By Charles Morgan for CoinWeek…
One hundred and thirty-two years ago, Vance LaRue Wilson, a 40-year-old Iowan, attended the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. For many attendees, the Chicago World’s Fair was their first time seeing a Ferris Wheel, electric lights, automatic dishwashers, moving pictures, or zippers. Wilson, a man of considerable wealth, was captivated by the spectacle and took home numerous souvenirs, including coins, medals, and tokens that would later surprise his heirs with their value.
The Columbian Half Dollar
The Columbian Half Dollar is a significant place in American numismatic history. It was the first commemorative coin produced by the United States Mint. Struck at the Philadelphia branch, the coin was issued in 1892 and 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage to North America and to help fund the exposition. Unlike the standard Barber Half Dollar, the Columbian Half Dollar was not intended for general circulation. Instead, it was sold as a keepsake for $1, double its fifty-cent face value.
The coin’s design was a collaborative effort between prominent engravers. Charles E. Barber created the obverse, which features a portrait of Columbus. (It’s worth noting that no definitive likeness of Columbus exists from his lifetime; artists based their images on written descriptions from his son and contemporaries.) George T. Morgan designed the reverse, which depicts Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, sailing over two globes representing the Western and Eastern hemispheres.
A total of five million coins were authorized, but demand was only about half of that. Ultimately, 950,000 coins were struck in 1892 and 1,550,405 in 1893. To put this massive mintage in perspective, the Philadelphia Mint only struck 934,000 Barber Halves for circulation in 1892 and 1.83 million in 1893.
Discovery of the Wilson Hoard
According to Luke Christopher, a coin dealer who appraised the collection, Vance LaRue Wilson was a man of some means. A traveling salesman born in 1853, Wilson lived until 1943. He traveled the world, going on lengthy cruises and collecting numerous souvenirs, including coins. In addition to a collection of U.S. type coins and the items from the Columbian Exposition, Wilson also picked up foreign coins during a 1900 voyage, keeping detailed notes about each visit and the coins he found.
During his trip to the World’s Columbian Exposition, Wilson bought several items, including pavilion medals, the United States Mint medal, two 1893 Isabella Quarters, and 200 1892 Columbian Half Dollars. The Isabella Quarters were sold for 75¢ each by the Lady Managers of the exposition. The commemorative half dollars sold for $1 each. Given that the average weekly wage for an industrial worker in 1892 was about $12.50, Wilson’s investment of $200 in souvenir coins with a face value of $100 was highly unusual.
When Christopher inspected the coins, he was surprised to see that they had remained brilliant and untoned over the years. “The coins were brilliant, as if they were brand new. Only the rims, which were in contact with the tubes, had any degree of color,” Christopher told CoinWeek.
The coins were stored in a long, homemade tube, rolled in aluminum foil, and wrapped in paper. Since aluminum foil wasn’t commercially available in the U.S. until the late 1910s, the coins must have been stored in another way for at least the first 25 years.
What Will Happen to the Wilson Hoard?
Christopher submitted a selection of coins to PCGS for grading and was pleased with the results. Seven of the coins received the Prooflike designation. He estimates that a few more coins in the hoard might also meet the criteria for lower-grade Prooflike status. If the Wilson Hoard is a typical sampling, it suggests that approximately 4% of fresh coins from this issue were likely Prooflike. Since most Columbian Half Dollars are now deeply toned, these initial Prooflike surfaces are probably now obscured.
Christopher took the graded coins and the rest of the half-dollar hoard to the World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City, where he sold them to Jeff Garrett. The half-dollar deal netted the family approximately $20,000. Garrett then sold the coins to Jack McNamara of Rare Collectibles TV, which will offer the coins for sale in a future broadcast.
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