To commemorate the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, Congress authorized a special half dollar May 12, 1920. The unidentified man in the conical hat is intended as an idealized portrait of Governor William Bradford (1590-1675), author of the History of Plimmoth Plantations, who spent most of his last 36 years riding herd on a crew of extremist Jesus followers, for whom Christmas was too pagan to be celebrated, and who gave a grisly meaning a few years later to the term witch hunt. (They had fled England in 1620 because King James I, head of the Established Church of England, found their rejection of bishop's authority treasonable.) The book he holds is intended for the Bible; his costume is meant for that of the Puritans of his day (the broad collar is near enough, though we question the authenticity of the ruffled cravat below it). This also accounts for the word PILGRIM in the inscription. Below Bradford's elbow, the initial D represents not a mintmark but the initial of the designer, Cyrus E. Dallin.
On reverse, the ship is intended to represent the Mayflower in full sail, though its small triangular flying jib (at extreme left, from the bowsprit to a stay extending from the foremast) is an anachronism which is fortunately lacking in Charles Aubrey Huston's stamp design. Inscriptions and dates are almost self-explanatory: 1620 for the landings at Plymouth Rock and Provincetown, 1920 not for the opening of the Pilgrim Tercentenary Celebration but for the actual anniversary, which happened to be the date of authorization of the coins. (Those struck in 1921 had this date added in the left field to conform with the Mint Act of 1873, making three dates in all on each coin.)
Various local celebrations throughout New England during 1920-1921, honoring the Pilgrim Fathers, were the occasion of the Pilgrim Tercentenary Commission's sponsoring a bill to authorize coinage of commemorative half dollars. Representative Joseph Walsh (R.-Mass.) introduced the bill. During a House debate, on April 21, 1920, Rep Warren Gard (D.-Ohio) questioned the number of coins to be authorized: 500,000, or five times as many as for the Maine Centennial? Rep. Walsh said that the number of coins corresponded with the occasion-500,000 for a tercentenary, as against 100,000 for a mere centennial. This brought gales of laughter for his "queer sense of arithmetic" of the House Coinage Committee, said that the figure of 500,000 was a "misprint" for 300,000. This explanation apparently satisfied Congress, as the bill passed without further controversy, becoming the Act of May 12, 1920.
The Philadelphia Mint struck the first batch of 200,000 half dollars during the month of October 1920. They were shipped at once to the National Shawmut Bank of Boston, which offered the coins at $1 apiece beginning in November on behalf of the Commission. Sales continued during the winter and spring of 1921, in enough quantity that the Commission ordered the remaining 100,000 to be struck, these later had to bear the date 1921.
The Mint accordingly coined them in July 1921. Unfortunately, another financial panic followed, many were left jobless and sales slumped. The Commission eventually returned a sizable quantity of both dates to the Mint for remelting.
Two matte proofs of the 1920 issue are reliably reported. One of them came from the John R. Sinnock estate (Sinnock was morgan's successor as Engraver of the Mint, and had a fabulous collection of offbeat and excessively rare mint productions); the other had been obtained by Ira S. Reed in Philadelphia, who like William Idler a generation earlier disposed of numerous similar items from his Mint connections.
A single matte proof of the 1921 issue was reported years ago, by Wayte Raymond; this has not been available for examination. Bill Brown just discovered a 1920 struck from a heavily clashed reversed die parts of G RU (from IN GOD WE TRUST) are visible in field just above stern. Probably the clashed obverse die was discarded before this piece was made. A pair of dies also clashed during manufacture of the 1921 issue, producing two varieties. The earlier of these we here call "State II." "State II" has a lump before Bradford's nose, other smaller lumps behind the head, above the hat brim, below RU of TRUST, etc. Also, the hat brim is incomplete behind the head. The reverse shows RU just above the stern, similar to the 1920 but not from the same die. Only one of these is known.
This was evidently followed at once by what has become known as "Variety II," on which the reverse has been replaced by one showing no clash marks. This was published in the February 27, 1974. The only original holder seen to date is one not from Massachusetts at all, but from one of the local celebrations in Rhode Island. It came with the ticket as illustrated. An interesting and far less difficult tie-in to the half dollar is the stamp issued December 21, 1920, to commemorate the Pilgrim Tercentenary celebrations. The designer was Charles Aubrey Huston. It is listed as Scott 549, Type A152. It is fortunately not rare; a total of 196,037,327 got into public hands.
The Philadelphia Mint struck the first batch of 200,000 half dollars during the month of October 1920. They were shipped at once to the National Shawmut Bank of Boston, which offered the coins at $1 apiece beginning in November on behalf of the Commission. Sales continued during the winter and spring of 1921, in enough quantity that the Commission ordered the remaining 100,000 to be struck, these later had to bear the date 1921.