1937 US Silver Commemorative 50C ANTIETAM - NGC MS 67 CAC

About Battle of Antietam Silver Half Dollars
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 obverse of the Battle of Antietam Half Dollar features the profile portraits of General George B. McClellan and General Robert E. Lee. The inscriptions include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, HALF DOLLAR, IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, GEN. GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN and GEN. ROBERT E. LEE.

On the reverse is an image of the Burnside Bridge which was an important tactical objective of the battle. The surrounding inscriptions read SEVENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSAY, BATTLE OFANTIETAM, 1937, E PLURIBUS UNUM, THE BURNSIDE BRIDGE and SEPTEMBER 17 1862. 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.

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.