Did Classic commems circulate and for how long?

Manorcourtman

Is there anyone on these Boards that remembers seeing Classic commems in circulation? If so what ones did you see? I am guessing they were still circulating in the early 1960's? Any insight would be appreciated by the younger members here

SaorAlba

Some were deliberately circulated like the Columbian halves and the 1926 Sesquicentennial coins and I would imagine quite a few BTW and Carver halves saw some circulation. I have heard of Stone Mtn halves being found in roll searches also.

MsMorrisine

I spoke to a fellow roll searcher at a bank who found a classic half doing so.

Kove

I have found Columbians, Stone Mountains, BTWs and Washington-Carvers as part of bulk 90% deals.

I have a friend who found both a Missouri and a Maine roll searching in the early 2000s, both were about VF or so.

Broadstruck

Many of the pre 1930's dated commoratives entered circulation during the Great Depression.

As far as finding them in circulation in the 1960's... Where's MFH at when we need him

ProofArtworkonCircs

I had a Washington-Carver half as a pocket piece and accidently spent it in 1956.

njcoincrank

With exception to the above mentioned Columbian, Stone Mountain, BTW and GWC I am unaware of any pieces that were widely circulated. Many of the earlier issues, that are more likely to be found well worn than the later issues, were distributed at local events as souvenirs (and hence spent time in the pocket of attendees, some longer than others). Think pocket piece.

njcc

Unknown

This content has been removed.

pocketpiececommems

The only circulated piece from the teens and twenty's that I haven't seen is the 1928 Oregon. I'm sure there's one out there it just hasn't come my way.

johnny9434

<< <i>I have found Columbians, Stone Mountains, BTWs and Washington-Carvers as part of bulk 90% deals.

I have a friend who found both a Missouri and a Maine roll searching in the early 2000s, both were about VF or so. >>

ive seen plenty of that during the years

BillJones

My educated guess would be that the "old commemorative" coins that actually reached circulation didn't circulate for much more than two or three years. Most of the circulated Columbian half dollars that you see seldom grade less than Choice VF. Yes there are heavily worn commemorative half dollars in very low grades like AG-3 and Fair, but most of those coins were pocket pieces, which doesn't really count as "in circulation" so far as I'm concerned.

My educated guess would be that the "old commemorative" coins that actually reached circulation didn't circulate for much more than two or three years. Most of the circulated Columbian half dollars that you see seldom grade less than Choice VF. Yes there are heavily worn commemorative half dollars in very low grades like AG-3 and Fair, but most of those coins were pocket pieces, which doesn't really count as "in circulation" so far as I'm concerned.

One more commemorative that was intentionally released into circulation was the Monroe half dollar. I have read the movie industry put those pieces into circulation as sort of an advertising device. Although you see a fair number of "sliders" and low grade Mint State examples with light circulation scratches, you don't see a lot of lower grade pieces. That says to me that people scooped them up out of circulation fairly quickly.

CaptHenway

My mentor at Coin World, Ed Fleischmann, mentioned to me one time that some time around 1960 when he was still working up in Wisconsin he went to his usual Saturday night poker game, and the guy whose house they were playing at broke open some rolls of coin he had gotten at the bank for the game, and the roll of halves he had were all BU Washington-Carvers. Everybody looked at them, then they used them in the game, and whatever people had at the end of the night they just took home and spent like any other coin.

droopyd

I have a Maine that is in XF or thereabouts.

mirabela

Many of the 20's issues can be found in XF easily enough, so yeah, they must have. Huguenot, Stone Mountain, Monroe, Lexington, Pilgrim, Maine, Lincoln, Alabama, Missouri, Grant, Sesqui, California -- none of these are very hard to find in circ grades. The conventional wisdom is they got spent in the Depression. The 30's issues are generally harder to find circulated, and with the exception of some pocket pieces some of them probably never circulated at all. I've never seen a circ Cincinnati, Spanish Trail, Hudson, etc.

Dave99B

This is a great question.

We need more 90+ year old members! I'd love to hear more on topics like this. Heavily circulated commens have always mystified me.

Dave

Zoins

<< <i>This is a great question.

We need more 90+ year old members! I'd love to hear more on topics like this. Heavily circulated commens have always mystified me.

