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How About A Little History?

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Just felt like sharing some history tonight. How about we discuss the 1935 Hudson NY, Sesquicentennial Half Dollar.

 

 

Heritage_Hudson_Plate_Coin.jpg

 

Mintage of 10,008, 8 coins reserved for assay. Designed by Chester Beach, and distributed by the Hudson Sesquicentennial Committee, Tristram Coffin, general chairman, through the First National Bank & Trust Company of Hudson, New York, John R. Evans represented the Committee in correspondence. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

 

Approved by Congress on May 2, 1935 and issued in commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the city of Hudson, New York.

 

Design:

 

Obverse: Neptune holding trident, riding on a spouting whale; in background a mermaid; around upper border, CITY OF HUDSON, N.Y.; on scroll surrounding chief design, ET DECUS E PRETIUM RECTI; between waves and lower border, E PLURIBUS UNUM, 1785-1935.

Reverse: Ship sailing to left; in field a half moon; around upper border, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; in smaller letters, IN GOD WE TRUST; below ship, HUDSON; around lower border, HALF DOLLAR; Designers initials C.B. in monogram in lower left field.

 

A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Senator Copeland, of New York, on March 11, 1934, authorizing the coinage of 6,000 half dollars to commemorate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the city of Hudson, N. Y. The same bill was also introduced in the Senate. The report of the Committee on Coinage, Weights and Measures of the House recommended favorable action with an amendment making the issue 10,000 instead of 6,000. The bill was signed by the President on April 19.1

 

A Regular Meeting of the Common Council was held Friday, May 31st, 1935, at 8:00 P. M.

 

There was present: President Marshall, Aldermen Hallenbeck, Cartwright, Crouse, Miller, Soloman, Thorn and Weinman. . .

 

The Clerk presented and read the following communication from His Honor Mayor Wise:

 

 

1 The Numismatist, More Commemorative Coins Proposed, May, 1935, p. 300.

 

 

May 31, 1935.

 

To the Honorable, the Common Council.

City of Hudson, N. Y.

 

Gentlemen:

 

In connection with the attached invoice voucher in the amount of $1,000, I believe that some explanation is due. As you know as part of the Sesqui-Centennial program we have considered the coinage of a commemorative half dollar which was authorized by Congress and the bill was signed by the President. In order to obtain the full approval for this coinage it is mandatory that we obtain a design which would meet with approval of the Director of the Mint, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commission of Fine Arts. The Commission also recommended a recognized sculptor whose design would be acceptable to the Commission. From this list was picked the name of Chester Beach, who has since fulfilled and designed the model which has been acceptable to the Commission of Fine Arts. The price of $1,000.00 is set by Congressional agreement. In as much as Mr. Beach has fulfilled his part of the agreement, I am asking that this invoice be approved in order that he may obtain his fee.

 

You may recall that in the 1935-36 budget there was set up in this budget the amount of $1,300.00 for this celebration, this item of $1,000.00 should be charged against the $1,200.00 as set up in the budget. This coinage which calls for the issuing of 10,000 one-half dollars will be sold by us at a cost of $1.00 each. We believe that we will be able to raise approximately $3,000.00 over and above all expenses which might be incurred in connection with this commemorative coin.

 

I would also ask that you authorize me to use the additional $200.00 remaining in the Sesqui Fund as set up in the budget. This additional $200.00 would be used for the Government minting charge.

 

Very truly yours,

 

FRANK W. WISE.

