Celebrating Booker T. Washington
The Booker T. Washington Memorial Commission sought to issue a commemorative coin honoring this great American. The Commission wanted a commemorative half-dollar struck bearing his likeness, given his importance in both American and African-American history. The funds raised would be used to purchase and maintain the “slave cabin” where Washington was born, located in Franklin County, Virginia.
Successful support from Virginia legislators in Washington enabled the bill to pass both Houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Harry Truman on August 7, 1946. The authorizing legislation permitted up to five million coins to be struck, and no provision was made for them all to be minted at any one mint.
The Commission now needed a designer. Sculptor Charles Keck, with three previous commemorative coins under his belt, submitted designs, but in the interim, an African-American artist and sculptor, Isaac Scott Hathaway, learned of the coin program and submitted his own design at no cost. Hathaway used a life mask of Booker T. Washington and existing photographs to create his portrait.
Design Details
Hathaway’s obverse design is a portrait of Booker T. Washington, facing right. In front of his face is “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, and behind his head are the date “1946” and the denomination “HALF DOLLAR.” Around the periphery of the coin are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “BOOKER T WASHINGTON.”
The reverse depicts the “slave cabin” in which Washington was born, and above it is the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, in which Washington is enshrined as the central vignette. Between the two are the words “FROM SLAVE CABIN TO HALL OF FAME.” To the right of the cabin is “FRANKLIN COUNTY VA” and to the left is “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Around the reverse peripheries are “BOOKER T. WASHINGTON BIRTHPLACE MEMORIAL” and “LIBERTY”.
Distribution Details
The 1946-dated coins were sold by the Booker T. Washington Birthplace Memorial for $1.00 each. They were sold both singly and in 3-coin PDS sets. 200,000 units were issued, and they were housed in 3-coin leatherette holders.
A variety of other coin holders were developed between 1946 and 1951 when the series ended. In 1951, as the Cold War was just beginning, the coin was issued in an envelope with the phrase “Minted to Fight Communism!”
One of the scarcest original holders was used to promote a game of chance. So 10 of the coins were offered in a punchboard here for $.10, you would select an untouched “punch” and slide it out. If the message was a winner, you would win one of the ten prize coins.
The coins ordered through the Commission were shipped in their paper or leatherette holders and mailed to their purchasers in birthplace-inscribed envelopes.
Despite hundreds of thousands of BTW coins being sold during their 6-year run (1946 – 1951), many were returned to the Mint for melting, and a substantial number were released into circulation. Add these coins to your collection and explore other U.S. classic silver commemorative coins.
