Some history:
Commemorative coin fever was running rampant in 1936 and many coins that celebrated events that were of local or regional importance were struck. The 1936 Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar was one of those coins. Congress was inundated with a flurry of commemorative coin bills at this time, legislation authorizing the mintage of up to 20,000 Lynchburg half dollars was passed on May 28, 1936.
The Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association initially wanted a depiction of the city’s founder, John Lynch, but unfortunately no portrait of him survived. Therefore, the obverse instead depicts then-living U.S. Senator Carter Glass, a native of the city. The reverse of this issue features the Lynchburg’s Monument Terrace, with its Confederate Memorial, as well as the Old Lynchburg Courthouse.
The 20,000 coins authorized were all minted in September of 1936. While the anniversary that the coin celebrated was not of National Importance, commemorative coin speculation was rampant during the mid 1930’s. Due to this, the coin quickly sold out, leaving the final mintage at 20,000 coins.
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