J & L Commemoratives
MONROE 1923-S

Owner Comments:

Central States, May 2007----------------------------1923-S 50C Monroe MS68 NGC. In the early 1920s, the phrase "Sin City" conjured up Hollywood, not Las Vegas, and the Motion Picture Industry Exposition of 1923 was created to help rehabilitate the reputation of the silver screen and its stars. The bill authorizing the coinage became law, though it also inspired a film-worthy line from Senator Frank Greene of Vermont that was reproduced in Bowers: "It seems to me that the question is not one of selling a coin at a particular value or a particular place. The question is whether the United States government is going to go on from year to year submitting its coinage to this--well--harlotry."Between the low-relief design, poor sales that resulted in many examples going into circulation, and mishandling by those who paid a premium for their pieces at the Exposition, the difficulty of finding a well-preserved and pleasing Monroe half is well-documented, and attractive examples have received just recognition. When Heritage last offered this singular example in May 2004, the cataloger wrote: "The luster is richly frosted, and the otherwise silver-white surfaces display mottled olive-orange and steel-blue shadings. This is a coin of singular beauty and unimpeachable technical merits." At the time, this was the only Monroe so graded by either NGC or PCGS, and the intervening years have not changed its status (3/07).From The Cary & Cheryl Porter Collection.