Texas Centennial Half Dollar

The Texas Centennial Half Dollar is a United States commemorative fifty-cent piece issued from 1934 through 1938 to mark the 100th anniversary of Texas independence from Mexico. The design was modeled by sculptor Pompeo Coppini. The obverse shows a spread-winged eagle superimposed on a large five-pointed star, with the motto IN GOD WE TRUST at the side, matching the coin photographed here.

The reverse, not visible in this image, carries a kneeling winged figure of Victory before the Alamo, flanked by portrait medallions of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin. Struck in .900 fine silver at the standard half-dollar size, the coin was sold to the public at a premium to raise funds for the Texas centennial celebrations. The 1937 date seen here is one of the later issues in the multi-year series.

Congress authorized the Texas Centennial half dollar in 1933 to help fund celebrations of the 1836 Texas Revolution and the founding of the Republic of Texas. The American Legion Texas Centennial Committee, working with the Texas Centennial commission, handled distribution, and the coins were sold above face value to raise money for monuments and events. Pompeo Coppini, a Texas-based sculptor, prepared the models.

Production ran across several years and three mints. The first coins were struck in 1934 at Philadelphia, and from 1935 through 1938 the issue was made at Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, creating a series of dated and mint-marked varieties collected as a set. Sales were modest and declined over time, which is typical of the drawn-out commemorative programs of the 1930s. The type is part of the broad group now known as the classic U.S. commemoratives, produced from 1892 to 1954.

The obverse depicts an eagle with outstretched wings centered on a large single five-pointed star, with the motto IN GOD WE TRUST beside it. The photographed coin, dated 1937 and showing exactly this eagle-on-star composition with IN GOD WE TRUST, matches the Texas Centennial type. The reverse (not shown here) bears a winged Victory kneeling before the Alamo, with small portrait busts of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin at the sides and lettering including the dates 1836 and the year of issue.

The coin was struck in silver of .900 fineness, weighs about 12.5 grams, measures 30.6 mm in diameter, and has a reeded edge, matching the standard U.S. half dollar of the era. Mint marks, when present, appear on the reverse: a D for Denver or an S for San Francisco, while Philadelphia issues carry no mint mark. Date and mint-mark combinations across 1934–1938 define the individual varieties in the series.

The Texas Centennial half dollar is a collectible but relatively affordable classic commemorative because survivors are reasonably plentiful in higher grades. Circulated and lower-uncirculated examples of common dates generally trade from roughly the low tens of dollars into the low hundreds, with well-struck, high-grade uncirculated pieces bringing more. Values move with silver content, grade, eye appeal, and the specific date-and-mint variety.

The 1934 first-year issue and the more available later Philadelphia strikes are the most commonly encountered, while some of the low-mintage 1937 and 1938 branch-mint issues command stronger premiums. Original three-coin sets and certified high-grade examples are favored by collectors. Because commemoratives can be cleaned or counterfeited, certification by a reputable third-party grading service is advisable for higher-value pieces.