Boone Half-Dollar in 1935/1934 was a microcosm of the continued promotion and marketing of the Half-Dollar Project, which by the mid-2030s had dozens of different releases each year. Courtesy of PCGS TrueView.

secret to the success of product promotions is the availability of goods. When the 1921 Pilgrim half-dollar coin was issued, although many of the 1920 coins remained unsold, it was clear that the catalyst for producing a particular commemorative coin might have been somewhat flexible. The 1920 Puritan Half Dollar was issued to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Puritan landings in 1620. Therefore, the continuation of the Puritan half-dollar coin issued in 1921 is not intended to commemorate the 300th anniversary of an event that happened in 1620.

The Great Depression began in 1929 and deepened in the early 2030s, and in the years following the economic upturn, there was a real explosion of multiple coins of one particular type. Among the multi-year commemorative coins, the most telling is the Oregon Trail half dollar, which was first issued in 1926 and lasted until 1939. Many believe that the Oregon Trail half dollar was raised by a group of New York businessmen. While it is true that the Oregon Trail Memorial Association includes New York businessmen, the original idea for the issue has been years in the making. The group approached Gutzon Borglum, the designer of the Stone Mountain half-dollar coin, to design a coin, but he asked for too long and beyond their ability to pay.

At the suggestion of the American Numismatic Association, the committee recruited the husband and wife team James Earle Fraser (Buffalo Nickel) and Laura Gardin Fraser to create one of our most iconic memorial designs. The front is a carriage designed by James, while on the back is an Indian designed by Laura.

Despite the popularity of this design, sales were much lower than expected. Like the Pilgrim half dollar before it, Oregon Trail coins were produced longer than the original year of production. Minting was later approved in 1928, but the coins were not sold by the Treasury until five years later, in 1933. In a transaction involving Scott Stamps and Coin Company, the "bill" for the 1928 Oregon Trail coins was eventually paid because they wanted to see the 1933 Oregon Trail coins, but the Treasury wanted to process the 1928 coins first.

Memorial Society, led by Ezra Mikkel (who had walked the trail with her family in 1852), was responsible for authorizing the Oregon Trail for half a dollar. In 1926, Meekel, then 95 years old, appeared before Congress on behalf of the association. On May 17, 1926, after President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill, Meeker posed with President Coolidge. Congress was clearly impressed by this and approved 6 million coins, without limiting which mint produced them. Is it any wonder that 11 Oregon Trail coins were issued from 1933 to 1939 with virtually no production quantity limits (and no time limits) and no restrictions on the issuance of combinations or permutations

Meek, who died in 1928, had little to do with the actual sale of Oregon Trail coins. The Oregon Trail Memorial Society (a group of New York businessmen) continued to produce Oregon Trail coins from 1933 to 1939, although thousands remained unsold in 1926 and 1928. And, despite thousands of coins unsold, the issue price of the coins continues to rise over time.

Of course, the initiators of other commemorative events have the same idea.

Released in 1935, the P-D-S continued the current two designs and added a third. Boone and Texas P-D-S coins were first issued in 1935, and the Arkansas P-D-S coin also debuted in 1935. In another example of mass production, C. Frank Dunn, the promoter from Lexington, Kentucky, issued additional limited edition Boone coins in Denver and San Francisco in 1935 with a small "1934" inscription on the back, and the coins of Denver and San Francisco minted only 2003 and 2004 coins, respectively. When paired with a high mint of 10,008 mint issued in Philadelphia in 1935/4, there is now a 1935/1934 P-D-S Boone set, in addition to the 1935 P-D-S set.

Meanwhile, almost all of the Hudson half-dollar coins (just 7,500 out of a total of 10,008 coins) were snapped up because of speculation that their small minting would allow them to be promoted. The 1935 Hudson coin is similar to the 1928 Hawaiian half-dollar coin, which sold out quickly at $2 each seven years ago. Advertised for $1 each, a New York coin dealer quickly struck a deal, buying 7,500 coins for 95 cents each. There were only 2,508 left in Hudson, which sold out almost immediately. Soon after, anyone who needs a coin can buy a coin for $5!

Although in later decades a considerable number of traders handled a large number of commemorative items, B. Max Mehl, a well-known coin dealer in Fort Worth, Texas, bought and sold thousands of coins in his Encyclopedia of Star Coins and Merlin's List and ran incredible promotions and advertisements for over 50 years. Mel has never been shy about pitching a commodity, and he played a major role in many commemorations in the 2030s.

Thanks to his flood of advertisements and his Encyclopedia of Starcoin, Mel's exposure and ability to see what he's selling and how much money is readily available. Mel was a numismatic merchant who marketed his products. If he can buy something at a lower price (and he believes he can sell it), why not?

price list of various American commemorative coins of B. Max Mehl circa 1930. Courtesy of Vic Bozarth.

, Mel "absorbed the remaining 1916 and 1917 McKinley gold dollars unsold at close to face value," which remained unsold after their release. Mel is known to buy unsold souvenirs in bulk at little or no premium to face value after the first sellout. Many early memorial books would also be acquired in large quantities to satisfy "his growing list of Merlins".

Most of our commemorative coins were issued after 1933. Of our 50 different commemorative models, 28 out of 50 were produced between 1933 and 1939 and 86 of the 144 different models were produced between 1933 and 1939. This 7-year window will include most of the U.S. Memorial Production and, of course, the heaviest production figures.

In the first part of this four-part series, I discussed the importance of the "first third" commemorative coins minted before the Great Depression. In the second part, I covered the evolution of souvenir marketing. Not only were many different coins issued, but several coin variants were also produced for the same type, often in the form of P-D-S sets. In the third part, I explain some of the licensing, production, and sales issues, many after 1932, although there was little demand.

In Part IV, I'll touch on some of the history of commemorative coins that influenced the way we collect commemorative coins today. Did collectors in 1936 find that they needed to buy 34 different "1936" commemorative coins to keep their collection? Most likely....