Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial Half Dollar

The Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial Half Dollar is a United States silver commemorative fifty-cent piece issued in 1925 to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening battles of the American Revolution, fought at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, in 1775. The obverse depicts the famous Concord Minuteman statue, a standing farmer-soldier holding a rifle, while the reverse shows the Old Belfry at Lexington with the dates 1775 and 1925.

Like other classic U.S. commemorative half dollars of the era, it was struck as a legal-tender coin but distributed as a keepsake and fundraiser rather than for general circulation. It is a single-year type, produced only in 1925 and only at the Philadelphia Mint, so it carries no mint mark.

The coin is 90% silver and the same diameter as a standard Liberty Walking or Barber half dollar, but its patriotic Revolutionary War imagery makes it easy to distinguish from circulating half dollars of the period.

Congress authorized the coin as part of the nationwide sesquicentennial celebration of the American Revolution. The 1925 anniversary of the April 19, 1775 clashes at Lexington and Concord, the "shot heard round the world," was commemorated with public ceremonies in Massachusetts, and the half dollar was sold to help fund those observances.

The designs draw directly on the region's Revolutionary heritage. The obverse reproduces Daniel Chester French's celebrated Minute Man statue that stands at the Old North Bridge in Concord, and the reverse depicts the Old Belfry at Lexington, whose bell was said to have summoned the militia. The coins were sold to the public, often in a distinctive wooden shipping box, at a premium above face value.

The issue was a one-year commemorative, produced in a single relatively large mintage for the series before the program ended. Surviving examples were widely saved as souvenirs, which helps explain why the type remains obtainable today.

Identify the type from its two scenes and inscriptions. The obverse shows the standing Concord Minuteman with a rifle, modeled on Daniel Chester French's statue, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the motto around him. The reverse depicts the Old Belfry tower at Lexington, inscribed with wording referencing the Lexington-Concord sesquicentennial and the anniversary dates 1775 and 1925.

The coin is a 90% silver half dollar of standard size, about 30.6 mm in diameter and roughly 12.5 grams, with a reeded edge. The only date arrangement is the paired 1775–1925, which identifies it unambiguously as the sesquicentennial issue rather than a circulating half dollar.

There is no mint mark, because the entire issue was struck at Philadelphia. Do not expect a D or S; its absence is correct for this type.

As a classic silver commemorative, the Lexington-Concord half dollar is valued as a collectible well above its silver content, but it is one of the more affordable and available types in the series because a comparatively large number were struck and saved. Circulated and lower-grade uncirculated examples are among the more modestly priced classic commemoratives.

Value rises with condition. Well-struck, fully lustrous uncirculated coins, and pieces certified in high Mint State grades by services such as PCGS or NGC, command significant premiums over average examples. Original wooden shipping boxes, when present, can add collector interest.

Because prices move with the coin market and the silver price, any specific figure should be checked against recent auction results and current dealer listings for the matching grade.