Guess the Grade PCGS Gave This 1936-S Cincinnati Commemorative Half Dollar
This week, CoinWeek has a 1936-S Cincinnati Commemorative half dollar silver coin for you to grade. This coin was graded by PCGS and features attractive toning.
The Cincinnati silver half dollar was authorized amongst a flood of commemorative half dollar bills that passed through Congress in 1936. It was a notorious issue that was created for the benefit of one man- Cincinnati coin promoter Tom Melish- and distributed by Melish through a confederacy of insiders for the purpose of self-enrichment.
The coin's purported sponsor was the Cincinnati Musical Center Commemorative Coin Association - but this was a fiction, established by Melish to lend credibility to the proposed coin program. Congress passed the legislation in January and February 1936, and President Roosevelt signed the legislation into law on March 31.
The coin's obverse features composer Stephen Foster- who only tangentially has anything to do with Cincinnati- and certainly didn’t compose any of his songs there.
The reverse features the goddess of music strumming a lyre. Constance Ortmayer was the designer.
Most Cincinnati's were lightly struck and many feature marks on Foster’s cheek area. Nearly all are toned to some degree - with blast white ones most certainly being dipped. This one has attractive color. I wouldn’t call it +++ toning - but it’s toning that helps the eye appeal.
The Cincinnati was struck at all three mints and of the three the S-mints seem to be of the poorest quality. This is an S-mint.
So what grade do you give this coin? And how much do you think it is worth?
Leave your grades in the comments below and I’ll be back next week to let you know if you were right.
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