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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 7813931, member: 101855&quot;][ATTACH=full]1342888[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>Revenues from the sales of the Pilgrim Tercentenary Commemorative Half Dollar were used to sponsor a celebration that marked the 300th anniversary of the founding of the settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The coins were distributed through the National Shawmut Bank of Boston.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the end of 1920, it seemed that the demand for the coin had not been exhausted. Given that the authorized number of pieces had not been struck, and additional mintage was struck in 1921. The sales were disappointing, and most of the 1921 dated pieces and some of the 1920 issue were returned to the mint and melted.</p><p><br /></p><p>The obverse features William Bradford (1590 to 1657) who was the governor of the Plymouth Colony for all but five years between 1621 and 1657. He replaced the first governor, John Carver, who had died of influenza soon after the settlers landed in the late fall of 1620. He was a popular and effective leader who led the group though some of its most trying times.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Pilgrims were a religious separatist group who immigrated to America from Holland. Their movement originated in England, where their desire to break entirely from the official religion, The Church of England, made them totally unacceptable to King James I.</p><p><br /></p><p>They immigrated to Leyden, Holland where they were welcome to practice their religion as they saw fit, but barred from craftsmen’s guilds which forced them to take low-paying menial jobs. They also saw that after 12 years, their children were taking on the ways of the Dutch instead of the English. These factors prompted them to immigrate to America.</p><p><br /></p><p>They landed north of their intended destination at the tip of Cape Cod, near modern Provence Town. Noting that the area did not look hospitable, they eventually chose Plymouth, Massachusetts for their settlement.</p><p><br /></p><p>The first year was very hard. Half of the settlers died from exposure and disease during their first winter. In the spring, some friendly Indians helped them to learn to plant corn, which became an important staple. Just when it appeared that they were going to have a reasonably good winter, another boatload of settlers arrived from England. Once more they were on short rations.</p><p><br /></p><p>Despite the privations, the colony was able to survive. Its growth potential was limited, however. The waters in the port in Plymouth were too shallow to support the ships that would have made the colony thrive, as it did for the Puritans in Boston. In addition, the Pilgrims strict code of conduct discouraged others from joining their sect. Ultimately, they were absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the late 1600s.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>The Fate of the <i>Mayflower</i></b></p><p>The reverse of the coin features and image of the <i>Mayflower</i>, the ship that took the Pilgrims to America. After landing in Plymouth in the fall of 1620 it remained there until the spring when it returned to its home port, Rotherhithe, England, which is located down the Themes River from London. Its next assignment was to carry a load of salt to France. Following that assignment, the ship’s captain and partial owner, Christopher Jones, died, perhaps from the deprivations he had suffered in America. For the next two years, the ship remained tied up at port until it became a rotting hulk. It was sold and broken up for salvage in 1624.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b>The coin above is housed</b> in an NGC “old fatty holder.” It has medium browning toning, lots of luster and virtually mark-free surfaces. As such it is a very high end example for the assigned MS-64 grade.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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