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<p>[QUOTE="leeg, post: 3560883, member: 17073"]Nice example green18.</p><p><br /></p><p>“<b>To ANA members from Ezra Meeker on April 20, 1928, regarding the sale of the Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar:</b></p><p><br /></p><p> For twenty years my purpose in life has been to recover and mark the Oregon Trail which I first traversed with my wife and babe in 1852. In the wealth of romance that attaches to pioneering, there is nothing more stirring than the winning of the west for this great nation by the great army of home builders who took possession of the Oregon Country, established their provisional government and compelled the Hudson Bay Company to cease their rule with the result that the Treaty of 1846 with Great Britain finally settled the long contention as to the ownership of the Oregon country.</p><p><br /></p><p> The Oregon Trail Memorial Association was founded to carry on the work of monumenting the Trail. After a thorough investigation Congress passed a Bill authorizing the issuance of six million memorial coins exclusively to the Association by the United States Government upon payment of their legal face value of fifty cents. The bill was signed by the President which stamped the approval of the Government upon the objects of this Association as set forth in the enclosed leaflet. The coins are sold for one dollar each in order to provide a fund to carry out the work for which this Association was organized.</p><p><br /></p><p> The influence of this memorial will continue as long as this nation endures and as time passes the memory of the Pioneers becomes more and more precious and in turn the coins carry on the sentiment and become of greater value to your coin collection. The coins are minted at Philadelphia and San Francisco and it may transpire that you will want one of each mint for your collection. These coins may be secured in whatever quantity you wish by sending your remittance (including postage) to the office of the Association 95 Madison Avenue, New York City.</p><p><br /></p><p> In addition to purchasing the coins we want to enlist your interest in the great work and ask that you read carefully the leaflet which we send you in the hope that you feel moved to do what you can to make this great memorial possible. Are you or any members of your family descendants of the pioneers who traversed the Oregon Trail from 1832 to 1860 or do you know of any living pioneers in your locality. This is a wholly altruistic work; I have given many years of my life to it; have just entered my 98th year of life; still on my pegs; but I’m getting in a hurry because I want to see this job finished while I’m still with you.”<b>2</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>2 <i>The</i> <i>Authoritative Reference on Commemorative Coins 1892-1954</i>, by Kevin Flynn, Published by Kyle Vick, 2008, p. 307.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>“All Oregon Trail Half Dollars Dated 1926.</p><p><br /></p><p> In our August issue, in referring to the coinage of a number of Oregon Trail half dollars in June of this year, we remarked that they were probably dated 1928, relying upon the practice of the mint in dating coins the year in which they are struck for the accuracy of the statement. This, however, proves to be an error, as the following letter from Ezra Meeker, president of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association, to F.D. Langenheim, Philadelphia, will show:</p><p><br /></p><p> We have your letter of the 2d inst. and in reply beg to state that the Oregon Trail Memorial coins are dated 1926. They are minted at Philadelphia and San Francisco. There is no issuance of the coins dated 1928.”<b>3</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>3 <i>The Numismatist</i>, Editorial Comment—Numismatic News, All Oregon Trail Half Dollars Dated 1926, October, 1928, p. 609.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>“The Oregon Trail Half Dollars of 1928.</p><p><br /></p><p> In the report of the mint coinage for June, 1928, it was stated that 50,036 additional Oregon Trail half dollars had been coined that month. This fact was published in our August issue, and in the same issue the editor commented on this additional issue as follows:</p><p><br /></p><p> It is presumed these pieces will be dated 1928, which will give collectors two dates of this coin. The first issue was in September, 1926, when 48,030 pieces were reported coined. The authorized issue is “not more than 6,000,000. (later in 1926 100,055 additional pieces were struck.)</p><p><br /></p><p> Collectors and others who ordered these coins from the Oregon Trail Memorial Association after the 1928 issue was reported coined received coins dated 1926. This gave rise to the belief that those struck in 1928 had been dated 1926, as none have ever come to light bearing the 1928 date. Those struck in 1928, however, were dated 1928, as is shown by the following correspondence:</p><p><br /></p><p> Mr. Hardwick in his article, ‘The Oregon Trail Memorial Association,’ in the February number of The Numismatist, makes some statements that not only impugn the ethics of the mint, but also contradict the various mint reports for 1926 and 1928. I have been expecting to see some note about the matter in the March or April numbers of The Numismatist, but so far have not found any.