Despite being founded in 1792, it wasn't until 100 years later in 1892 that the U.S. Mint struck first commemorative coins. The 1892 and 1893 Columbian Commemorative Half Dollars were created to be sold at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. This event was held to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' "discovery' of the New World back in 1492. Originally slated to be held in 1892, the expo was then postponed until 1893. The mint continued to strike the commemoratives though, so the same design now has two dates of issue.
These commemoratives were called souvenir coins at the time, were struck with 90% silver, and were greatly available to the public. The 1892 Columbian Half Dollar had a mintage of 950,000 coins, and about 50% more were minted the next year bringing the 1893's mintage to 1,550,405 coins. Despite being half dollar coins, they were sold to the public for $1 each, and people still flocked to purchase the coins at the exposition. However, because a majority of these coins were bought by the public rather than collectors, most were not well cared for. These commemorative half dollars are especially hard to find in high grades over 130 years later. We assembled this complete set of both 1892 and 1893 dated issues of the Columbian Commemorative Half Dollar to easily add some important U.S. numismatic history to your collection! Both coins will be in Almost Uncirculated/Brilliant Uncirculated (AU/BU) condition. Bring some U.S. history to your collection with this set today!
Highlights:
- The FIRST US commemorative
- 90% silver
- AU/BU condition
