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1946 Iowa Statehood Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar

18 posts in this topic

Here is a rarity in the 1892-1954 early commemorative series of coins:

 

TY_1992_Iowa_Sale_Combo.jpg

 

A member of the boards here has two Iowa half dollars in these rare styrene holders. I can't pry one away nor get his source. :( It's all ok though, luck to the best searcher.

 

Most of us have seen these type holders with the 1936 Jacques Schnier, Bay Bridge half dollar. This is the first one of the Iowa half dollars that I've seen in all my research to date.

 

I just happened to find some information around these holders and wanted to share with the forum:

 

"A March 10 meeting of the coin committee of the Iowa Centennial Memorial Foundation will decide the fate of the 500 commemorative half dollars that are to be sold for the state's sesquicentennial celebration in 1996.

 

The foundation is the legal owner of the coins, which were reserved to help fund the sesquicentennial celebration, along with a second lot of 500 for the bicentennial. The coins originally were struck and sold in 1946.

 

Foundation members will decide when and how the pieces will be sold, with the proceeds going to the sesquicentennial celebration in 1996.

 

Iowa Deputy Treasurer Steven F. Miller is writing the proposals that will be presented to the coin committee. These tentatively call for a minimum bid of $500 per coin, with up to 400 coins to be auctioned off to all comers.

 

The remaining 100 are to be reserved for distribution within the state only. Miller said there have been a number of proposals, ranging from selling the coins to historical societies in each of the state's 99 counties to requests from groups anxious to obtain one of the coins to use for fund-raising. . .

 

The 500 coins to be sold were taken to California to be mounted in 3 1/2 by 5 1/2 styrene holders, which were sonically sealed by Advance Coin & Stamp Co. of Beverly Hills. . ."1

 

1. Numismatic News, March 10, 1992, Fate of Iowa half dollars to be decided.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed a little history.

 

:)

 

 

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  • Member: Seasoned Veteran

These were overpriced by the state when offered for sale in 1996. The persons in charge seemed to have based their figure on the commemorative boom market of several years earlier and were reluctant to accept current values. I don't believe many of these holdered coins sold. Another allotment is to be offered during Iowa's bicentennial in 2046, by which time the 1989 value may have recovered. doh!

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"...Iowa's bicentennial in 2046, by which time the 1989 value may have recovered" how true....And that is after 50 years of inflation.

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"...Iowa's bicentennial in 2046, by which time the 1989 value may have recovered" how true....And that is after 50 years of inflation.

 

The CDN bid price for an MS65 Iowa was $650 in May of 1989. Currently, it's $105. My guess is that the price won't be back to 1989 levels in 2046.

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It's nice display, and I would not mind owning one, but at those prices I'd have to pass. One can admire the fair way in which the first issue of Iowa coins were sold with no games in 1946. The distribution methods for the next group however leaves something to be desired.

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...or....look at it in gold bullion value. 1989 = $401/T oz. At $650 for a MS65 Iowa, it would have cost = 1.62 T oz of pure gold. Today, with gold at $1,269, the same coin is worth $105 = 0.08 T oz....or.... your $650 in gold bought in 1989 is worth $2,056 today for a gain of $1,406 (+316%); and the $650 Iowa commem is worth $105 for a loss of $545 (-230%).

 

Your $650 put into a Dow-Jones fund in 1989 would be worth $4,324 (+668%) ignoring all dividends and reinvestment. (Closer to $7,000 if in a stable growth fund from any major fund company.)

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I know very little about early commemoratives.

 

Is the coin a rarity? It seems like the mintage was pretty high, and the value is quite low.

 

Or are you talking about the holder?

 

I'm not sure I understand your post.

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The Iowa commemorative half dollar is one of easier pieces to obtain up to MS-66. The prices were less than $100 for MS-65+pieces when I was shopping for one.

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I know very little about early commemoratives.

 

Is the coin a rarity? It seems like the mintage was pretty high, and the value is quite low.

 

Or are you talking about the holder?

 

I'm not sure I understand your post.

 

Good question.

 

Changed some of the wording.

 

 

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I'll add some content too:

 

Here's the reply from the Iowa State authorities giving ordering instructions to my father wrote to the Commission in 1996:

 

Envelope:

mailing%20envelope_zps7v1ezcoi.jpg

 

Ordering instructions:

ordering%20instructions_zpsnkosk1h4.jpg

 

He didn't order the coin after comparing the issue price to then-current TPG slabbed prices.

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I'll add some content too:

 

Here's the reply from the Iowa State authorities giving ordering instructions to my father wrote to the Commission in 1996:

 

Envelope:

mailing%20envelope_zps7v1ezcoi.jpg

 

Ordering instructions:

ordering%20instructions_zpsnkosk1h4.jpg

 

He didn't order the coin after comparing the issue price to then-current TPG slabbed prices.

 

Welcome to the NGC Forums. Very nice first post.

Cool piece of history. Mind if I add it to my chapter on this coin?

 

 

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Thanks. I've posted to this forum before but my id was nuked - probably b/c I mostly lurk.

 

Please feel free to use this material. Would you like higher quality images? The quality of the posted images were optimized for the web and aren't really print-quality.

 

If so, let me know and I can make higher quality scans and will email them to you.

 

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Thanks. I've posted to this forum before but my id was nuked - probably b/c I mostly lurk.

 

Please feel free to use this material. Would you like higher quality images? The quality of the posted images were optimized for the web and aren't really print-quality.

 

If so, let me know and I can make higher quality scans and will email them to you.

 

PM sent.

 

:)

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Found this sketch of the reverse for the 1946 Iowa half dollar. These were submitted to the Centennial Committee before Adam Pietz was even in the picture.

 

 

Sketch3A.jpg

 

 

 

His designs were accompanied with a single-spaced, typed, full-page descriptive notation. . . It is provocative to read his concluding commentary:

 

‘The lack of knowledge of the processes of engraving carried on at the United States Mints does not permit me to accurately depict the form and relief of the features. However, I have tried to show the general features and the placement thereof. I have chosen these designs after a study of the other issued commemorative designs.

 

 

 

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