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Message:: [QUOTE="leeg, post: 3503607, member: 17073"]<img src="https://oi11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/leeg1957/Book%20Project%20Images/Hudson/Roosevelt_Coin.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" />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. “Antihudson, New York, December 15, 1935.   In looking over the index of the 1935 Numismatists it was noted that no description of the Hudson half dollar had been given, and I hasten to fill this gap in numismatic literature. So far as known, this piece is the first ever dedicated to the coin collector. Everything about it shows the purpose for which it was issued.   Behold, on the obverse, the ship of Hudson homeward bound in all its triumph. Is it not laden, oh, my friends, with the catch of a most profitable expedition to the Sea of Suckers, where the proverbial one is born every minute? Obviously enough, the ship is none other than the ‘Half Moon,’ but why it was so christened has never been revealed until now. It seems that the success of such voyages is so dependent upon the influence of the moon that they are conducted entirely under her soothing rays. Indeed, great importance is even attached to the proper naming of the ship to more speedily reduce the suckers to the sate of subjugation required to land them. What more convincing proof need there be than the idiotic grinning of Luna on the coin itself? (please insert cuts of obverse and reverse of coin.)   Editor’s Note – The editor has no cut of the Hudson half dollar. And he has no Hudson half dollar from which to make a cut. In the circumstances, he reserved the right to decline to purchase one at the price asked.)   But, ah! The reverse – can it really be the devil himself? Be still, my troubled heart, ‘tis only the captain of the great Half Moon jauntily sporting his workaday clothes! Caught, too, in the very act of administering the coup-de-grace to the poor sucker that was snared into his trap. Another unsuspecting sucker may be seen nearby awaiting his turn and blowing his trumpet in anticipation of what he believes to be his great moment. Above may be seen the motto we all hope may come to pass. May the distributors of the coin reap both the honor and the reward (et decus et pretium) demanded by their righteous action (recti). <ol> <li>A. SHORNLAMB.”7</li> </ol>7The Numismatist, Description of Hudson Half Dollar, February, 1936, p. 109.   “As a native of Hudson, NY, back in the '80's, I tried to track down some of the locals who were involved with the distribution and get the ‘real’ story. Needless to say, many of the Sesquicentennial Committee members had passed on by then but a few were still around.   The short version is that after the Committee ordered the 10,000 half’s, they started to get cold feet (after all, it was the Great Depression, you know) and were worried about getting stuck with many of the coins. They even started to require Hudson City and Columbia County employees to take some of the coins as part of their paychecks. (This fact was verified by several retired employees that I spoke with) Then the Guttag Bros. of NYC came along - now I was never able to determine who approached who first (the Guttag's or the Committee) but the bottom line is that the Committee agreed to sell 7,500 of the coins to the Guttag's at a discount just to get rid of them. Then, when the orders from the public poured in, many had to be returned with a ‘sold out’ notice. The rest, as they say, is history.”8 8 Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) Coin Forum Member '2nd Charter’ from a post on the PCGS Coin Forum dated 02/01/11.[/QUOTE]

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