1928 Oregon 50C NGC MS66. This fully lustrous bright, white Oregon Half is a superb example of Mint artistry for its time. The strike is full and sharp. Even the fingers of the brave’s hand holding the bow are visible. The coin, designed by Laura Gardin Fraser and her husband, James Earle Fraser, was used as a fund raiser for the Oregon Trail Memorial Association of New York. Their goal was to erect monuments along the Oregon Trail at what were considered important points. The date of the first year, 1926, was the seventy-fifth anniversary of Ezra Meeker’s explorations.

The coin was originally struck in Philadelphia and San Francisco in 1926. Coinage resumed in 1928 when 6,028 pieces were struck. These were released in 1933. An interesting point about this design is that the brave side of the coin is usually thought of as the obverse, note the NGC encapsulation, but the Mint reports call the wagon side the obverse. The Frasers considered the Indian side of the coin to be the obverse, and they should know since they designed it. The Mint calls the wagon side the obverse because it has the date on it, and the Indian side has the mintmark, which was usually on the reverse.