The Battle of Antietam half dollar was designed by William M. Simpson and minted in 1937 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

. The obverse depicts

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

and

George McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...

, and the reverse shows

Burnside's Bridge Burnside's Bridge is a landmark on the Civil War Antietam National Battlefield near Sharpsburg, northwestern Maryland. History Construction Seeking to improve connections between roads in Washington County, fourteen bridges were commissioned ...

Inception

Similar to the

Delaware Tercentenary half dollar The Delaware Tercentenary half dollar (also known as the Swedish Delaware half dollar) is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the first successful European settl ...

, the reason for minting the commemorative was by the historical significance of the coin's subject rather than for profit as was the case with many contemporary commemorative coins. Both Washington County Historical Society of Hagerstown, Maryland, as well as the Antietam Celebration Commission had called for the minting of a commemorative coin to mark 75th anniversary of the

. The bill authorizing the minting of the coin passed on June 24th and set a minimum of 50,000 coins to be minted. Additionally, taking into consideration the abuses perpetrated by previous commemorative coin programs, this legislation specifically required for the coins to be struck with a single design and at a single mint.

Preparation

Sculptor William Marks Simpson was hired to design the coin. Simpson had already previous designed two other commemorative coins, the Norfolk, Virginia, Bicentennial half dollar and the

Roanoke Island, North Carolina half dollar The Roanoke Island, North Carolina, half dollar (also Roanoke Island half dollar) is a commemorative coin issued by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1937. The coin commemorated the 350th anniversary of the Roanoke Colony, depicting Si ...

Release

The minimum authorized mintage of 50,000 coins was struck and were sent to the Washington County Historical Society, which sold the coins for $1.65 a piece. However, due to scandals associated with commemorative coins from the previous year, collectors had begun to grow tired of commemorative issues. As a result, despite substantial advertising efforts, the coin was a poor seller; 18,000 coins were sold and the remaining 32,000 halves were returned to the Philadelphia Mint for melting. However, despite selling poorly, the commemorative program was entirely free of scandal.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Money, Numismatics, United States, Visual arts 1937 establishments in the United States Bridges in art Cultural depictions of Robert E. Lee Currencies introduced in 1937 Early United States commemorative coins Fifty-cent coins Aftermath of the American Civil War

Half Dollar The term "half dollar" refers to a half-unit of several currencies that are named "dollar". One dollar ( $1) is normally divided into subsidiary currency of 100 cents, so a half dollar is equal to 50 cents. These half dollars (aka 50 cent pieces) ...

George B. McClellan