Professional Coin Grading Service Coin Guide

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1935 P-D-S Arkansas Centennial Set Half Dollars

Commemorating: Centennial of the admission of Arkansas into the Union in 1836
Obverse motif: Portraits of Miss Liberty and Indian
Reverse motif: Arkansas State Seal
Authorization date: May 14, 1934
Dates on coins: 1935 (also 1836 and 1936)
Date when coins were actually minted: 1935
Mints used: Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco
Maximum quantity authorized: 500,000 (maximum total for all issues 1935 onward)
Total quantity minted (including assay coins): 13,012 Philadelphia, 5,505 Denver, 5,506 San Francisco
Assay coins (included in above): 12 Philadelphia, 5 Denver, 6 San Francisco
Quantity melted: None
Net number distributed (including assay coins): 13,012 Philadelphia, 5,505 Denver, 5,506 San Francisco
Issued by: Arkansas Centennial Commission, War Memorial Building, Little Rock, Arkansas (A.W. Parke, secretary); most D and S coins were bought in bulk and retailed at the time for $2.75 each (see text) by B. Max Mehl, Mehl Building, Fort Worth, Texas; orders received early in the year were handled by Robert E. Wait (chairman, Coinage Committee of the Arkansas Centennial Commission) from the offices of the Arkansas Bankers Association, 923-924 Southern Building, Little Rock, Arkansas. Standard original packaging: Paper envelopes; some coins shipped in five-coin insert-type Dennison cardboard holders inserted in Dennison envelopes sealed with colorful Arkansas Centennial stamp Official sale price: $1 per coin; however, few Denver and San Francisco coins were sold at this price as B. Max Mehl bought nearly the entire mintage and soon raised the "issue price" to $2.75 each.
Designers of obverse and reverse: Edward Everett Burr prepared sketches that were modeled by Emily Bates
Interesting facts: The set celebrated the 1836-1936 Arkansas Centennial a year early.