The 1937 Celebration of Roanoke Islands 350th Anniversary
In 1587, a group of English settlers, under the leadership of Sir Walter Raleigh, landed on what would become Roanoke Island in North Carolina. During their time there, Virginia Dare was born, the first European child born in British North America.
In 1936, the 350th anniversary of those events was about to occur the following year. Both of those events were worthy of commemoration and the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association was formed to see if coin legislation would be enacted and that proper celebrations would be held in 1937.
The legislation sought a commemorative half dollar and the bill called for a minimum authorized mintage of 25,000 coins. It was unusual in that no maximum number of coins was specified but no coins could be struck after July 1, 1937. The legislation did pass and was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt.
The Roanoke Colony Memorial Association sought the expertise of William Marks Simpson, who designed the Norfolk Commemorative with his wife, to design an appropriate coin for Roanoke. Simpson created a coin that he felt was appropriate for Roanoke Colony.
The obverse of the coin depicts a bust of Sir Walter Raleigh, facing left. To the left of Raleigh’s face is the date “1937” and “SIR WALTER RALEIGH” appears below his bust. Above Raleigh are the mottoes “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and “LIBERTY.” Around the periphery are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “HALF DOLLAR”.
The reverse depicts the first European Child, Virginia Dare, to be born in North America, held in the arms of her mother, Eleanor Dare, who is shown in full figure facing left. Below her are two sailing ships, one on each side of her, and the motto, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Above Ellinor is “THE BIRTH OF VIRGINIA DARE” and around the periphery are “THE COLONIZATION OR ROANOKE ISLAND – NORTH CAROLINA” and the dates “1587 – 1937.”
The Philadelphia Mint struck 25,000 coins in January and an additional 25,000 coins in June, just before the July 1 deadline prohibiting striking more. A total of 30 additional coins were struck solely for assay purposes. Of those 50,000 eligible to be sold, a total of 29,000 coins were sold and distributed. There were 21,000 unsold coins that were returned to the US Mint in Philadelphia for re-melting as they were unable to be sold and the time deadline and interest in commemorative coins, in general, seemed to be waning as so many issues were struck in the prior year (1936).
The Roanoke Colony Memorial Association began offering these commemorative coins by mail at $1.65 each, which included 15 cents for postage. The coins were shipped in imprinted mailing envelopes and had the traditional 5-coin TAB holders that were very popular for shipping commemorative
| Date | Type | Mintage | AU Value | UNC Value |
| 1937 | Roanoke Island 350th Anniversary | 29,030 | $150 | $300 |
Expand your collection today and shop for a 1937 Roanoke Half Dollar 350th Anniversary MS-67 NGC.
