Is there a reference for SC50¢ pieces?

MWallace

Online/Book/pamphlet/article/etc.?
Some of them are kind of interesting and relatively inexpensive.

tokenpro

Are you after info on municipal commemoratives from the 1950's on (actually 1930's on) which commemorate a local or state event and are often "worth 50c in trade" for a limited period of time? These are often referred to as So-Called 50c in addition to the several short series done in the past (Wayte Raymond page medals, Heraldic Art series, etc.).

MWallace

@tokenpro
Actually I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Probably both "types" you mention. I just want to learn about them. The ones I see most often are those by C. Smith in the 1940's.

johnny9434

I see some here in new england sometimes. Don't know much more then that

Mr_Spud

Well, there’s this for starters https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/united-states/tokens-and-medals/so-called-half-dollars-and-heraldic-art-medals/#:~:text=So%2DCalled%20Half%20Dollars%20&%20Heraldic,Art%20Medals%20%7C%20Coin%20Explorer%20%7C%20NGC&text=The%20NGC%20Coin%20Explorer%20—%20a,buying%20coins%20or%20selling%20coins.

Mr_Spud

And then there’s this https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/544299?page=4

Mr_Spud

And here is a nice informative post about them on another coin forum that’s pretty impressive https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-little-study-on-mid-1900s-c-smith-so-called-half-dollars-and-other-medals.391502/

MetroD

Retracted. While I was searching, @Mr_Spud was posting.

tokenpro

Yes, I mentioned the Smith and Heraldic Art sets which were intended as limited series. It is not a stretch to imagine that Smith worked with Raymond to market the somewhat mismatched eight piece set. It's interesting to note that the assigned title to the Raymond page "So-Called Half Dollars" came several years before Richard Kenney published his list of "So-Called Dollars" starting in 1953. Unfortunately the starting point for both was size.

The more abundant open ended series of related pieces also nicknamed "So-Called Half Dollars" started in the 1930's but exploded in the 1950's & 60's . These pieces are also called Municipal Good For Commemoratives or Municipal Trade Coins (& others) and were heavily collected in the 1955-1985 or so period. A large number of the issues were struck by Wendell's of Minneapolis and are very similar in overall concept and design. Most were struck in brass or copper nickel but a limited amount of presentation silver pieces were made for many issued. As time passed, $1 denominations became more common for municipal commems along with an increase in size to 38mm. The popularity of collecting this series decreased in the U.S. as much as it increased in Canada with the expansion of trade dollars to seemingly every hamlet in every province.

One huge reason why the U.S. pieces have suffered is the lack of a comprehensive catalog. Coin World in its earliest years tried to keep up with the multiplicity of issues as did the TAMS Journal. Michigan issues were cataloged by Cliff Mishler in TAMS but few other states lists were generated. A short lived organization dedicated to Municipal Trade Coins rose and fell in the late 1980's (? - unsure of exact time period) -- they may have actually produced a few newsletters IIRC.

The only serious attempt at a catalog by produced by Canadian Jean-Guy Cote which was a pocket sized cardboard cover listing of all the U.S. issues known to him (1989). He also produced a similar catalog for Canadian Trade Dollars which was one of the earliest serious works on that series. Both have been long out of print.

I have seen a number of pages from a meticulously researched and detailed catalog on this series that has been ready for publication for a number of years. Unfortunately for his own reasons the author has not shown interest in publishing the work so we wait.

Goldminers

Not sure if the link works, but this album has some nice True View photos of all 60 of the Heraldic Art so-called half dollars.

https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/u-s-coins/medals-tokens/so-called-half-dollars-silver-basic-set-1959-1978/album/310268