The Coins of 1939

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The Coins of 1939

• A 1939-P Walking Liberty Half dollar

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• To a youngster between the ages of five and ten,
  the 1939 New York City Worlds Fair was like a
  trip into the distant future. At left, the famed
  Trylon and Perisphere.

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The Fair was pitched as The World of Tomorrow

• The Trylon was a 700 foot spire-shaped structure
  that housed the worlds longest escalator. The
  Perisphere at180 feet in diameter, was
  tremendous. It depicted a futuristic metropolis
  called Democracity seen from a moving sidewalk.
  It was the most popular site at the fair and it
  was a pity that after the fair ended, it was
  razed and used as scrap metal for other projects.
  A small replica marks the spot where it once
  stood.

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Our coinage was stunning also.

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So were the reverses.

• The reverses of the 1939-P Year set

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• After 1933 the US stopped producing gold coins
  and with the striking of the Peace dollar in
  1935, silver dollar coinage also came to an end
  leaving only five denominations the cent,
  nickel, dime quarter and half dollar. These coins
  were struck at all three Mints located in
  Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. From 1936
  on, most of the denominations were struck in
  fairly large numbers, especially those in
  Philadelphia. As a result, most 1939 coins are
  inexpensive in all grades up through Mint
  State-64.

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• A 1932 10.00 gold piece, probably the last and
  most affordable date to collect of the
• 10.00 eagle denomination.

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• A 1935 Peace dollar, the last silver dollar date
  intended for circulation and common enough to be
  affordable up through MS-63

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In 1939, the workhorse of the economy was the 5
nickel

• A 1939 Jefferson nickel.
• The coin could be used for public transit, a
  soda, an ice cream cone, a candy bar, a
  newspaper, the parking meter and lots, lots more.

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• Observing the Walking Liberty half dollar and
  Mercury dime one has to admire the artistry of
  Adolph A. Weinman, the sculptor who engraved both
  coins back in 1916. Who was the woman on these
  coins?

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• The model for these two coins was the young wife
  of the poet Wallace Stevens who was said to be
  quite beautiful. Shortly after the Stevens were
  married they rented an apartment in New York City
  whose landlord just happened to be Weinman. The
  sculptor needed a model to sit for his rendition
  of the new dime and half dollar competition of
  1916 and Elsie posed for him to help defray the
  cost of the rent. Her husband Wallace Stevens
  later became a successful Insurance Company
  executive and wrote poetry as a means of escape
  from the stringent requirements of business.
  Along with Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost,
  Wallace Stevens became one of the most prominent
  poets of the first half of the 20th Century.

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• Photos taken of Elsie and Wallace Stevens

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• Weinmans reverses for the Mercury dime and
  Walking Liberty half dollar are among the most
  beautiful as well.

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There is one coin struck in 1939 that still
represents the key to its series.

• A BU 1939-D Jefferson nickel. It is the key date
  to the regular issues of the long running series
  but is not especially rare.

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• In 1939 the Lincoln cent turned 30. The Mercury
  dime and Walking Liberty half dollar celebrated
  their 23rd birthdays. The Washington quarter was
  seven and the Jefferson nickel, just one. The
  nickel was actually struck in two subtle reverse
  varieties that year the types of 38 and 40.
  The first variety features the steps of 1938,
  rounded and not very well defined while those of
  1940 are framed in a narrow rectangle and appear
  to be sharper

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Details showing the modifications made to the
steps of Monticello

• 1939 rounded steps of 38 at left and
• 1939 framed steps of 40 at right

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• A BU 1939-D Year Set in Lucite holder
• All are affordable up thru MS-64.

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A 1939-S Walking Liberty Half dollar

• The 1939-S Walking Liberty half dollar had a
  mintage of 2,552,000, one-half that of the Denver
  Mint and one-third of the Philadelphia Mint
  outputs and is more expensive than its 1939-P D
  counterparts but still affordable up through
  MS-64.

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8,795 Proof Sets were struck in 1939. The
original price was 1.89.

• A 1939 Proof Set

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1939 Commemorative Coinage

• An amazing 1939 Oregon Trail 50 piece
• (Courtesy of Heritage Auction Archives)

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• A 1939-D Arkansas commemorative 50
• (Courtesy of Heritage Auction Archives)

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1939 Worlds Fair Official Token

• Obverse Trylon and Perisphere
• inscribed New York Worlds Fair and dated 1939
  below.
• Reverse Official Token inscribed within beaded
  oval
• Created by Order / of the Executive / Committee.
  / March 27th, 1939 / (signed) Grover W. Whalen /
  President / outside, around New York Worlds
  Fair 1939 Incorporated HK-491

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1939 Worlds Fair memorabilia

• Trylon and Perisphere 3 postage stamp
• shown at left and grave marker placed where the
  real Trylon and Perisphere once stood, at right.

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For most, the 1939 NY Worlds Fair was a place
to explore the possibilities of the future.

• -The End-