Dave >>



My understanding is that the Columbian halves were released into circulation because they minted too much for NCLT collector demand:



<< <i>Some 5,000,000 half dollars were struck, far beyond the actual demand, and half of them were melted. The appropriation did not cure the fair's financial woes, as fewer than 400,000 were sold at the premium price, and some 2,000,000 were released into circulation, where they remained as late as the 1950s. - Wikipedia >>

SaorAlba

One of the nice things about the 1923-S Monroe Doctrine halves is that they were also large mintage and apparently got dumped into circulation later - which is kind of nice because I have a circulated example and they didn't mint any Walkers in San Francisco that year.

keets

my local dealer has a variety of circ commems, too many for me to believe the "pocket piece" theory.

if I consider Occam's Razor, what makes sense is that many were just spent during the depression and were subsequently overlooked for years in circulation until ALL Silver coins were looked at during the two major "melts" that took place. I think that as collectors we mistakenly assume that the general public actually looks/studies the coins in their pockets. perhaps 1% of the population can identify coins, everyone else just spends them. to the OP's question of first-hand experience, the number of collectors who can share that is close to zero. my father probably could, but he's 86 and might not remember.

s4ny

People should have hoarded the 1892 - 1893 Barbers and spent the Columbians.

I have some circulated Columbian, Bookers, and even a Pilgrim. All bought as 90%.

SaorAlba

<< <i> I think that as collectors we mistakenly assume that the general public actually looks/studies the coins in their pockets. perhaps 1% of the population can identify coins, everyone else just spends them. >>



I really don't mind that 99% of people don't look at their coins - which is why I found a 1902 IHC in a bank wrapped roll last week, also a '38 and 39-D Jefferson. Then on Monday I got a 1919 Lincoln in change at McDo's. It is the 1% that are my old money loving bane.

MFH

<< <i>Many of the pre 1930's dated commoratives entered circulation during the Great Depression.

As far as finding them in circulation in the 1960's... Where's MFH at when we need him >>



MFH was on a plane all day Monday flying in from a week of coins with Ponyexpress8.
Sacramento to Ft. Lauderdale is one long flight broken up with an hour layover in Dallas.
Then, the hour waiting for the bag and finding the car, even with ticket verification made
the perfect end to a busy day - quickly followed with getting turned around on the highway
system in the dark, and wasting another 30 minutes righting the wrongs I committed, and
finally getting onto the correct interstate for another 2 hour drive to Naples.

Now, as far as circulated Commems are concerned, my Grandfather collected an almost
complete type set from circulation. He was missing the Hawaiian and a Missouri.(*) He passed
in 1959. Having retired in 1954 or so. He had worked for the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority in Boston ( MTA - now called the MBTA ). He was a Trolly conductor before the MTA
converted to gasoline busses. As such, customers would pay him directly for their fares if
they only had large coins ( Halves and Cartwheels ) or bills. As a result, many customers
did pay in circulated & in some cases, uncirculated Commems.

He had an accumulation of a few varieties, most common were the Columbian Half and the
Oregon. He never found an Isabella or a Lafayette, either.

A few years before retirement, he declined getting a drivers license to drive gas powered busses.
He then transferred into the accounting department, reconciling other bus drivers cash, resulting
in finding an array of other Commems he needed. I believe he once had a roll of BTW's - which my
Uncle kept. I got the type set and I have the coins in an Eagle Album, which someday I will pass
along to a family member.

ricko

Absolutely they circulated.... I received many while working as a paperboy in the early fifties.... Cheers, RickO

SaorAlba

MFH - I came along a lot later than when your grandfather was working on the T - but I have lots of memories of riding the T from Natick into Boston to watch the Sox back in the Yaz days. Those were pretty old trolleys in the late 1970s.

GritsMan

Great topic!

In the 1970s, I had a great aunt who gave me a VERY worn Stone Mountain she'd put away at some point. It's still one of my favorite coins.

droopyd

<< <i>Absolutely they circulated.... I received many while working as a paperboy in the early fifties.... Cheers, RickO >>



My Dad worked as a "Liberty magazine" delivery boy in the 40s, he'd collect the 50 cents a month directly from the subscribers.

He reports that he would often get slick Seated and Barber coinage on his rounds, but never mentioned receiving any commemoratives. If he had, he would still have them to this day, and there aren't any there in his box o' 200,000.

topstuf

My grandmother gave me a Monroe Doctrine that she had preserved in a cut off thumb from a gardening glove.

magikbilly

Yes, BTW ad others, Usually fairly bright VF/XF

Eric

mozin

By the 1950s I was actively collecting coins, but I cannot remember ever finding a Classic Commemorative. Maybe I forgot because I did not have a blue book for them, don't remember ever seeing a blue book for Commems back then, or later.

The past fifteen years I have been collecting Classic Commems, off and on. Seeing the prices drop on my pieces does not make me want to buy more.

RollSearcher

I've found a GWC and a Stone Mountain while roll searching. When my father used to buy up half dollars from our local banks in the mid-70's I know he found a few too, but I was too young to remember what they were and he sold them all long ago.

I've been putting together a set of circulated commems and I only need 5 more (Hawaii, Spanish Trail, Hudson, Cincinnati and Columbia, SC). I've seen some Hawaiians over the years but either haven't liked their look or not had the funds, but they are out there. The others have escaped me. I know of at least a few more people putting together similar collections.