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 | 1936 |
| Mintage | 20,000 with 13 pieces for the Assay Commission |
| Mint marks | None, all pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint without mint mark |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Bust of Carter Glass |
| Designer | Charles Keck |
| Design date | 1936 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | Liberty |
| Designer | Charles Keck |
| Design date | 1936 |
The Lynchburg Sesquicentennial half dollar was a commemorative half dollar designed by Charles Keck and struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the 1786 incorporation of the independent city of Lynchburg, Virginia. The obverse of the coin depicts former Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Senator Carter Glass, a native of Lynchburg. The reverse depicts a statue of the Goddess of Liberty, with Lynchburg sites behind her, including the Old Courthouse and the city's Confederate monument.
Glass sponsored legislation for the half dollar, which passed Congress without difficulty. The Commission of Fine Arts proposed that the coin should bear the portrait of John Lynch, founder of Lynchburg, on the obverse, but no portrait of him was known. Instead, the Lynchburg Sesqui-Centennial Association decided Senator Glass should be on the coin. Despite his opposition, Glass became the third living person to appear on a U.S. coin, and the first to be shown alone.
The coins sold well when placed on sale in the late summer of 1936, and sales to out-of-towners were limited. The entire issue sold out, with some put aside for the sesquicentennial celebrations in October. Issued for $1 (equivalent to $22 in 2023), the coins have appreciated over the years, with 2018 estimates of value ranging between $225 and $365, depending on condition.