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1925 Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial Half Dollar

 

 1925 Lexington-Concord Obverse       1925 Lexington-Concord Reverse

 

Click the images above for enhanced view.

Purpose:

 

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the Revolutionary War. Proceeds from the sale of the coin helped pay for celebrations in Lexington and Concord.

 

Maximum Number Authorized: 300,000 pieces.

 

Sale Price: $1.00

 

Designs:

 

    Obverse – Chester Beach

Standing image of the Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts. The design was adapted from the statue by Daniel Chester French. The Minute Man is holding a musket with a plow to his left supporting his coat. At the bottom of the coin, “PATRIOT HALF DOLLAR” in inscribed. Inside the left field are the words “CONCORD MINUTE-MAN.” 

 

Online Resource: https://concordmuseum.org/online-exhibition/from-the-minute-man-to-the-lincoln-memorial-the-timeless-sculpture-of-daniel-chester-french/the-minute-man/ 

 

   Reverse – Chester Beach

A depiction of the Old Belfry located in Lexington. Beneath the building, the words “OLD BELFRY, LEXINGTON” appear. Above the building, the inscription “LEXINGTON-CONCORD SESQUICENTENNIAL” is found.

 

Online Resource: https://www.mygenealogyhound.com/vintage-photographs/massachusetts-photographs/MA-Lexington-Massachusetts-The-Old-Belfry-1900-1906-historic-photo.html 

 

Popularity:

 

162,000 coins were produced at the Philadelphia Mint. Only 86 were returned to the Mint. Most likely, the 86 exhibited errors in some fashion.

 

Trivia:

 

  • Daniel Chester French was not only responsible for the The Minute Man statue, his most famous work is of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial.

  • The first coin struck was presented to President Calvin Coolidge.

  • The inspiration for the Minute-Man statue was Isaac Davis. Davis was killed at the Battle of Concord and was the first officer to die in the American Revolution. The statue is located at the approximate place where Davis was killed.

  • The person who fired the first shot at Lexington, “the shot heard around the world,” remains unidentified.

  • The last documented Revolutionary War widow and pensioner was Esther Sumner Damon of Vermont. When she passed away in 1906 at the age of 92, her pension was $24 per month.

For more information:

 

Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States by Anthony J. Swiatek 

KWS Publishers (2012)

 

Commemorative Coins of the United States Identification and Price Guide by Anthony J. Swiatek

Amos Press Publishers (2001)

 

A Single Blow: The Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Beginning of the American Revolution April 19, 1775 by Phillip S. Greenwalt

Published by Savas Beatie (2017)

 

References:

 

Encyclopedia of the Commemorative Coins of the United States by Anthony J. Swiatek

KWS Publishers (2012)

 

The Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins 1892 to 1954 by Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen

 

Arco Publishing, Inc. (1981)

 

 

 
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