Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar
| United States | |
| Value | 50 cents (0.50 US dollars) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 12.5 g |
| Diameter | 30.61 mm |
| Thickness | 2.15 mm (0.08 in) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Composition |
|
| Silver | 0.36169 troy oz |
| Years of minting | 1935 |
| Mintage |
Philadelphia: 20,013 including 13 pieces for the Assay Commission
|
| Mint marks | D, S. Beneath the corn stalk on the left-hand side of the obverse. Philadelphia Mint pieces struck without mint mark |
| Obverse | |
 |
|
| Design | Roger Williams meeting a Native American |
| Designer | John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey |
| Design date | 1936 |
| Reverse | |
 |
|
| Design | Anchor; adaptation of the Seal of Rhode Island |
| Designer | John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey |
| Design date | 1936 |
The Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar, sometimes called the Providence, Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar is a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The coin was designed by John Howard Benson and Arthur Graham Carey. Its obverse depicts Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island. Although intended to honor the 300th anniversary of the state capital, Providence, but no mention of the city appears on the coin.
Members of Rhode Island's congressional delegation sought a coin for the 300th anniversary of Providence, and Senator Jesse Metcalf added authorization for one to a bill for another commemorative coin that had already passed the House of Representatives. The amended bill was approved by both houses, and was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A total of 50,000 coins were struck at the three mints then in operations.
When the coins wen ton sale on March 5, 1936, the quantity made available to the public sold out in a matter of hours. Rhode Island insiders were holding back quantities for later sale once prices rose. This incensed coin collectors, and led Congress to move in the direction of banning commemorative coins due to the abuses.
Roger Williams was born in Britain around 1603. Ordained as a minister, he became a Puritan and moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, becoming the minister of the church in Salem. Some of his beliefs, which he imparted to his congregation, such as the separation of church and state and fair dealings when purchasing land from Native Americans, were disliked by the colonial authorities. He was banished from the colony in 1635, and attempts were made to send him back to Europe. Instead, he journeyed by ship to present-day Rhode Island, where he founded a new colony, Providence Plantation, later Providence, in 1636, purchasing land from the Indians. The state founded there became known as Rhode Island and Providence Plantation, or more commonly, Rhode Island.
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