</p><p><br /></p><p> In 1926 the Philadelphia Mint struck 48,030 Oregon Trail halves and the San Francisco Mint 100,055. No more Oregon Trail half dollars were struck until 1928, when the Philadelphia Mint struck 50,028. None of these coins dated 1928 has ever shown up. A couple of the old-time dealers and collectors most emphatically stated that the coins were struck in 1928 and included in the report of that year, but dated 1926. I accepted there statements at face value and did not bother about it very much, until I read Mr. Hardwick’s article. Then I decided that something should be done about the matter, so I wrote the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint. I am enclosing his reply so that you may see what the Mint says officially.</p><p><br /></p><p>Edmund W. May</p><p><br /></p><p> The reply of the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint to Mr. May’s inquiry is as follows:</p><p><br /></p><p> Replying to your letter of the 2d inst. You are advised that there were 50,000 pieces of the Oregon Trail half dollar struck in 1928 from dies dated 1928. You have not seen any of these coins because they are held at the mint for the commission.</p><p><br /></p><p>Respectfully,</p><p><br /></p><p>F. H. Chaffin,</p><p><br /></p><p>Acting Superintendent</p><p><br /></p><p> In the act authorizing the issue of Oregon Trail half dollars in 1926 it was stated that the maximum number to be issued was 6,000,000. In 1928, less than 150,000 had been taken by the Oregon Trail Memorial Association, but in the year 50,000 additional coins were apparently ordered, none of which have been called for by the Association. In the light of these facts it should cause no wonder that Congress and the Treasury Department hesitate to grant authority for the coinage of an excessive number of an issue of commemorative coins.”<b>4</b></p><p><br /></p><p><b>4 <i>The Numismatist</i>, The<b> Oregon Trail Half Dollars of 1928, May, 1930, p. 294-295</b>.</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/leeg1957/Book%20Project%20Images/Oregon%20Trail%20Memorial%20Association/Unveiling%20of%20Monument%201.png" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><b>Unveiling of Monument at Kearney, Nebraska, in commemoration of the Oregon Trail, Left to right: Mrs. Ashton C. Shallenberger, Governor Shallenberger, Mrs. Oreal S. Ward, State Regent Nebraska Society, Daughters of the American Revolution; Mrs. Andrew K. Gault, Vice-President General, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution; Mrs. Charles O. Norton, Regent Ft. Kearney Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution; John W. Patterson, Mayor of Kearney; John Lee Webster, President Nebraska State Historical Society; Rev. R. P. Hammons, E. B. Finch, assisting with the flag rope. Courtesy of <i>Project Gutenberg EBook Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences</i>, p. 27.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="leeg, post: 3560883, member: 17073"]Nice example green18. “[B]To ANA members from Ezra Meeker on April 20, 1928, regarding the sale of the Oregon Trail Memorial Half Dollar:[/B] For twenty years my purpose in life has been to recover and mark the Oregon Trail which I first traversed with my wife and babe in 1852. In the wealth of romance that attaches to pioneering, there is nothing more stirring than the winning of the west for this great nation by the great army of home builders who took possession of the Oregon Country, established their provisional government and compelled the Hudson Bay Company to cease their rule with the result that the Treaty of 1846 with Great Britain finally settled the long contention as to the ownership of the Oregon country. The Oregon Trail Memorial Association was founded to carry on the work of monumenting the Trail. After a thorough investigation Congress passed a Bill authorizing the issuance of six million memorial coins exclusively to the Association by the United States Government upon payment of their legal face value of fifty cents. The bill was signed by the President which stamped the approval of the Government upon the objects of this Association as set forth in the enclosed leaflet. The coins are sold for one dollar each in order to provide a fund to carry out the work for which this Association was organized. The influence of this memorial will continue as long as this nation endures and as time passes the memory of the Pioneers becomes more and more precious and in turn the coins carry on the sentiment and become of greater value to your coin collection. The coins are minted at Philadelphia and San Francisco and it may transpire that you will want one of each mint for your collection. These coins may be secured in whatever quantity you wish by sending your remittance (including postage) to the office of the Association 95 Madison Avenue, New York City. In addition to purchasing the coins we want to enlist your interest in the great work and ask that you read carefully the leaflet which we send you in the hope that you feel moved to do what you can to make this great memorial possible. Are you or any members of your family descendants of the pioneers who traversed the Oregon Trail from 1832 to 1860 or do you know of any living pioneers in your locality. This is a wholly altruistic work; I have given many years of my life to it; have just entered my 98th year of life; still on my pegs; but I’m getting in a hurry because I want to see this job finished while I’m still with you.”