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 | 1920–1921 |
| Mintage | 1920: 200,112 including 112 pieces for the Assay Commission (48,000 melted) 1921: 100,053 including 53 assay pieces (80,000 melted) |
| Mint marks | None, all pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint without mint mark |
| Obverse | |
 | |
| Design | Governor William Bradford (coins struck in 1920 do not display a date on this side) |
| Designer | Cyrus E. Dallin |
| Design date | 1920 |
| Reverse | |
 | |
| Design | The Mayflower |
| Designer | Cyrus E. Dallin |
| Design date | 1920 |
The Pilgrim Tercentenary half dollar or Pilgrim half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1920 and 1921 to mark the 300th anniversary (tercentenary) of the arrival of the Pilgrims in North America. It was designed by Cyrus E. Dallin.
Massachusetts Congressman Joseph Walsh was involved in joint federal and state efforts to mark the anniversary. He saw a reference to a proposed Maine Centennial half dollar and realized that a coin could be issued for the Pilgrim anniversary in support of the observances at Plymouth, Massachusetts. The bill moved quickly through the legislative process and became the Act of May 12, 1920.
Sculptor James Earle Fraser criticized some aspects of the design, but the Treasury approved it anyway. After a promising start, sales tailed off, and tens of thousands of coins from each year were returned to the Philadelphia Mint for melting. Numismatist Q. David Bowers has cited the fact that the coins were struck in the second year as the start of a trend to force collectors to buy more than one piece in order to have a complete set.