Description: To celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, still considered one of the marvels of modern engineering, Congress authorized the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. This Expo, held in San Francisco, was also a celebration of the city’s recovery from the devastating earthquake of 1906. Also authorized were a series of commemorative coins that were to include a half dollar, gold dollar, $2.5 gold piece, and two different $50 gold pieces; one round, and one octagonal. On January 16, 1915, the bill authorizing these issues was signed into law. Presented here are two 2-Troy-Ounce .999 Fine Silver rounds, celebrating the Pan Pac Exposition of 1915: 1) The $2.5 GOLD TRIBUTE round depicts an allegorical figure—the goddess Columbia—astride a hippocampus, a Greek mythological sea horse with the head and forequarters of a horse and the tail of a fish. In her hand is a caduceus, the symbol of the medical profession, signifying the strides against yellow fever that had helped make the canal’s construction possible. The date is below this portrait; above it, along the rim, is the inscription PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION. The reverse depicts a left-facing American eagle perched atop a plaque on which is inscribed the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. Below this is the statement of value—”2 OZT.”—and above it, along the rim, is UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Flanking either side of the lower circumference is the hallmark. 2) The PAN-PAC COMMEMORATIVE HALF-DOLLAR TRIBUTE round depicts the figure of Columbia scattering flowers from a cornucopia held by a cherub. Encircling the periphery is the inscription PANAMA-PACIFIC EXPOSITION. Barber’s assistant George T. Morgan was selected to design the reverse. Unfortunately, Morgan did little more than modify the eagle reverse he used on the silver dollar first struck in 1878. The bird is perched on top of the Union shield. To its left is an oak branch, symbolizing stability, and to the right is an olive branch, symbolizing peace. The legends UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and HALF DOLLAR surround the border, while the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle. The olive branch of peace is particularly ironic on a coin struck the year after World War I broke out.
Price: 189.99 USD
Location: Boise, Idaho
End Time: 2024-05-04T04:01:44.000Z
Shipping Cost: 8.99 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Certification: Uncertified
Year: 1915
Composition: Silver