[B]2[/B] [B]2 [I]The[/I] [I]Authoritative Reference on Commemorative Coins 1892-1954[/I], by Kevin Flynn, Published by Kyle Vick, 2008, p. 307.[/B] “All Oregon Trail Half Dollars Dated 1926. In our August issue, in referring to the coinage of a number of Oregon Trail half dollars in June of this year, we remarked that they were probably dated 1928, relying upon the practice of the mint in dating coins the year in which they are struck for the accuracy of the statement. This, however, proves to be an error, as the following letter from Ezra Meeker, president of the Oregon Trail Memorial Association, to F.D. Langenheim, Philadelphia, will show: We have your letter of the 2d inst. and in reply beg to state that the Oregon Trail Memorial coins are dated 1926. They are minted at Philadelphia and San Francisco. There is no issuance of the coins dated 1928.”[B]3[/B] [B]3 [I]The Numismatist[/I], Editorial Comment—Numismatic News, All Oregon Trail Half Dollars Dated 1926, October, 1928, p. 609.[/B] “The Oregon Trail Half Dollars of 1928. In the report of the mint coinage for June, 1928, it was stated that 50,036 additional Oregon Trail half dollars had been coined that month. This fact was published in our August issue, and in the same issue the editor commented on this additional issue as follows: It is presumed these pieces will be dated 1928, which will give collectors two dates of this coin. The first issue was in September, 1926, when 48,030 pieces were reported coined. The authorized issue is “not more than 6,000,000. (later in 1926 100,055 additional pieces were struck.) Collectors and others who ordered these coins from the Oregon Trail Memorial Association after the 1928 issue was reported coined received coins dated 1926. This gave rise to the belief that those struck in 1928 had been dated 1926, as none have ever come to light bearing the 1928 date. Those struck in 1928, however, were dated 1928, as is shown by the following correspondence: Mr. Hardwick in his article, ‘The Oregon Trail Memorial Association,’ in the February number of The Numismatist, makes some statements that not only impugn the ethics of the mint, but also contradict the various mint reports for 1926 and 1928. I have been expecting to see some note about the matter in the March or April numbers of The Numismatist, but so far have not found any. In 1926 the Philadelphia Mint struck 48,030 Oregon Trail halves and the San Francisco Mint 100,055. No more Oregon Trail half dollars were struck until 1928, when the Philadelphia Mint struck 50,028. None of these coins dated 1928 has ever shown up. A couple of the old-time dealers and collectors most emphatically stated that the coins were struck in 1928 and included in the report of that year, but dated 1926. I accepted there statements at face value and did not bother about it very much, until I read Mr. Hardwick’s article. Then I decided that something should be done about the matter, so I wrote the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint. I am enclosing his reply so that you may see what the Mint says officially. Edmund W. May The reply of the Superintendent of the Philadelphia Mint to Mr. May’s inquiry is as follows: Replying to your letter of the 2d inst. You are advised that there were 50,000 pieces of the Oregon Trail half dollar struck in 1928 from dies dated 1928. You have not seen any of these coins because they are held at the mint for the commission. Respectfully, F. H. Chaffin, Acting Superintendent In the act authorizing the issue of Oregon Trail half dollars in 1926 it was stated that the maximum number to be issued was 6,000,000. In 1928, less than 150,000 had been taken by the Oregon Trail Memorial Association, but in the year 50,000 additional coins were apparently ordered, none of which have been called for by the Association. In the light of these facts it should cause no wonder that Congress and the Treasury Department hesitate to grant authority for the coinage of an excessive number of an issue of commemorative coins.”[B]4[/B] [B]4 [I]The Numismatist[/I], The[B] Oregon Trail Half Dollars of 1928, May, 1930, p. 294-295[/B].[/B] [IMG]https://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a195/leeg1957/Book%20Project%20Images/Oregon%20Trail%20Memorial%20Association/Unveiling%20of%20Monument%201.png[/IMG] [B]Unveiling of Monument at Kearney, Nebraska, in commemoration of the Oregon Trail, Left to right: Mrs. Ashton C. Shallenberger, Governor Shallenberger, Mrs. Oreal S. Ward, State Regent Nebraska Society, Daughters of the American Revolution; Mrs. Andrew K. Gault, Vice-President General, National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution; Mrs. Charles O. Norton, Regent Ft. Kearney Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution; John W. Patterson, Mayor of Kearney; John Lee Webster, President Nebraska State Historical Society; Rev. R. P. Hammons, E. B. Finch, assisting with the flag rope. Courtesy of [I]Project Gutenberg EBook Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences[/I], p. 27.[/B][/QUOTE]
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