1920 Maine Centennial Half Dollar
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Maine, the largest of the New England states, had been settled on a transient basis by the French as early as 1604 and by the English shortly thereafter. By about 1623 permanent villages had been established by both countries. Although the district had its own British royal charter earlier, by 1658 it had come under the control of Massachusetts, which at the time claimed boundaries ranging far from the limits we know today. The citizens of the area wanted independence, and on March 15, 1820, Maine became the 23rd state in the Union in a trade-off in Congress in which under the Missouri Compromise, Maine entered as a free state whereas Missouri in 1821 entered as a slave-holding state.
Legislation providing for the Maine commemorative half dollar was approved on May 10, 1920, well into the centennial year, and was similar in wording to that authorizing the 1918 Illinois issue. The amount of pieces to be coined was 100,000, and expenses of die preparation were to be borne by the state issuing authority. By this time it had been decided to sell the coins at a premium to the public rather than release them into circulation for face value.
The Design Controversy
Four days after the bill authorizing the Maine Centennial half dollar passed, Secretary of the Treasury David F. Houston wrote to the chairman of the Commission of Fine Arts, Charles Moore, enclosing a sketch submitted by Representative Peters on behalf of the officials in charge of the centennial observation. Moore was asked for his opinion as to the merits of the proposed design. Moore forwarded the sketch to Commission member James Earle Fraser, a talented sculptor who had designed the 1913 Indian-buffalo nickel among other things.
Fraser did not like the motifs and said so in this communication:
"Mistake to accept design for coin in form of drawing. Model should be made by medallic sculptor of note. Our coins have reached a high grade of perfection because this method is used. Designs proposed ...very ordinary. Should not be used ...."
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