1954 S US Silver Commemorative 50C WASHINGTON-CARVER - NGC MS 67

1954 S US Silver Commemorative 50C WASHINGTON-CARVER

Certified NGC MS 67

Photos are of the actual coin you will receive.

About George Washington Carver Silver Half Dollars
The last design released for the early commemorative coins was the George Washington Carver Half Dollar. The authorizing legislation passed in 1951 called for the melting of all unsold Booker T. Washington Half Dollars and the recoinage into coins bearing conjoined profile portraits of George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington.

The obverse featured both portraits in profile surrounded by lengthy inscriptions reading UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN GOD WE TRUST, E PLURIBUS UNUM, GEARGE W. CARVER, LIBERTY, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON, HALF DOLLAR and the date. On the reverse was a simple map of the United States of America, curiously with Delaware omitted. The inscriptions read FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL and AMERICANISM. After some of the incredibly ornate designs for early commemoratives many saw this reverse design as a low point.

For nearly three decades no additional commemorative coins were approved within the United States. Any proposals were met by the Treasury Department with the long list of complaints that had arisen due to past abuses. Thus ended the era of early commemorative coins.

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.