Commems
Private
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2021
Among US coin collectors, the 1925 Stone Mountain Memorial commemorative half dollar is definitely among the series' most popular.
The coin was issued "in commemoration of the commencement on June 18, 1923, of the work of carving on Stone Mountain, in the State of Georgia, a monument to the valor of the soldiers of the South...and in memory of Warren G. Harding, President of the United States of America, in whose administration the work was begun." (Public Law 68-46).
The obverse ("heads" side) of the half dollar features General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson of the Confederate Army. Both are shown on horseback, moving left, at the front of what the viewer is to imagine is a long procession of Confederate officers and soldiers. This grander scope was originally envisioned for the monument as well as the coin, but each saw reductions in its design objectives due to its own novel constraints. Lee is the forward of the two figures and is captured in a side profile; Jackson is depicted in the rear turned to face Lee (i.e., forward).
A perched American bald eagle with outstretched wings is seen on the reverse ("tails" side), along with the commemorative inscription - "Memorial to the Valor of the Soldier of the South."
Gutzon Borglum was the designer of the coin, as well as the original designer and carver of the Stone Mountain Memorial.
An interesting note about the purpose of the coin, the enabling legislation contains the phrase "...and in memory of Warren G. Harding, President of the United States of America in whose administration the work was begun." Harding had died of a heart attack in August 1923 after a little more than two years into his term. Maybe it was the inclusion of this statement concerning the Ohio-born Harding that helped the Congressional approval process to run smoothly. The original reverse design included the inscription "And in memory of Warren G. Harding" - it did not make it to the final design used to strike the coins, however.
The coins were used by the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association of Atlanta as a fund raiser to support the mountain's carving. More than 2.3 million of the coins were struck by the US Mint, but 1.0 million unsold coins were ultimately returned to be melted. The sales of ~1.3 million coins, though substantial, were not enough to complete the planned Stone Mountain Memorial carving and construction; work essentially ceased in 1928. It was not until the State of Georgia stepped in and took over the project decades later (late 1950s) that it was completed (in 1970).
The coin was issued "in commemoration of the commencement on June 18, 1923, of the work of carving on Stone Mountain, in the State of Georgia, a monument to the valor of the soldiers of the South...and in memory of Warren G. Harding, President of the United States of America, in whose administration the work was begun." (Public Law 68-46).
The obverse ("heads" side) of the half dollar features General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson of the Confederate Army. Both are shown on horseback, moving left, at the front of what the viewer is to imagine is a long procession of Confederate officers and soldiers. This grander scope was originally envisioned for the monument as well as the coin, but each saw reductions in its design objectives due to its own novel constraints. Lee is the forward of the two figures and is captured in a side profile; Jackson is depicted in the rear turned to face Lee (i.e., forward).
A perched American bald eagle with outstretched wings is seen on the reverse ("tails" side), along with the commemorative inscription - "Memorial to the Valor of the Soldier of the South."
Gutzon Borglum was the designer of the coin, as well as the original designer and carver of the Stone Mountain Memorial.
An interesting note about the purpose of the coin, the enabling legislation contains the phrase "...and in memory of Warren G. Harding, President of the United States of America in whose administration the work was begun." Harding had died of a heart attack in August 1923 after a little more than two years into his term. Maybe it was the inclusion of this statement concerning the Ohio-born Harding that helped the Congressional approval process to run smoothly. The original reverse design included the inscription "And in memory of Warren G. Harding" - it did not make it to the final design used to strike the coins, however.
The coins were used by the Stone Mountain Confederate Monumental Association of Atlanta as a fund raiser to support the mountain's carving. More than 2.3 million of the coins were struck by the US Mint, but 1.0 million unsold coins were ultimately returned to be melted. The sales of ~1.3 million coins, though substantial, were not enough to complete the planned Stone Mountain Memorial carving and construction; work essentially ceased in 1928. It was not until the State of Georgia stepped in and took over the project decades later (late 1950s) that it was completed (in 1970).