 

Mayor,”2

 

“The Hudson (N.Y.) commemorative half dollar, issued in connection with the Sesqui-Centennial celebration of the incorporation of Hudson, is expected to be ready for distribution July 1. This issue is limited to 10,000. The designs are by Chester Beach, sculptor. The obverse shows the ship of Hendrik Hudson, the Half Moon, and the reverse the seal of Hudson, a spouting whale and two great gods of the sea. The coins will be distributed by the Hudson Sesqui-Centennial Committee. The price is $1 each, with postage and registration amounting to 18 cents on one coin and 5 cents addition for each other coin.”3

 

“This extraordinary file contains the inner story of this scarce 1930's commemorative, an issue honoring a relatively obscure Hudson River city. One fascinating item is a letter-size sheet on which Hudson Mayor Frank W. Wise embossed the City Seal, which later became a principal feature of the finished coin. He suggested a bust of President Martin Van Buren for the obverse, using a rubbing of Ira Allen from the Vermont Half Dollar and then sketched an imaginary bust of Hendrik Hudson, both ideas rejected. Included are letters and telegrams from Charles Moore and Lee Lawrie of the Commission of Fine Arts, Medallic Art Company, U.S. Mint Acting Director Miss Mary O'Reilly, Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, and energetic Mayor Wise. 1966 documents recall Don Taxay, then Curator of the Chase Manhattan Museum of Moneys of the World arranging an exhibit of U.S. commemorative coinage. Photographs and Photostats of Hendrik Hudson's ship Halve Maene and photos of the original plaster models complete the file. The Hudson coin engendered controversy when the Mayor and New York coin dealer Julius Guttag diverted most of the coins and profits into their own pockets.”4

 

2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUDSON, 1935-1936. Published by Order of the Common Council, The Hudson Press, Hudson, N. Y., pp. 54-55.

3 The Numismatist, The Hudson (N.Y.) Half Dollar To Be Ready Shortly, July 1935, p. 444.

4 Stacks Rare Coins, Description of Lot Number 4500 in The Philadelphia Americana Sale, 09/23/09.

 

 

 

More to follow.

 

 

:)

 

 

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Thanks guy's.

 

:)

 

 

Roosevelt_Coin.jpg

 

Coin designed by Chester Beach. Part of a collection of coins, tokens, paper money, etc., received from President Roosevelt on May 29, 1941, from Frank W. Wise, Mayor of Hudson, New York. Courtesy bequest of Franklin D. Roosevelt, FDR Library MO 1941.40.4.13.

 

 

The Hudson (N.Y.) commemorative half dollar, issued in connection with the Sesqui-Centennial celebration of the incorporation of Hudson, is expected to be ready for distribution July 1. This issue is limited to 10,000. The designs are by Chester Beach, sculptor. The obverse shows the ship of Hendrik Hudson, the Half Moon, and the reverse the seal of Hudson, a spouting whale and two great gods of the sea. The coins will be distributed by the Hudson Sesqui-Centennial Committee. The price is $1 each, with postage and registration amounting to 18 cents on one coin and 5 cents addition for each other coin.”3

 

This extraordinary file contains the inner story of this scarce 1930's commemorative, an issue honoring a relatively obscure Hudson River city. One fascinating item is a letter-size sheet on which Hudson Mayor Frank W. Wise embossed the City Seal, which later became a principal feature of the finished coin. He suggested a bust of President Martin Van Buren for the obverse, using a rubbing of Ira Allen from the Vermont Half Dollar and then sketched an imaginary bust of Hendrik Hudson, both ideas rejected. Included are letters and telegrams from Charles Moore and Lee Lawrie of the Commission of Fine Arts, Medallic Art Company, U.S. Mint Acting Director Miss Mary O'Reilly, Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, and energetic Mayor Wise. 1966 documents recall Don Taxay, then Curator of the Chase Manhattan Museum of Moneys of the World arranging an exhibit of U.S. commemorative coinage. Photographs and Photostats of Hendrik Hudson's ship Halve Maene and photos of the original plaster models complete the file. The Hudson coin engendered controversy when the Mayor and New York coin dealer Julius Guttag diverted most of the coins and profits into their own pockets.”4

 

 

3 The Numismatist, The Hudson (N.Y.) Half Dollar To Be Ready Shortly, July 1935, p. 444.

4 Stacks Rare Coins, Description of Lot Number 4500 in The Philadelphia Americana Sale, 09/23/09.

 

 

 

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The odd thing about the Hudson half that I've never seen mentioned is the fact that the moon on the reverse has the silliest nose (mid crescent) and goofy smile on it.

