What comes to mind when you think of Alabama? 1) The last slave state to be admitted to the Union prior to the Missouri Compromise. 2) Beautiful gulf beaches. 3) A terrific college football team. 4) A rock group. 5) Red Stone arsenal. 6) None of the above. If you picked number 6 then you're probably a coin cuckoo like me. When I think 'bama I'm thinkin' Alabama Centennial Half Dollar. The obverse features conjoined busts of W.W. Bibb, the first governor of Alabama, and T.E. Kilby, the contemporary governor at the time of release. The 22 stars on the fields fore and aft of the busts signify the the admittance of the twenty second state to the union. The reverse features a marvelously spectacular eagle along with the state motto "Here we rest". The coin was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser, who many will recognize as the wife of James Earl Fraser, a sculpter of notable pursuits in other areas, but most notably, the Buffalo Nickel. It might be added that this coin displays, for the first time in US coin minting history, the depiction of a living person. Prior to this issue, everyone ever depicted on a coin struck by the US mint was of someone deceased, dead, and long gone. Behold my newest addition to my humble collection.......
Its the alphabetical first state in the us, I don't know why that was the first thing to pop up in my head, but it was. Also, great looking coin!
Ahead of Arabia, right DS? Oh dear, one too many bourbons...... Thanks for looking and commenting........
Yeah cool coin. I have to admit the first thing I though of was "Sweet Home Alabama". Second was "Greenbow ALABAMA!". Maybe I am not as cuckoo as I thought! Yeah, yeah I am.
Are you going after all date/denomination/metal/mint-mark commems? Either way, you have been making some very nice headway. And when I think of Alabama, I think of The Gators beating them. :yes:
/agreed. I love the eagles they designed back then. How the heck did we go from these cool eagles to the bufugly Mercanti road kill eagles is beyond me.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Alabama is when you're traveling west on I-10 crossing Mobile Bay, and you look to the south and see the USS Alabama anchored there..........one **** of a battleship! Chris
The eagles of Arkansas, Lincoln, Stone Mountain and this one (Alabam) are among my favorite eagle designs.
Nice addition to your collection Ken. I also love the eagle on the reverse. By the way...can never have too many bourbons. Bruce
Do you happen to have one of the 2x2 type Alabama Commemorative coins? Just wondering... I have never seen one in real good condition. BTW, I live in Tuscaloosa, ROLL TIDE!
Alas my friend, no. It is on my "to do" list to get one however.......the blasted things is so danged pricey when I see 'em.....
The first thing I thought of was Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill. They have had some bad times lately.
