LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #444  / 

2096

1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:43,750.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar
<B>1915-S $50 Panama-Pacific 50 Dollar Round--Altered Surface--NCS. Unc Details.</B></I> The Panama-Pacific Exposition was a huge success. When it closed at midnight, under a balmy winter sky, on closing day, December 4, 1915, the total attendance for that single day alone was over 400,000 visitors. More than 18 million people from around the world had attended, although the exact number of individuals is not known because some visitors returned repeatedly. The world’s fair showed the world that Californians had come of age. It boosted the morale of most citizens in the bay area and helped San Francisco to get squarely back on its economic feet following the great earthquake of the previous decade.<BR> Some physical remnants may be seen today (the Palace of Fine Arts, designed by Bernard Maybeck, is the only structure still standing on its original site, although smaller statues still exist as well), but most of the attractions and temporary buildings were pulled down in late 1915. What remain mostly are mementoes of the fair.<BR> A lot of coins were sold at the expo during the months it lasted, but only the smaller commemorative coins were sold in any number. Each was offered for double face value. Two hundred thousand half dollars were authorized but only 27,134 pieces were sold. Walter Breen pointed out, in his <I>Encyclopedia</B></I>, that most were just bought as souvenirs by fair-goers, who gave little thought to saving them carefully. The unsold coins were melted, creating a scarce coin for today’s collectors. <BR> The half dollar had a beauty of its own. It showed an art-deco-styled Liberty scattering flowers which she received from a cornucopia, with the rising sun behind her. It was an expression of America’s bounty and of its rising ascendancy on the world scene. Its reverse is a statuesque American eagle perched upon a shield. Keck’s gold dollar supposedly depicted a capped laborer, among the many who built the Panama Canal. It is stark but nondescript. However, its reverse featured a pair of dolphins, rather neatly symbolizing the flowing together of two oceans via the canal. Some 15,000 coins were sold at the fair.<BR> Less affordable for the average fair attendee was the gold quarter eagle, a beautifully conceived piece featuring Liberty (Breen suggests it is possibly intended to be Columbia), the same American symbol seen in similar form on the half dollar, this time seated upon a hippocampus (Breen points out that she extends the medical caduceus, alluding to the horrific yellow-fever epidemic that plagued canal workers but was eradicated late in its construction). The eagle on its reverse appears especially vigilant, “possibly alluding to the necessity of keeping the Canal open during the war,” Breen comments. What it did was presage American presence in the Canal for many, many years to come as peace-keepers. Ten thousand had been authorized for sale but the price proved to be too much for the public at large, so about a third were melted. The net mintage was 6,749 pieces. It should be remembered that a week at the fair cost an average of $20 per person, so spending $5 for one memento was beyond the reach of most.<BR> The round fifty dollar gold piece, the most traditional of the two largest commemoratives, is said to have been inspired by the legendary Wass, Molitor & Co. fifties struck in San Francisco following the Gold Rush. This is a coin that is much more attractive than its net grade would indicate. The surfaces are virtually devoid of abrasions. The "Altered Surface" designation refers to a smoothed area in the left obverse field. Bright orange-gold color throughout.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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