Ever since Balboa first gazed winning the Pacific Ocean in 1513, Europeans had dreamed and schemed of conduct to relate the Gulf of Mexico with the large ocean to the west. Four hundred living later that daydream was realized with the cavity of the Panama Canal. It took ten being and many millions of dollars to construct the giant curls through Panama’s deadly jungles, but completion of the monumental scheme assured America’s figure as a world weight. It had been evident since the Spanish-American War that suspended a two-ocean armada was logistically overwhelming, and curtly after the conclusion of hostilities, campaign began in earnest to connect the two bushel.
Congress felt the duct was of such importance that in 1915 it appropriated 50 million dollars for an exposition celebrating its completion. San Francisco was elected as the spot of the festivities, bountiful that city an opportunity to cabinet the rebuilding undertaken since the devastating earthquake of 1906. Congress also authorized a cycle of commemorative coins to smudge the induce: a silver half money, gold dough and house eagle, and an extraordinarily impressive brace of $50 gold pieces. One unusual quantity of the legislation provided that of the 3,000 fifty-buck coins authorized, half were to be series and the other half octagonal in influence. These weighty gold coins were modeled after the fifty-dollar gold octagonal “slugs” struck in Gold Rush California by Augustus Humbert and their curved counterparts struck by the Wass-Molitor secure in 1855. Although the coins formed by Humbert at the U.S. Assay agency at San Francisco were officially authorized issues, the Pan-Pac fifties would be the first coins of that denomination issued by a U.S. Mint.
New York dancer Robert Aitken was selected to sketch both the rotund and octagonal fifty-dollar coins. Aitken was an accomplished sculptor, but the Panama-Pacific commemoratives were his first work at coin designs. Critics had a tackle day with his handiwork, ignoring the aesthetic qualities of the point and complaining that “there is nothing American about the coin except the inscription.” On an artistic turn, however, Aitken’s work is a pretty successful challenge to blend classical Greek motifs with modern currency. He worn the same shape for both coins, but somewhat cheap the plan rudiments on the octagonal pieces to fit within the border. His subjects were the Roman divinity Minerva (after the Greek spirit Athena) and an owl, symbols, as he put it, “packed of beauty in themselves,” that would also prompt “the larger import of the Exposition, its influence to the intellect.” Aitken’s benefit to the intellect, however, vital some interpretation, which fortunately was included on the packaging accompanying the five-piece sets consisting of the two fifties, a sector eagle, gold dollar, and silver the dollar.
To the Romans, Minerva was the spirit of wisdom, talent, contemplation, revolving, weaving, agriculture and horticulture, all undoubtedly admirable qualities. Ironically, she was also the goddess of war, albeit representing the more reflective and urbane region of conflict. As the essential draft of the Panama-Pacific $50 pieces, she wears a crested helmet, pushed back to show peaceful intentions—an icon of American sentiment towards europe deeply involved in the butchery of World War I. The meeting appears in Roman numerals—MCMXV—at the top of Minerva’s defense. The whole vital intended is surrounded by a “Morse program” circular border, actually a long and abrupt-beaded motif, also adapted from Classical Greek drawing. Although some critics of the day remarked about the dolphins encircling the border of the octagonal pieces, sarcastically commenting that it seemed as if the vessel was built for their gain, the dolphins pretty suitably denote the uninterrupted waterway formed by the canal. The coins’ reorder depicts an owl floating on a Ponderosa Pine, surrounded by cones. Owls were sacred to Minerva, and the bird is regularly recognized as an image for wisdom as well as for watchfulness, alluding to America’s must for vigilance on the eve of its door into the European war. The beaded border is frequent again on the setback, separating the main outline from the statutory legends that surround the outside each side: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and FIFTY DOLLARS on the face, PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION and SAN FRANCISCO on the rearrange. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above Minerva’s start, while E PLURIBUS UNUM is to the right of the owl. Aitken’s initials are tucked away on the reverse in the grassland above the R in FRANCISCO, while the S mintmark is located between the lowest right pinecone and the beaded inner border.
Because of the coins’ large array, an exclusive 14-ton hydraulic depress used for salient medals was sent from Philadelphia. Although officials considered salient the coins on the fairgrounds, the absolute resolve kept production in the San Francisco Mint. The first coins were struck on June 15, 1915, and an entirety of 1,509 octagonal and 1,510 cycle the end formed fifties of the summer. The odd 19 pieces that exceeded the authorized mintage were distant for evaluate. The first 100 coins struck were distributed to numerous dignitaries and Mint employees. Despite the popularity of the coins’ large dimension and appealing drawing, only 645 of the octagonals and 483 of the rounds were sold. The remaining pieces were melted in November, 1916.
Intimately associated with the promotion and distribution of the Pan-Pac fifties, as well as some other commemorative issues from the early 20th century, was Farran Zerbe. Zerbe’s numismatic reputation and following whack was such that he was sited in accuse of the Exposition’s Coin and Medal Department, which he incorporated into his own wandering exhibit called “Money of the World.” As a brisk promoter of numismatics for some decades, Zerbe did more to popularize coin collecting in this country than any other individual, with the probable omission of B. Max Mehl. Zerbe marketed the five Pan-Pac commemorative issues in assorted combinations: distinct coins, short sets of three, detailed sets of five and amplify sets of ten coins that showed both sides of each coin. He vacant the coins to collectors through the transmit, to the universal free at the adequate and in exclusive mailings to bankers. Although his marketing methods were valiant, decision buyers at $100 for a $50 gold coin when wages were low, interest in numismatics was insignificant, and political and financial uncertainty high, was a grim task at best.
The artistic beauty, magnitude, and scarcity of the Pan-Pac fifties place them among the few commemorative issues that are widely recognized and wanted by non-specialists. The net mintage figures mirror both their absolute and relative rarity: the decrease-mintage series class is the scarcer of the two. Many existing Pan-Pac fifties bear from minor treatment friction on the cheek and helmet of Minerva and on the high portion of the owl’s breast. Often the corners of the octagonal pieces will show rim bumps and nicks. Most examples will stretch from AU-55 to MS-63: gem examples are quite erratic and seldom existing for auction. Almost as coveted as the coins themselves are the earliest-number holders: The gear made for single $50 pieces have sold in the $400-$800 range, while the hammered frames for five-piece sets convey some thousand dollars each. The really bloody lookalike-set, framed pocket is even dearer: one example sold several time ago at auction brought an astounding $18,000!
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 1.74 inches
Weight: 83.55 grams
Composition: .900 gold.100 copper
Edge: Reeded
Net Weight: 2.41757 ounces authentic gold
Photo Copyright Anaconda Coins.
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