Bill Jones' Commemorative Type Set
WASHINGTON/CARVER 1954

Owner Comments:

Clean virtually mark-free faces.



Funds from the sale of these coins were to used "to fight the spread of Communism among American Negroes." During this period of McCarthyism, language to that affect was actually included in the original design drawings for the coins. The State Department stepped in, however, and asked to have the wording changed to avoid an international incident. Hence we get the “Americanism” quote despite the fact that African-Americans were still being treated as second class citizens at this time.



Unfortunately the sponsors of the Washington-Carver half dollars abused a good thing by continuing to request additional coins long after collector demand had largely been filled. That prompted Congress to end the “old” commemorative program. No additional U.S. commemorative coins would be issued until 1982.