduced by Senator Hiram W. Johnson of California and approved by the president on June 26, 1936.

"The design of this coin, which has been made by Jaques Schnier, famous young California sculptor, shows on the obverse the California Grizzly Bear facing forward, and on the reverse the great bridge stretching across San Francisco Bay. The date on the coin will be 1936 . . .

"As only a limited supply of these coins will be minted, viz., 100,000, the Celebration Committee reserves the right to limit the maximum number of coins which any one person may order, such number will prevent speculators from purchasing the available supply and will permit the Committee to fill the order of citizens of the Bay Area . . .

"Delivery of the coins from the Mint is expected in the latter part of October of this year . . . The premiums on the coins will be used to defray part of the expenses of the celebration."

 

 

 

[JJSingleton]

I really dig the commemorative holders and stuff just as much as the coins, if not more. That certainly scores pretty darned high on the FatMan Coolness Scale™