1935 US Silver Commemorative 50C HUDSON - NGC MS 66

About Hudson Sesquicentennial Silver Half Dollar
The Hudson Sesquicentennial Half Dollar was issued to celebrate the 150th anniversary of a small community in New York named for the famous explorer Henry Hudson. The issue became another source of controversy after seemingly few of the coins were offered for sale directly to the public.

Hudson, New York had just 14,000 residents at the time so it seemed unusual to issue a commemorative coin for the anniversary of its founding. Coins were generally issued for occasions of national importance but this classification became increasingly broad within this era. A small mintage of just 10,000 pieces was indicated within the authorizing legislation.

The designs for the coin were prepared by Chester Beach, who earlier had designed the 1923 Monroe Half Dollar and 1935 Lexington Concord Half Dollar. His design for the present coin featured an image recalling the seal of the city of Hudson on the obverse. The god Neptune sits backwards on a whale while holding his trident. A mermaid appears to the left blowing a conch shell. A banner above the image reads "Et Decus Et Pretium Recti" (Both the Honor and Reward of the Righteous) with additional inscriptions CITY OF HUDSON NY, E PLURIBUS UNUM and the anniversary dates 1785-1935.

The reverse design featured an image of Henry Hudson's ship, the Half Moon. A somewhat cartoonish crescent moon appears to the left, implying the name of the ship. Inscriptions read UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN GOD WE TRUST, HUDSON and HALF DOLLAR.

Distribution of the Hudson Half Dollars was supposed to take place through the Hudson Sesquicentennial Committee via the First National Bank and Trust of Hudson at an issue price of $1 per coin. Only a few days after the start of sales, a complete sell out of the 10,000 mintage was announced. It is said that two coin dealers had purchased nearly the entire amount in a bulk transaction. These coins were soon offered by the dealers at inflated prices, since they controlled the majority of the supply.

For present day collectors, the 1935 Hudson Sesquicentennial Half Dollar remains one of the challenging issues within a complete set of early commemorative coins. The mintage is amongst the lowest for a half dollar and the coins are prone to weak strikes at the center and excessive contact marks from handling. The selection of a choice specimen for a set takes some searching and patience.

About Early Commemorative Coins
Early Commemorative Coins were issued between the years 1892 and 1954 and have included primarily silver half dollars and gold dollars. Over the years additional denominations have been used including the silver quarter, silver dollar, several gold quarter eagles and one $50 gold piece. In total there were 50 different Silver Commemorative coin designs and 9 different Gold Commemorative coin designs. Each issue was typically authorized by an act of Congress which provided a specific maximum or minimum mintage requirement. Because legislation often did not specify otherwise, some Commemorative coin issues were produced in multiple years or struck at multiple mints.