1937 U.S. 50¢ - Battle of Antietam Commemorative Half Dollar - PCGS MS63 (CAC!)
- Grading Service: Professional Coin Grading Service - PCGS
- Grade: Mint State 63 - MS63
- Certification: 3084442
- Country: United States
- Type: Non-Circulating Coin
- Years: 1937
- Mint: United States Mint - Philadelphia (1792-Date)
- Denomination: 50 Cents = 1/2 USD
- Currency: Dollar (1785-Date)
- Composition: .900 Silver
- Diameter: 30.6mm
- Weight: 12.5g
- Edge: Reeded
- Mintage: 18,028
- Obverse: General Robert Edward Lee and General George Brinton McClellan facing left
- Reverse: The Burnside Bridge, which was an important tactical objective of the battle
- Reference: KM# 190
- Commemorative Issue: 75th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam
A commemorative half dollar was issued to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, during which General McClellan thwarted General Lee’s invasion of Maryland. This followed a separate coin recently issued for the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
The designs for the coin were created by William Marks Simpson, who had also designed the recent commemorative issues for the Norfolk and Roanoke Island. All of these coins include an unusually large number of inscriptions.
A maximum of 50,000 pieces was authorized to be produced. The entire number was struck at the Philadelphia Mint and sent to the Washington County Historical Society, which offered the 1937 Antietam Half Dollars for $1.65 each. The general market for commemorative coins had declined by this time and sales were slow. Eventually, 32,000 pieces were returned to the mint for melting. Of the three Civil War-themed early commemoratives (Stone Mountain, Gettysburg, and Antietam), the final issue had the lowest mintage.
Authorization: Public Law 75-160
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