Centennial of Fort Vancouver and a Dark Impact of the Coin
The Fort Vancouver Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar celebrated the 100th Anniversary of the establishment of Fort Vancouver (Vancouver, WA). While not an event of major national significance, the popularity of these more local anniversaries and their support in Washington by their Senators and Congressmen allowed a number of them to be suggested for coinage and acted upon by Congress. The proceeds from the sale of this coin would help to defray the costs of the celebration in Vancouver. The Washington representative who originally suggested this coin was persuaded to lobby for a medal instead, just as the Norse-American Centennial was honored. But as the bill was about to be voted upon, the request was amended for a coin. The changes were agreed upon, then passed, and President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill into law.
The Commission of Fine Arts recommended and engaged Laura Gardin Fraser to create the design for the coin. Fraser created another masterful design consisting of a portrait of Dr. John Mc Loughlin, who built Fort Vancouver in 1825. He worked for Hudson’s Bay Company and oversaw the construction of the Fort. He stayed there from 1825 until 1846. Mc Loughlin faces left, with “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” above him on the top periphery and the denomination, “HALF DOLLAR” beneath him. Under the base of his portrait is his name “DR. JOHN LOUGHLIN” and his portrait separates “1825 1925” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.”
The reverse displays a frontiersman with a rifle defending the fort, which is in the background. Beyond the Fort is a large mountain peak, Mount Hood. Around the periphery of the reverse is “FORT VANCOUVER CENTENNIAL” above and “VANCOUVER – WASHINGTON – FOUNDED – BY – HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY” on two lines.
The dies were prepared in Philadelphia at the Mint and they were carefully shipped to the branch mint at San Francisco for striking. 300,000 coins were authorized by the Act passed by Congress but only 50,000 coins were initially struck. As publicity for the coins, the entire shipment was flown by the Army Air Corps from the Mint in San Francisco to Vancouver for the celebration.
One notable exception to the coin is the fact that while the coins were all struck in the San Francisco Mint, all of the coins lack the “S” mintmark. Sales of these coins were, predictably, miserable. The celebration was not a World’s Fair and traveling to Vancouver was not easy. The location, in 1925, was much more remote than it is today. Less than 15,000 coins (14,994) were sold and distributed.
The poor sales caused financial problems and likely caused a suicide. Mr. Charles A. Watts, secretary of the Centennial Corporation and described by Campbell as the real force behind the creation of the commemorative coin, killed himself. Watts told a meeting of the Fort Vancouver Centennial Corporation that there were funds enough to pay all debts, and that designer Laura Gardin Fraser was not owed any money. But they discovered the following day that the Corporation had unpaid bills totaling $6,000, and Mrs. Frasers’ fee of $1,200 also remained unpaid.
| Date | Type | Mintage | AU Value | Unc Value |
| 1925 | Fort Vancouver Centennial | 14,994 | $300 | $1,000 |
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