Congress authorized the Maine Centennial Half Dollar May 10, 1920, to be sold at the Centennial celebration at Portland.
Obverse depicts the state arms. However they may have been officially blazoned, they are here represented as "Argent, a moose couchant, behind him a pine tree, all proper; supporters. Agriculture with scythe, Commerce with anchor; crest, the Blazing Star with motto DIRIGO." DIRIGO means "I direct" or "I lead" and it has been the state motto since the state joined the Union (March 15, 1820). Note that the moose and the pine tree are defined by sunken outlines, but modeled in relief within them the technique first met with on Egyptian stelae and tomb carvings of the same period as the pyramids, and revived (to great controversy) in 1908 with Bela Lyon Pratt's new half eagle and quarter eagle designs.
Note also the symbolism in representing "Commerce" by a seaman with anchor: Maine's fisheries and lobster trappers were always extremely important in its economy, even while it was a part of Massachusetts (ca. 1658-1820). The moose apparently represents the fur trade, the pine tree the trade in timber and forestry products; the scythe suggests some above-ground crops, though Maine is possibly more famous for its potatoes. The wreath on reverse is made up not of the expected spruce and birch but of some kind of long-leaf pine, to go with its "Pine Tree State" nickname and the pine tree in the state arms.
The Act of Congress of May 10, 1920 authorized 100,000 of these coins to be made for sale at the Maine Centennial Celebration in Portland.
Apparently, to help defray the cost of the Maine Centennial Celebration. Rep. John A. Peters (R.-Maine) thought that the coins would simply go into circulation, and informed Congress of his wishful thinking on April 21, 1920, while the bill was still under consideration: this curious view was not shared by other legislators, nor by the Celebration people, who sold the coins at $1 apiece.
Rep. John A. Peters, who submitted the proposal and the sketch, on behalf of the officials in charge of the Maine Centennial Commission; Anthony de Francisci, who made the original models from the sketch reluctantly and without inspiration; George T. Morgan and/or John R. Sinnock, who altered these models in the process of translating them into master dies and hubs. On the model, the moose and pine tree are in relief, not in the moose and pine tree are in relief, not in the "Egyptian" technique. This was probably to minimize the relief evidently a necessary step, as most examples are still weak on those details.
During "late summer" 1920 (September?), the Philadelphia Mint struck 50,000 specimens, plus 28 reserved for assay: these were delivered to the State Treasurer, as by the time the order was completed, the Centennial Celebration was over. More than half were actually sold by the State Treasurer's office within a few months, after which sales slowed down enough so that there was no talk of ordering the remaining 50,000 authorized. During ensuing months through part of 1921, the coins were continuously offered for sale until all were sold. Nevertheless, a fair number of these found their way into circulation, as Rep. Peters had predicted, and others were kept as pocket pieces, so that many survivors are found as low as Very Fine and occasional ones in Fine condition.
Pristine specimens are now fairly difficult to find, aside from those being offered singly from a hoard which originally numbered 400 pieces. Specimens in which the two faces on Messrs.
Agriculture and Commerce can be made out are rare; the piece pictured on the preceding page is a better than average striking, and the two faces on it are blurred. So not expect to find central details on the pine tree, as the original model does not have them.
In May 1978 specimens were discovered from dies that had been heavily clashed and relapped. The markings are plainest between the shoulder of Agriculture and the motto DIRIGO, and on reverse below and to left of the word MAINE. Regrinding of both dies made some letters seemingly thinner and slightly irregular in placement, but it also had the unintentional, though welcome, side effect of improving the striking quality by slightly lowering the relief.
Matte proof strikings have been reported. One examined at the 1979 ANA Convention was genuine; the others are definitely fraudulent. One of the more dangerous fraudulent, it was apparently made from an unusually well struck business striking by sandblasting.
During "late summer" 1920 (September?), the Philadelphia Mint struck 50,000 specimens, plus 28 reserved for assay: these were delivered to the State Treasurer, as by the time the order was completed, the Centennial Celebration was over. More than half were actually sold by the State Treasurer's office within a few months, after which sales slowed down enough so that there was no talk of ordering the remaining 50,000 authorized. During ensuing months through part of 1921, the coins were continuously offered for sale until all were sold. Nevertheless, a fair number of these found their way into circulation, as Rep. Peters had predicted, and others were kept as pocket pieces, so that many survivors are found as low as Very Fine and occasional ones in Fine condition.