United States | |
| Value | 50 cents (0.50 US dollars) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 12.5[1] g |
| Diameter | 30.61[1] mm (1.20 in) |
| Thickness | 2.15 mm (0.08 in) |
| Edge | Reeded[1] |
| Composition |
|
| Silver | 0.36169[1] troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1925 |
| Mint marks | S (all coins). Located at the base of the reverse below the letter D in DOLLAR. |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | A Forty-Niner panning for gold |
| Designer | Jo Mora |
| Design date | 1925 |
| Reverse | |
.png) | |
| Design | Grizzly bear |
| Designer | Jo Mora |
| Design date | 1925 |
The California Diamond Jubilee half dollar was a United States commemorative silver fifty-cent piece struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1925. It was issued to celebrate the 75th anniversary of California statehood.
The San Francisco Citizens' Committee wished to issue a commemorative coin as a fundraiser for a celebration of the statehood diamond jubilee. A California congressman attached authorization for it to another coinage bill, which was approved by Congress in early 1925. Designs by sculptor Jo Mora met a hostile reception at the Commission of Fine Arts, but the Citizens' Committee would not change them, and they were approved. The coin has been widely praised for its beauty in the years since.
The coins were struck in August 1925 in San Francisco, and were sold the following month. They did not sell as well as hoped: only some 150,000 of the authorized mintage of 300,000 were ever struck, and of that, nearly half went unsold and were melted. The coin is catalogued at between $200 and $1,300, though exceptional specimens have sold for more.