So I been collecting for a long time and have been recently becoming more interested in commemorative halves. They are big enough that my old eyes can still see the detail.... While doing a little looking around it occurs to me that I am seeing a lot of the older commemorative halves worn. Some very worn. Was it common for previous generations to regard commemoratives as pocket change?
Good question. My thought would be that except for maybe the Columbian most surely weren't used in commerce much. Maybe they were just popular as pocket pieces. I said maybe twice there so now I'll and listen.
I suspect some were spent in commerce by people who didn't know any better. I once got a roll of halves at a bank and in the roll was a Stone Mountain. It was about AU-53.
I believe the ones that didn’t sell were dumped into circulation. Some are easier to find circulated than others and yes some did become pocket pieces
The commemoratives issued during and before the Great Depression have a good chance of having been spent and heavily circulated. Seeing how the depression lasted until 1939, it's a good chance that all but the Booker T's and Wash/Carvers were used regularly. The Booker T's and W/C's were under-appreciated, and were sold some years with a minimal premium, so even those are found in circulated condition, as they weren't really 'treasured' by most who had them, especially after the novelty wore off. Even in 1954 (last year of the early commems), 50¢ had decent buying power (about $5 in today's money), so I can certainly see folks spending them.
I read somewhere, many years ago, that the commeritives were bought at cost (usually for just a few cents each) as fund raisers by organizations. They were sold at a premium to raise money for the organization. Whatever didn’t sell could be sent by the organization at face value. So quite a few did end up in circulation.
Most unsold commemoratives were sent back to the mint for remelting, that way the issuing authority did not have to pay for them. In the case of issues that had multiyear production the unsold coin sent back be made into the new year coins and returned at no additional cost.
It might be the opposite during the Depression, but it might also depend on the coin. During the Depression people would have had some difficulty buying a coin at twice (or more) face value and then turning around and spending it at face. Many or most commemoratives were fundraising efforts and during the Depression many of these efforts may have been shut down or just failed. It might be true that the coin was purchased pre Depression and then spent out of desperation.
The Monroe Doctrine commems were circulated quite a bit in the Southern California area. Many more were minted compared to the demand. Alabama had some circulated out there, as did the Columbian expo (obviously), Pilgrim, Lincoln and Missouri. After 1935, I think circulated comments are infrequent.
I have a little trouble understanding how any individual would have circulated them. But in the case of the Stone Mountain half many were bought by companies to use in promotions. One was a railroad (B&O I think) who gave them out in change. That might explain some making it all the way to the west coast.
Do you have any understanding of the Great Depression, and what people were going through? When your kid hasn't eaten in 2 days, you'll spend whatever you can for a loaf of bread.
You will find a lot of worn Monroe Doctrine Commons. in 1923, the Film Exposition in LA for which the coin was distributed was a financial disaster, and most of the commens were used in regular currency.
Buying power of a half. dollar in the 1930's. You could buy two packs of cigarettes and two sodas, try doing that today with $5.
Actually I have a lot of understanding including local bank failures that bankrupted my paternal grandfather and ultimately led to his untimely death. A father who walked the streets of Atlanta for months looking for work that did not exist. And another grandfather who lost his business and returned to farming to put food on the table. So yes I understand the Great Depression. But if you have ever read Studs Terkel's work called "Hard Times" not everyone felt the depression the same. If you had a job and kept it then it was less onerous because goods and services were cheap. Economic downturns and depressions are rarely felt the same across the nation. I also had an interesting experience of settling two estates of cousins who were knee deep in the difficult times, but who also had relatives who fought in the war. We found it surprising what they kept because of sentimental attachment regardless of value. My point is that someone who could afford a collectible coin during such difficult times would have been unlikely to have let it go at half price. But that is my opinion and I certainly understand your point.