 

It's not just a crescent moon, it's bizarre looking to put on a coin.

 

All this and it's an impossible crescent shape to have on a circle simply by shadowing.

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Thanks for the comments.

 

:)

 

 

Design:

Obverse: Neptune holding trident, riding on a spouting whale; in background a mermaid; around upper border, CITY OF HUDSON, N.Y.; on scroll surrounding chief design, ET DECUS E PRETIUM RECTI; between waves and lower border, E PLURIBUS UNUM, 1785-1935.

Reverse: Ship sailing to left; in field a half moon; around upper border, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; in smaller letters, IN GOD WE TRUST; below ship, HUDSON; around lower border, HALF DOLLAR; Designers initials C.B. in monogram in lower left field.

 

. . . On the same day that the coinage act was approved, Representative Philip A. Goodwin of New York wrote Charles Moore, chairman of the Fine Arts Commission, and asked for artists qualified to prepare designs for the forthcoming Hudson half dollar. Moore recommended Laura Gardin Fraser, who, it was stated, ‘stands in the very first rank of medalists’ and who had been involved with several earlier commemoratives. Alternate recommendations included John Sinnock, Chester Beach, Francis H. Packer, and Paul Manship. In the meantime Hudson mayor Frank Wise expressed a preference for John Flanagan, known at the time for his recent (1932) work on the Washington quarter dollar. After due consideration the work was given to Beach, an old hand at designing commemoratives.

 

Mayor Frank Wise, whose office was mentioned in the legislation, polled leaders in the city who agreed that the obverse should display the bust of Henry Hudson, whereas the seal of the City of Hudson would be ideal as a motif for the reverse. As historian Don Taxay later wrote: ‘The seal, a rather whimsical composition, depicts Neptune riding backwards on a whale, heralded by a mermaid blowing a conch shell.’

 

Chester Beach prepared sketches as directed, as well as an alternate proposal of a design showing Henry Hudson’s flagship, the Half Moon, and suggested to the city fathers that the ship would be preferable to a portrait. This proposal was duly adopted. The result was a coin which presented a puzzling appearance to many viewers.

 

Nautical scenes were on both sides–a ship on the obverse and a caricature of Neptune on the reverse. At the upper left of the ship a fancifully-styled quarter moon (with a bump on the inside of the crescent for the nose of the Man in the moon) apparently was intended to indicate the otherwise unstated name of the ship, Half Moon.

 

The date of the 1935 Hudson half dollar appeared on the reverse, a departure from the usual obverse position. Confusion was nothing new to the commemorative series, and, if logic had been a requirement for the issuance of the design and the issuance of commemorative half dollars during the first part of this century, we would have had far fewer varieties.

 

In June 1935 the Philadelphia Mint produced the full authorization of 10,000 coins plus eight extra for assay. Toward the end of the next month the pieces were shipped to the First National Bank & Trust Company of Hudson for delivery to the Hudson Sesquicentennial Committee (a name which apparently was conceived after the original coining act was passed, for no mention of a committee by this name appears in the enabling legislation).

 

Orders were accepted beginning the first week of May by the Executive committee of the Sesquicentennial, through John R. Evans at the First national Bank & Trust Company, Hudson. The cost was $1 each plus 18 cents for registration and three cents postage for each two coins. It was intended that sales would commence on June 28, 1935, but only a few days later, on July 2, it was stated that the entire issue had been sold out and that no pieces were available. Relatively few collectors had placed orders by the time that the “sold out” notice was posted.

