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Statue of
Liberty Half Hugely Popular Even if Clad
By Paul Green People almost never
give the 1986 Statue of Liberty half dollar a
second thought. It’s a shame. The
1986 Statue of
Liberty half dollar is an interesting and
historic coin that certainly had an impact at
the time and remains the standard as to what the
commemorative coin program can potentially
become if it is managed carefully and wisely.
The
1986 Statue of Liberty half dollar was
something new. It was to be the first modern
commemorative clad half dollar. There had been a
George Washington half dollar, but it was a
traditional 90 percent silver composition. No
one had really tested the idea of a
commemorative half dollar containing no silver.
Of course at the time of issue, a lot of the
ideas for commemoratives we take for granted
today had not been tested.
As it turned out, the clad half dollar was an
interesting coin with the Edgar Steever obverse
showing the Statue of Liberty as a ship of
immigrants pulls into New York harbor with the
New York skyline in the background. The reverse
by Sheri Joseph Winter has an immigrant family
on the threshold of America. Like the other
Statue of Liberty coins of 1986, the topic
seemed to inspire artists, as you can probably
make the case that coin for coin the Statue of
Liberty commemoratives comprise one of the most
artistic issues.
As it turned out, the Statue of Liberty coin
program was primarily the story of the
$5 gold,
which sold out its 500,000 authorization and
then soared in price. The silver dollar and clad
half dollar were overshadowed.
What is overlooked is that once the
$5 gold sold
out, the Statue of Liberty silver dollar and
clad half dollar continued to sell. Officials in
defending the idea of a clad half dollar had
made the point that the denomination was
worthwhile even though it would produce limited
revenue because it would allow young and
low-budget collectors to acquire at least one
Statue of Liberty commemorative and that might
spark regular future purchases. Unfortunately,
that idea has been forgotten and half dollars
appear only sporadically in other programs.
The fact is there was clearly a market for the
Statue of Liberty half dollar. It ended up with
sales of 928,008 BU examples and a record
6,925,627 proofs. The combined total of about
7.8 million coins is by far a record for a
modern commemorative of any composition.
Certainly any fears about the buyers rejecting
clad half dollars were laid to rest. Moreover,
while the surcharge on a half dollar was not
large, the fact remains when you sell that many
coins the profits do mount up.
Naturally, with record mintages, the
1986 State
of Liberty half is not expensive. Both the BU
and proof are safely under $10. In this case,
however, price appreciation is not really the
point. |