Owner Comments:
The Delaware Swedish Tercentenary Commission was created to plan the celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the Kalmar Nyckel’s landing in modern-day Wilmington, DE. To help fund the celebrations, a commemorative half dollar was minted and sold to collectors for $1.75 each by the Equitable Trust company (now part of PNC Bank). Commemorative coins, like today, celebrate the founding of cities or to honor special events. But unlike today, where the US Mint sells the coins directly, they were often sold by some third party to help fund events related to the coin’s theme. After Congress authorized the coin on May 15, 1936, a contest was announced for artists to submit their designs and win $500.
Unlike the Delaware State Quarter released six decades later, there was no mystery about what motifs would appear on the coin. The contest details were shared in the Delaware News Journal on October 2, 1936, after the submission deadline closed. They specified that the obverse would feature a tall ship under sail “modeled after the Key of Kalamar [sic]”. The reverse would feature Old Swedes Church, the nation's oldest church building still used for worship as originally built between 1698 and 1699. The Lutheran state church in Sweden sent clergy to support the congregants who remained in the area after control of the settlement changed hands decades earlier. It became a vital link for some families to their Swedish heritage.
There is some debate about which side is the obverse and which is the reverse. This is because US Mint records list the church side as the obverse. Most collectors agree. But articles published in the News Journal in 1936 & 1937 dispute this. The Tercentenary Commission chairman’s own words in 1936 dispute this. In addition, two articles published in The Numismatist magazine in 1937 (Feb. & March) dispute this. One last piece of evidence is in the design itself. The reverse of every half dollar since the Capped Bust design, introduced in 1807, includes UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination (50 C., HALF DOL., or HALF DOLLAR). But, to avoid confusion, I’ll refer to the church side as the obverse.
Of the 40 submissions, judges John Sinnock, the Mint’s Chief Engraver at the time, and sculptor Dr. Robert Tait McKenzie selected artist Carl L. Schmitz’s submission.
Mr. Schmitz’s straightforward Art Deco-style depiction of Old Swedes Church is paired with the symbolism of sunlight shining through clouds. Clouds have often been used in art as a way to represent heaven, while a sun’s rays can imply God’s light. It could also signify a new day dawning over Delaware. Or it could just be clouds. Matched with “IN GOD WE TRUST”, the obverse celebrates both the church and the faith celebrated within its walls. 1936 marks the year of the coin’s authorization, which can be confusing since the coin was minted in 1937 for a celebration in 1938.
The reverse’s depiction of the Kalmar Nyckel has full sails on its way to new opportunities. A ship of settlers combined with the mottoes “E PLURIBUS UNUM” and “LIBERTY” create a sense of hope, freedom, and unity. The text on the coin feels fresh and appropriate for the time without looking out of place. The diamonds, meant to represent Delaware’s three counties while referencing the state’s nickname “The Diamond State”, serve as unifying design elements around the dates 1638 and 1938. Lastly, “DELAWARE TERCENTENARY” and “HALF DOLLAR” feature prominently, in case there is any doubt about what this coin was celebrating or its value. I think it’s the most visually poetic and artful of the Delaware coins. The artist’s initials, CLS, appear at the stern of the ship.
Carl Ludwig Schmitz immigrated to the US from France in 1923 and studied at the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in New York. He worked with the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) creating sculptures for government buildings. He also created other pieces of medallic art, such as the Four Freedoms medal in 1943. His other sculptures share the same simple, bold, and ornamental visual language as his half dollar. Mr. Schmitz’s Kalmar Nyckel is full of hope, almost to the point where it’s bursting at the seams. In 1932 he worked under Swedish sculptor Carl Milles, the artist selected to create the Kalmar Nyckel monument gifted to Delaware by Sweden in 1938. You can even see Mr. Milles’ influence directly by comparing the two works of art.
This was Mr. Schmitz’s only coin.