 

Subsequently John R. Evans informed buyers that ‘reservations for these coins have been accepted since the first part of May. The coins were received from the Mint on June 28, and July 2 the supply was depleted…. The demand was so great that our entire 10,000 has been exhausted and there are no more available except through a few dealers who purchased them.’ Two dealers were the main buyers: Guttag Brothers (42 Stone Street, New York City) and Hubert W. Carcaba (182 Magnolia Avenue, St. Augustine, Florida). Julius Guttag of Guttag Brothers was believed to have obtained 7,500 coins for 95¢ each. Guttag’s involvement became an inside joke with his coin dealer competitors, who slyly referred to Hudson coins as ‘Guttag half dollars.’1

 

1 Per correspondence from John R. Evans to Walter P. Nichols, undated, circa early July 1935. Also L.W. Hofer files. Guttag was to become involved on the distribution of the 1938-dated New Rochelle half dollars.

 

 

New_Sketch_Obv.jpg

New_Sketch_Rev.jpg

First sketches by Chester Beach, the reverse using an embossed seal (invisible on plate). Don Taxay p. 163.

 

 

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In testimony before the Senate committee on Banking and Currency, March 11, 1936, L.W. Hofer, chairman of the Legislative committee of the American Numismatic Association, discussed the Hudson half dollar.2

 

Mr. Hofer: ‘The Hudson issue was delivered on the 29th day of June, and they reported on the 2nd day of July that all had been disposed. One dealer is reported to have 7,500 of them that he bought for 95 cents apiece, but we cannot prove it.’

 

(later in the same hearing:)

 

Senator Francis T. Maloney: ‘In the Hudson case there were 10,000 coins which were issued. What about the price five years thereafter?’

 

Mr. Hofer: ‘I understand that 7,500 of them were bought at 95 cents apiece and laid away, and whoever got them is laying them by, and they won’t tell you that they have them. The coins are selling for $8.50 today.’

 

Senator Maloney: ‘Is that the cash price?’

 

Mr. Hofer: ‘Yes. There were only a couple of issues before that which ever went up to that price. There was the Captain Cook coin that was gotten out in 1925 [sic], I believe, and they got an issue of 10,000, and they only allowed five to each purchaser.1 But in this matter I will say that a dealer can do just as they did with me, can get some friend of his to write in, from a different address, and ask for coins. Their coins went up to about $12 during the war[?], then dropped back to $8.50. They were well distributed.

 

Hubert W. Carcaba wrote to rare coin dealer Walter P. Nichols on July 25, 1935, stating he was ‘fortunate enough to secure some of the Hudson issue but most of them have already been sold. I can supply you with them at the present for $2.00 each limited to 100 coins. Have a line on 200 more but haven’t as yet received an answer from the holder. Some of the New York houses have bought of me at the above price. One hundred are being shipped tomorrow to another dealer. Let me know your wants soon as the present stock won’t last long and prices will be higher on any new ones purchased.’ As it turned out, the $2 price would be an incredible bargain.

 

As might be expected, collectors whose orders were returned by the issuing bank were incensed, and numerous complaints were registered to the American Numismatic Association, the editor of The Numismatist, the American Numismatic Society, and just about anyone else who would listen. A deluge of bad publicity overtook the city of Hudson itself.

 

Many people suspected foul play, especially since Hudson half dollars were aplenty on the market and in dealers’ stock at $5 to $7 a short time after the original distribution ended. Even at those inflated prices, coins were snapped up by eager buyers, and those speculators who thought to hold back coins soon saw prices reach an even higher level.

 

. . . Collectors finished last in the Hudson half dollar folly, a harbinger of other things to come within the next half year, particularly the phony distribution toward the end of the 1935 with ‘small 1934’ Boone half dollars by C. Franck Dunn in Lexington, Kentucky.

 

1 An inaccurate recollection of the distribution of the 1928 Hawaiian half dollar.

 

2 From Coinage of Commemorative 50-Cent Pieces, the transcript of the hearing, published in 1936.

 

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