United States | |
| Value | 50 cents (0.50 US dollars) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 12.5 g |
| Diameter | 30.61 mm (1.20 in) |
| Thickness | 2.15 mm (0.08 in) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Composition |
|
| Silver | 0.36169 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1935 |
| Mintage | 10,000 with 8 pieces for the Assay Commission |
| Mint marks | None, all pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint without mint mark |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | The head of a cow |
| Designer | L. W. Hoffecker |
| Design date | 1935 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Yucca plant superimposed on map of the Gulf Coast states. |
| Designer | L. W. Hoffecker |
| Design date | 1935 |
The Old Spanish Trail half dollar is a commemorative coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935. The coin was designed by L. W. Hoffecker, a coin dealer, who also was in charge of its distribution.
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover vetoed the Gadsden Purchase half dollar bill. Hoffecker had been the moving force behind that effort, and he sought another commemorative coin proposal that he could control if authorizing legislation was passed. He chose the travels of Spanish officer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in the early 16th century. Hoffecker took liberties both with the timing of Cabeza de Vaca's travels and their location. For instance, although Hoffecker's hometown of El Paso, Texas, is featured on the coin, Cabeza de Vaca came nowhere near it. All this made little difference to Congress, which passed the Old Spanish Trail coin bill without opposition. It was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Once they were struck, Hoffecker purchased the coins from the government and sold them to collectors, sharing the profits with a local museum. There were no complaints about the distribution printed in the pages of The Numismatist (a journal on coin collecting) and Hoffecker went on to the presidency of the American Numismatic Association in 1939. Hoffecker's design for the coin, featuring the head of a cow, has brought mixed reviews from numismatic commentators. The fact that only 10,000 of the half dollars were struck has made them prized among those seeking to complete a "type set" of early commemorative coins—that is, one coin of each different design.