Old Spanish Trail – 1935

The 75^th Anniversary of the Old Spanish Trail and a Revision

The Old Spanish Trail Commemorative Half Dollar was the brainchild of coin dealer L. W. Hoffecker, who designed the coin, lobbied it through Congress and was the original distributor of the coin. Hoffecker had previously tried to get a commemorative coin bull through Congress. He suggested a commemorative Half Dollar to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the Gadsden Purchase in 1930. While he successfully shepherded the bill through Congress, it was vetoed by President Hoover. But Hoffecker was a resourceful man.

A few years later, he decided to try again, this time changing information about the Old Spanish Trail to suit his needs. Hoffecker claimed that the travels of the Spanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in the 16^th century began in 1535 and the expedition ended in Hoffecker’s hometown of El Paso, Texas. Neither claim is accurate but, at the time, neither claim was challenged so the legislation gained steam in Congress. The coin bill passed through Congress without opposition and was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt.  The bill authorized 10,000 coins to be struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

In order to control the design elements, Hoffecker volunteered to design the coin himself and sent sketches of the proposed coin to the Mint for approval. With some comments and suggestions, the Mint and the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design.

Hoffecker’s design had the head of a cow representative of Cabeza de Vaca, as his name literally translates to “head of a cow” on the obverse looking straight at the viewer. Between the upraised horns are the words “LIBERTY” and the motto “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” The top periphery has “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” Below the cow’s head is “ALVAR NUNEX CABEZA DE VACA.

The reverse depicts the “Old Spanish Trail” from Florida and ending (erroneously) in El Paso, Texas. There is a Yucca Tree as well as outlines of the five Gulf States – Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. At the top periphery is “OLD SPANISH TRAIL” with the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” below the states, “EL PASO” at the theoretical end of the Trail and the dates “1535 – 1935” on the bottom periphery.

The legislation authorized 10,000 coins to be struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Once the coins had been struck, they were purchased by Hoffecker from the government and were sold to collectors. The actual distributor was the El Paso Museum but Hoffecker was its chairman. 

The coins were offered to the public at $2 each plus postage and the low number of only 10,008 minted coins made them very popular with collectors. Hoffecker did not sell large quantities of coins to speculators as prior committees had done and they were well dispersed.

Hoffecker went on to also distribute the 1936 Elgin Centennial Commemorative Half Dollar and later became President of the American Numismatic Association.

Expand your collection today and shop for a 1935 Old Spanish Trail Half Dollar MS-66 NGC.