The Texas Centennial half dollar commemorative coin was minted to honor the

Centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

of Texas's independence from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Early in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on June 15, 1933, Congress passed an act to authorize the coinage of silver half dollars "in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary in 1936 of the independence of Texas, and of the noble and heroic sacrifices of her pioneers, whose revered memory has been an inspiration to her sons and daughters during the past century." This was the first of over two dozen commemorative bills that would become reality during Roosevelt's tenure. The legislation provided that "no more than one and a half million pieces" be created on behalf of the American Legion Texas Centennial Committee, located in Austin in that state. The coin was designed by

Pompeo Coppini Pompeo Luigi Coppini (19 May 1870 – 26 September 1957) was an Italian born sculptor who emigrated to the United States. Although his works can be found in Italy, Mexico and a number of U.S. states, the majority of his work can be found in ...

, a Texan. The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...

depicts an Eagle sitting on a branch in front of the Lone Star, the symbol of Texas. At the top right of the star it reads IN GOD WE TRUST, and to the left of the star it reads E PLURIBUS UNUM. Over the star it reads UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and at the bottom it reads HALF DOLLAR. The reverse depicts the goddess

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

spreading her wings over the Alamo. It also depicts Sam Houston on her left and Stephen F. Austin on her right. The

Six Flags of Texas Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre (86 ha) amusement park, in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth and west of Dallas, Texas, Dallas. It is the first amusement park in the Six Flags chain, and features themed areas and attracti ...

fly above her head. Under her it reads REMEMBER THE ALAMO. Over Sam Houston,

, and

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

it reads THE TEXAS INDEPENDENCE CENTENNIAL. This coin was minted from 1934 to 1938.

Mints

The Texas Centennial Half Dollar was minted in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The mint mark for the Denver (D) and San Francisco (S) issues appears on the reverse (back) under Victory above the word THE. Philadelphia issues do not have a mint mark. There was a total of about 304,000 coins minted, eventually 154,522 were melted by the

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

. The numbers that are in parenthesis are the number of coins after the Treasury melted them.

References

Texas Centennial Half Dollar
{{Portal bar, Numismatics, Texas, United States, Money Currencies introduced in 1934 Early United States commemorative coins Fifty-cent coins United States silver coins Works by Pompeo Coppini Eagles on coins Sam Houston Flags on coins

Mints

See also

References